TOO MANY WRONGFULLY CONVICTED - The Innocence Project

00 12 YEARSSTEPHAN COWANS DARRYL HUNT • 2004 ANTHONY POWELL • 200420045.5 YEARSMASSACHUSETTS 18.5 YEARSN. CAROLINA MASSACHUSETTSThe victim and multiple Darryl Hunt was A man who raped awitnesses misidentified convicted of a 1984 teenager in 1991Stephan Cowans as rape and murder despite demanded that shethe man who shot a a lack of evidence meet him at the localBoston police officer, against him. The main skating rink the nightMANY and he was convicted WRONGFULLY prosecution witness CONVICTEDafter the attack withon several charges and was a former Ku Klux $100. Anthonysentenced to 30-45 Klansman. In 1994, DNA Powell happened toyears in prison. Several testing excluded him, be at the rink thatitems of evidence were yet state and federal night and the younglater subjected to DNA courts turned down his woman misidentifiedtesting, and they all request for a new trial. him as her attacker.showed that Cowans But when a final round He was convicted ofwas innocent.of DNA testing identified rape and kidnappingSubsequently, officials the real perpetrator, Hunt and sentenced toreexamined a fingerprint was finally exonerated. 12-20 years in prison.JOSIAH SUTTON • 20044.5 YEARSTEXASLAFONSO ROLLINS200410 YEARSILLINOISMANY WRONGFULLY CONVICTEDfrom the crime scenethat an expert hadtestified came fromCowans — and the newanalysis revealed thatfingerprint was notCowans’s. He was fullyexonerated in 2004.He now runs theDarryl Hunt Project forFreedom and Justice,which assists innocentprisoners and helpspeople successfullyreenter society afterincarceration.When DNA testingwas finally conducted,the judge quicklyacknowledged that theresults proved Powell’sinnocence, and hewas freed.At Josiah Sutton’srape trial in 1999,a Houston PoliceDepartment crime labemployee testifiedthat DNA from thecrime was an exactmatch to Sutton.Knowing this couldn’tbe true, Sutton fought,unsuccessfully, tohave independent DNAtesting conductedduring his trial. In2003, an independentaudit of the crime labuncovered extensiveproblems. DNA testsproved that Sutton wasinnocent, and he wasexonerated. Since hisrelease, he hasadvocated for legislativereform in Texas.Lafonso Rollins wasa 17-year-old specialeducation student inthe ninth grade whenhe was arrested forrobbery and rape on thebasis of a compositesketch. Rollins, whosecognitive abilities arelimited, confessed tothe robberies and fourrapes. Years later, DNAtesting proved that hewas innocent and thatan unknown male hadcommitted the crimes.During the yearsRollins was wrongfullyimprisoned, hismother, father, sisterand grandparentshad died.Nine pled guilty to crimes30 | Innocence Project