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Robert DuBoise (55) of Tampa, Florida, was incarcerated for half his life. The American was innocent in prison for 37 years, including on death row. Now he is finally a free man. On Monday he was acquitted, according to the American newspaper “Tampa Bay”. Overjoyed, he fell into the arms of his mother and sister.
“This court disappointed him for 37 years,” admitted Judge Christopher Nash at a hearing in Tampa. Now, the judiciary has finally done the right thing. The 55-year-old man had always protested his innocence. He had already been released in late August after recently examined DNA samples exonerated him.
Bite marks should prove guilt
DuBoise was sentenced to death in 1983 for rape and murder. Investigators were clear that the then 18-year-old Barbara Grams, 19, was intercepted on the way home, brutally assaulted, raped and killed.
The bite marks on Grams’ left cheek allegedly proved DuBoise’s guilt. His teeth would match the prints. Additionally, an informant claimed that DuBoise had confessed to the crime.
Most of the evidence has already been destroyed.
He was on death row for 23 years, then the sentence was commuted to life in prison. But a DNA test now showed: the researchers were wrong, and how. Analysts found the DNA of two men on Grams’ body, but no trace of DuBoise.
The Innocence Project tried to restart the process. An initiative that campaigns for prisoners to prove their innocence. It is not an easy task. Especially not in the case of DuBoise. Because a large part of the alleged evidence and court records had already been destroyed. But the remaining fragments were enough to show that the investigators and the court had judged hastily.
No financial compensation
So, after 37 years behind bars, DuBoise is finally free. But he receives nothing but an apology from the judge responsible for the lost years. The state only pays financial compensation to those wrongly convicted if they have no prior convictions.
The problem: DuBoise was involved in a robbery as a teenager and was convicted of it. Media: Although he was innocent in jail for more than 35 years, DuBoise does not receive money. But he is not angry about it. But happy to finally be free. That is the most important thing to him. (hmh)
