TOO MANY WRONGFULLY CONVICTED - The Innocence Project

00HABIB WAHIR ABDAL JAMESRICHARDSON•1999 CLYDE CHARLES • 1999199916 YEARS 9 YEARSNEW YORKHabib Wahir Abdal, James Richardson’sthen known as Vincent case was one of severalJenkins, was convicted post-conviction DNAof rape despite a lack exonerations involvingof evidence against Fred Zain, formerly of by a police officer.him. Even after policeinformed the victimthat Abdal was thesuspect, she did notinitially identify him.Years after a firstround of DNA testingproved inconclusive, asecond round revealedthat he did not matchthe profile of the17 YEARS MCKINLEY CROMEDY1999LARRY HOLDREN • 20004.5 YEARS 15 YEARSWEST VIRGINIA LOUISIANA NEW JERSEY WEST VIRGINIAMANY WRONGFULLY CONVICTEDperpetrator and he wasfinally exonerated.Abdal died in 2005.the West VirginiaPolice crime laboratory,who was investigatedfor misconduct.Richardson had beenconvicted of rapingand murdering aneighbor and thensetting her home onfire. In fact, he hadhelped rescue a girlfrom the fire.An hour before a brutalrape was committed,Clyde Charles hadbeen caught hitchhikingWhen this same officerencountered thevictim, he determinedthat Charles fit herdescription of theperpetrator. Charleswas brought to thehospital where he wasidentified by the victim.DNA testing eventuallyexonerated him andimplicated his brotherin the crime.Almost eight monthsafter she was raped, awoman saw McKinleyCromedy on the streetand identified him asher attacker. None ofthe forensic evidence—fingerprints, hairsamples and bloodsamples—matchedCromedy, but he wasconvicted. After thestate’s high courtgranted him a newtrial, DNA testing wasconducted, and theresults proved hisinnocence.A rape victim identifiedLarry Holdren as theassailant in a photolineup one month afterthe crime. The defenserequested DNA testing,but the relevantbiological evidencehad not been preserved.In 1997, the victim’ssemen-stainedsweatshirt was subjectedto DNA testing, whichshowed that Holdrenwas innocent.88% were convicted of sexual assault,and 28% were convicted of murder14 | Innocence Project