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Tags: Mid-Atlantic, Innocence, Project,, MAIP,

In the early morning of December 30, 1984, a 37-year-old woman was abducted, beaten, raped and strangled by an unknown African-American man while she was waiting at a bus stop in Alexandria, VA.

Shortly after the victim told police her assailant was tall, think and wearing a green jacket, Thurman was found near the crime scene matching the description the victim gave.  The victim and another witness later identified Thurman as the assailant.  Mistaken witness identification is the leading cause of wrongful convictions.

Mary Jane Burton, an analyst at a Virginia state crime lab, analyzed biological evidence found on the victim’s underwear.  Under the limited forensic technology available at the time, all Burton was able to confirm was that the assailant had Type B blood type.  Though Thurman does have Type B blood, it is a type shared by 20 percent of African-American men.

Thurman was convicted and sentenced to 31 years in prison.  He served 20 years before being released on parole, at age 50, on November 17, 2004.  Throughout his prison stay, he maintained his innocence and wrote to lawyers, judges, lawmakers and organizations asking for help.  When he was released, he was forced to register in Virginia as a sex offender.

After Burton died in 1999, it was discovered that she kept samples of many of the cases she analyzed.  In 2001, 2003 and 2004, tests using her samples proved that Marvin Anderson , Julius Earl Ruffin and Arthur Whitfield were all innocent of the crimes they were convicted of.

Thanks in part to the urging of the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project, then Gov. Warner decided to test a random sample of the evidence left behind by Burton.  On December 14, 2005, Gov. Warner announced that of the 31 samples tested, two indicated that the wrong man was convicted of the crime: Phillip Thurman and Willie Davidson.

The testing used the same sample Burton analyzed from the victim’s underwear.  On December 14, 2005, Gov. Warner announced that not only did the testing exclude Mr. Thurman, but it also produced a cold hit from a known rapist in Virginia’s DNA database.  

On December 22, 2005, Gov. Warner issued a pardon for both Thurman and Davidson.  Thurman was eventually given an undisclosed amount in compensation for his wrongful conviction.

The results of these experimental tests proved that a number of wrongfully convicted people could prove their innocence through the DNA samples that Mary Jane Burton kept.  As a result, Gov. Warner fully authorized the Old Case Testing Project, which MAIP is helping to coordinate to guarantee that every case sample Burton maintained could be tested.

On November 27, 1980, Thanksgiving Day, a 66-year-old Norfolk woman woke up in the middle of the night to find a masked man wearing gloves, a cap and a coat sexually assaulting her. 

While being interviewed by police, the victim did not give any indication of knowing her attacker.  However, after police informants led police to Willie Davidson, the victim picked him out of a photo lineup, saying he had been at her house the day before her attack.  Days later, Davidson was brought to the jail wearing a stocking over his head, where the victim stated that he looked like her attacker.  Mistaken witness identification is the leading cause of wrongful convictions.

At trial, a lab analyst testified that semen was found on tissues that the perpetrator used to clean himself after the rape.  Serology testing revealed Type O blood on the tissue, the same blood type as the victim.  Because Davidson is a nonsecretor, semen and other bodily fluids cannot determine his blood type.  The analyst testified that the perpetrator could have only had Type O blood or have been a nonsecretor.  This testimony contradicted with known serological truths.  In fact, because the victim’s blood could have masked the semen of any perpetrator, no blood type could have been excluded by the tests.  This testimony was highly misleading to the jury.

Furthermore, the analyst testified that one pubic hair found on the crime scene was “consistent” with Mr. Davidson’s public hair.  Hair examination is not considered a science and is completely based on the physical observations of the analyst.

The victim also testified at trial that she had known Mr. Davidson and his family all his life.  Davidson’s family had moved away for many years and she had not seen him again until his family visited the victim’s house the day before the attack.

Despite the weak evidence against him, Davidson was convicted of rape, sodomy and robbery and convicted to 20 years in prison.  He was released on parole in 1993 after serving 12 years.  As part of his parole, Davidson was forced to register as a sex offender and spend over a decade outside of prison as a convicted rapist.

After Virginia Department of Forensic Science analyst Mary Jane Burton died in 1999, it was discovered that she kept samples of many of the cases she analyzed.  In 2001, 2003 and 2004, tests using her samples proved that Marvin Anderson , Julius Earl Ruffin and Arthur Whitfield were all innocent of the crimes they were convicted of.

Thanks in part to the urging of the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project, then Gov. Warner decided to test a random sample of the evidence left behind by Burton.  On December 14, 2005, Gov. Warner announced that of the 31 samples tested, two indicated that the wrong man was convicted of the crime: Phillip Thurman and Willie Davidson.

On December 22, 2005, Gov. Warner issued a pardon for both Thurman and Davidson.  Davidson was eventually given an undisclosed amount in compensation for his wrongful conviction.

The results of these experimental tests proved that a number of wrongfully convicted people could prove their innocence through the DNA samples that Mary Jane Burton kept.  As a result, Gov. Warner began the Old Case Testing Project, which MAIP is helping to coordinate to guarantee that every case sample Burton maintained could be tested.

Peacock, 60, was convicted in Rochester, New York of a 1976 of a rape he did not commit.  Though he was released on parole in 1982, it has taken 28 years since his release to have the crime taken off his record, longer than any other exoneree who proved his innocence based on DNA testing.

Peacock was implicated based on a questionable identification by the victim, who lived in his apartment building.  After a long interrogation, Peacock, who suffers from mental illness, gave a confession that strongly conflicted with the facts of the case. Witness mis-identifications and false confessions are two of the leading causes of wrongful convictions.

In 2002, Mr. Peacock contacted the Innocence Project who began investigating his case.  After recovering the victim’s underwear, which contained bodily fluids, the Innocence Project secured testing that compared the sample to Mr. Peacock and the victim’s ex-boyfriend’s DNA.  Both samples were negative, meaning a third unknown person was the actual perpetrator.  

Mr. Peacock’s exoneration is the first DNA exoneration of 2010.  It comes nearly 21 years after Gary Dotson and David Vasquez became the first men exonerated based on DNA evidence.  
                                                
"These DNA exonerations show us how the criminal justice system is flawed and how it can be fixed," said Peter Neufeld, Co-Director of the Innocence Project. "DNA exonerations have helped transform the criminal justice system, leading to reforms in virtually every state, but there is still a great deal of work to do to make our system of justice more fair, accurate and reliable."

In preparation of the exoneration, the Innocence Project is releasing a report entitled: “250 Exonerated: Too Many Wrongfully Convicted .”  Click here to read the Innocence Project’s press release and some of the highlights of the report.

The Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project congratulates Mr. Peacock on clearing his name and our colleagues at the Innocence Project on a job well done.  We would also like to congratulate and give thanks to everyone who has contributed to the 250 DNA exonerations over the last 21 years.  We look forward to having a part in many more exoneration milestones in the years to come.

Tags: MAIP,, Mid-Atlantic, Innocence, Project,, Innocence, Project,, Exoneration,, DNA,, Freddie, Peacock

Mr. Gates has always maintained his innocence.  Now, thanks to the hard work of Parisa Deghani-Tafti and others from the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, he finally has regained his freedom. 
     
Gates was convicted for the June 1981 murder of Catherine Schilling in Rock Creek Park. Prosecutors claimed that the 21-year-old Schilling was on her way home from work when Gates attempted to rob her. When she resisted, they said, he raped her and then shot her in the head.

FBI Special Agent Michael Malone told jurors that two pubic hairs found on Schilling’s body were microscopically identical to a sample taken from Gates.  A woman also testified that Gates tried to rob her in the same park less than three weeks earlier. A convicted felon also testified that Gates confessed the crime to him shortly after it occurred.

Gates has always maintained his innocence on these charges and claims to have never met the informant Gerald Mack Smith, who was paid over $1000 to provide his testimony.  Four other cases that Smith had been paid to testify in eventually were dismissed. Incentivized snitch testimony is one of the leading causes of wrongful convictions.

It later surfaced that Malone had given false testimony in a series of murder cases across the country. Malone was singled out in a report by the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General, and his record was the subject of a Wall Street Journal investigation. Malone later admitted to lying on the stand in a death penalty case in Florida, the defense wrote.  Lab fraud is another leading contributor of wrongful convictions.

In 2008, PDS filed a motion to have further DNA testing done on Schillings's remains. Those and subsequent tests showed that Gates didn't commit the crime and also DNA of a man who tests say cannot have been Gates.

During a review of Malone’s work, the Justice Department asked the District’s U.S. Attorney’s Office to look at the Gates’ case. In 2003, a forensic scientist found that Malone’s lab report was not supported by his notes. Defense lawyers claim those findings were passed on to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, but never were revealed to Gates’ counsel.
       
"This is outrageous," Judge Ugast said in regards to Malone’s faulty analysis. He ordered a review of all convictions in the District in which Malone testified. "We are trying to right a wrong," he said.

Gates, now 58, was released from prison with $75 and a bus ticket to Ohio.  Since his exoneration, Gates has moved to Knox County, TN to be with family.  He has not yet been compensated for his wrongful conviction.

Click here to watch MAIP Executive Director Shawn Armbrust discuss the case with DC's Fox 5 News.

Among its extensive coverage of the case, the Washington Post wrote this editorial of the Gates case, and also caught up with him a few weeks after his exoneration to see how he was settling to his new life.       

Tags: Donald, Gates,, DNA,, Lab, Fraud,, Exoneration,, Mid-Atlantic, Innocence, Project,, MAIP,, PDS

Not only did Bain become the 248th person exonerated thanks to DNA testing, but he also spent more time in prison than any of the other DNA exonerees.  It took Bain eight years to have his DNA tested by the state.  As soon as the results were fully analyzed, Polk County prosecutors and the judge agreed that the conviction should be vacated.

In 1974, Bain was accused of kidnapping and raping a 9-year-old boy, who later picked him out of a photo lineup. The boy later admitted in a deposition that he had been asked “to pick out Jimmie Bain,” who the victim's uncle knew and thought looked like the description the boy gave of his attacker. Witness misidentification is the leading cause of wrongful convictions.  

In 2001, Florida passed a statute allowing cases to be reopened for DNA testing.  Bain filed motions himself four times requesting such testing but was denied each time.  On the fifth attempt, an appeals court decided he was entitled to a hearing to determine his right to receive testing.

The Innocence Project of Florida represented him in the hearing and secured the testing of sperm found on the victim's underwear. The results, which were received last week, confirmed that Bain could not have been involved in the crime. Prosecutors now plan on running the sample through a database of known offenders, hoping to find a "cold hit" and discover the real assailant.

Bain, who is now 54, said he was not angry about his miscarriage of justice.  Instead, he said, “I kind of feel like when they first landed on the moon. We have touchdown!”

The Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project congratulates Seth Miller and the Florida Innocence Project on a job well done and wished Mr. Bain all the best.

Click here to read a CNN article on the exoneration and watch Mr. Bain in a press conference shortly after his release.

Tags: Mid-Atlantic, Innocence, Project,, MAIP,, DNA,, Florida, Innocence, Project,, , James, Bain,, Exoneration

Click here to watch the video.

Tags: MAIP,, Mid-Atlantic, Innocence, Project,, DNA,, Donald, Gates

Mr. Gates has always maintained his innocence.  Now, thanks to the hard work of Parisa Deghani-Tafti and others from the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, he finally has regained his freedom.  

Judge Fred Ugast’s ruling frees Gates, but it does not exonerate him.  Prosecutors requested additional testing to verify the results, and a separate hearing next week to make a final determination.
       
Gates was convicted for the June 1981 murder of Catherine Schilling in Rock Creek Park. Prosecutors claimed that the 21-year-old Schilling was on her way home from work when Gates attempted to rob her. When she resisted, they said, he raped her and then shot her in the head.

FBI Special Agent Michael Malone told jurors that two pubic hairs found on Schilling’s body were microscopically identical to a sample taken from Gates.  A woman also testified that Gates tried to rob her in the same park less than three weeks earlier. A convicted felon also testified that Gates confessed the crime to him shortly after it occurred.

Gates has always maintained his innocence on these charges and claims to have never met the informant, who was paid to provide his testimony.  Incentivized snitch testimony is one of the leading causes of wrongful convictions.

According to Gates’ attorneys from the District of Columbia Public Defender Service, it later surfaced that Malone had given false testimony in a series of murder cases across the country. Malone was singled out in a report by the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General, and his record was the subject of a Wall Street Journal investigation. Malone later admitted to lying on the stand in a death penalty case in Florida, the defense wrote.

Last year, PDS filed a motion to have further DNA testing done on Schillings's remains. Those and subsequent tests showed that Gates didn't commit the crime and also discovered another man's DNA, attorneys said in court.

It was unclear Tuesday whether authorities know whose DNA they have, but no new arrests have been made. To make a link to a specific person's DNA, officials would have to submit the genetic material to national databases and get a match. Only convicted criminals are in the databases.

During a review of Malone’s work, the Justice Department asked the District’s U.S. Attorney’s Office to look at the Gates’ case. In 2003, a forensic scientist found that Malone’s lab report was not supported by his notes. Defense lawyers claim those findings were passed on to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, but never were revealed to Gates’ counsel.
        
"This is outrageous," Judge Ugast said in regards to Malone’s faulty analysis. He ordered a review of all convictions in the District in which Malone testified. "We are trying to right a wrong," he said.

Another hearing was scheduled for Dec. 23, at which prosecutors will review all the DNA testing to determine whether Gates should be exonerated for the crimes and not have to register as a sex offender.

"Mr. Gates has been fighting to prove that he is innocent of this crime," said Sandra Levick, one of Gates’ PDS attorneys. "On behalf of my client, we are thankful he is now being released," Levick said.

MAIP would like to congratulate Tafti, who worked tirelessly to locate the evidence and obtain DNA testing, Levick, and the rest of the PDS team.  We also want to commend the work of Metropolitan Police Department Detective Jim Trainum, whose efforts to locate the evidence in this case were critical.

We wish Mr. Gates the best of luck.

Click here to watch MAIP Executive Director Shawn Armbrust discuss the case with DC's Fox 5 News.

Click here to read a Washington Post Editorial about the Gates case.

Click here to watch Armbrust and two exonerees discuss the Gates case and give Mr. Gates advice for his future.

Tags: Mid-Atlantic, Innocence, Project,, MAIP,, DNA,, Donald, Gates

In the late hours of October 20, 1984, three men broke into the Baltimore home of noted drug dealer Charles "Squeaky" Jordan.  Jordan, his wife and stepdaughter were all shot execution style.  The wife, Linda Jordan, survived the attack and described her assailants as two black men and a white man. She later identified African-American and fellow drug dealer Gregory Jones, as the trigger man in the murders.  Still lacking a white suspect, police zeroed in on Conover because of his history of drug-related arrests.  When shown his picture in a photo array, Linda Jordan stated that he "resembled" the white man she had seen.  She later selected him out of a lineup.

At trial, Conover presented numerous witnesses who testified that they had seen him at a birthday party at the time of the killings. In response, the prosecution presented the testimony of an FBI agent, who stated that microscopic examination of hairs found on victim Lisa Lynn Brown's body came from Conover. 

Chris Conover was convicted on May 23, 1985 and sentenced to life imprisonment. In prison, Conover tutored other inmates and was elected to the "Inmate Advisory Council." 

After ten years in prison, the New York City-based Innocence Project accepted his case. In 2001, DNA testing conclusively proved that the hairs found at the crime scene belonged to two white men, neither of whom was Conover.  Nevertheless, prosecutors continued to insist that Conover was guilty and threatened to retry him.  In 2003, Conover came to an agreement with prosecutors, whereby he was released from prison in return for an Alford plea.  By the terms of this plea, Conover maintained his innocence, but acknowledged that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him. Thus, despite the physical evidence indicating his innocence, Conover has not been formally exonerated.  While the deal was not ideal for Conover, he chose accepted it in order to spare for their pain for his elderly mother and alleviate the recurrent panic attacks he suffered in prison.

Upon his release in 2003, Conover lived with his mother in her Towson apartment and acquired a job as a title researcher from a childhood friend.  His girlfriend has remained faithful to him since his 1984 arrest and they have reunited since his release. In an interview after his release, he told the Baltimore Sun that he simply wants to be a "regular old person."

Unfortunately, prosecutors maintain that they did not make a mistake in charging Chris Conover with murder.  They attribute the DNA results to a lucky break and steadfastly maintain their belief in his guilt.  As such, the hairs used to exclude Conover through DNA testing, have not been run through the state's database of DNA profiles.  Furthermore, DNA found in one of the victim’s underpants has not been tested, despite the Innocence Project’s stated willingness to pay all fees associated with the testing.  As of 2009, no one else has been charged with the Jordan and Brown murders.

Tags: MAIP,, Mid-Atlantic, Innocence, Project,, Wrongfully, Convicted,, Chris, Conover,, DNA

According to Roberts, an armed man broke into his home in the middle of the night on May 11, 1991, and attempted to steal his television. The two men got into an argument and Roberts was shot in the chest. His nephew Henry Robert Harrison, who was staying with him at the time, was mistakenly shot at by the assailant and killed.

After suffering serious wounds, Roberts passed out. Upon regaining consciousness, Roberts found his nephew dead. While hospitalized for his wounds and recovering from surgery, Roberts gave several inconsistent descriptions of his attacker.  Furthermore, prosecutors identified the murder weapon as a .22 caliber handgun registered to Roberts and found buried in a nearby creek handgun. Roberts claimed that it had been stolen in a previous robbery. Prosecutors contended that Roberts was the killer and had purposely shot himself to cover up the crime.

The 63 year old Roberts steadfastly maintained his innocence, but initially sought to avoid jail time by agreeing to a plea bargain that would have resulted in a suspended sentence for manslaughter. However, Circuit Court Judge Kenneth Johnson rejected the plea deal as unduly lenient. Roberts went to trial and was convicted of second degree murder in January 1992. Throughout his prison sentence, Roberts proclaimed his innocence.

Shortly after Roberts had been sentenced, an anonymous female caller told police that 18 year old Robert James Tomczewski had committed the crime. This tip was filed away and Henry Roberts languished in prison. In 2000, a new witness came forward and implicated Tomczewski. Richard D. Stone told police that he witnessed Tomczewski break into Roberts’ home on the night in question and heard the subsequent gun shots. Stone was seventeen at the time of the murder and came forward nine years later after being racked with guilt. Tomczewski was interviewed while incarcerated on an unrelated assault charge. He initially denied any knowledge of the murder. However, his cellmate told police that Tomczewski had previously confessed that “a long time ago, he had killed a guy in an old man’s house.” Tomczewski pleaded guilty to the murder in 2002 and was given a ten year sentence.

When prosecutors sought Henry Roberts’ release from prison, they learned that he had died of heart failure on December 22, 1995, after collapsing outside of his cell at the Maryland House of Corrections. He was 65. Roberts maintained his innocence until the very end, but did not live to see his vindication.

Tags: MAIP,, Mid-Atlantic, Innocence, Project,, Wrongfully, Convicted,, Henry, Myron, Roberts