A Texas inmate has been exonerated of a 1979 rape after serving more than 30 years in prison. Cornelius Dupree, Jr., was released in July 2010 on parole for a conviction in a 1979 rape, robbery and abduction case.
DNA evidence obtained from pubic hair found on the scene of the crime was used to determine that Dupree and another man who was also convicted of the crime were not guilty of the 1979 rape and abduction. Dallas County has used DNA evidence and other testable evidence in a record 21 exonerations, according to the Dallas County Morning News.
As stated by the facts of the case, the victims of the original attack were a man and a woman who had stopped at a liquor store. The man and the woman were both confronted by two armed men who carjacked their vehicle, ordered the man from the car and then raped the woman.
Dupree could have served less time in prison had he admitted his guilt, but like many other innocent inmates, he refused to do so in the more than 30 years that he spent in a Texas prison.
Incorrect Witness Identifications Helped to Bolster the Faulty Case
This case is just one example of the unreliability of witness identifications in criminal cases. Based on the facts of the case as it was being investigated in 1979, the woman who was raped identified both Dupree and the other man in a pre-trial photo line-up, while the man who was ordered from the car was unable to select either of the wrongly convicted men in the photo line-up. At trial, both victims mistakenly identified Dupree as their assailant.
It wasn't until Dupree contacted the Innocence Project that his innocence gained traction. Innocence Project attorneys reviewed the criminal case for years before accepting the case in 2007. The attorneys at the Innocence Project first asked the Dallas County district attorney (DA) to review the case to determine whether there was any testable evidence.
The hair that was testable proved not to match either men who were originally convicted of the 1979 rape and attack. That DNA evidence came to light two weeks after Dupree was released from prison and was on parole due to good behavior. The Dallas County DA said that the actual perpetrators have not been found but that it is possible to run the new DNA test through the national database to search for the attackers.
Dupree is Texas' longest-serving inmate to be exonerated of a crime. The Innocence Project reported to the Dallas Morning News that this case is the first instance they were able to use evidence from the 1970s to free an innocent man.
If you or someone you love has been charged with a sex crime, a skilled Maryland defense lawyer can assist you in advocating for your rights. A knowledgeable attorney knows ways to challenge the prosecutor's evidence against you.
