In the federal lawsuit filed this week, DuBoises attorneys name as defendants the city of Tampa, four police investigators and a forensic dentist who testified a bite mark on Grams cheek was from DuBoise based on a faulty beeswax mold. Help us advocate for the innocent by sharing the latest news from the Innocence Project. Please avoid sharing any personal information in the comments below and join us in making this a hate-speech free and safe space for everyone. No state any longer permits a judge to override a jurys recommendation for life. The Innocence Project, which is affiliated with Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, is a national litigation and public policy organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system. The case against DuBoise was weak from the start. Fraud Alert:We have heard that there are people who fraudulently represent themselves as working for the Innocence Project of Florida, promising legal representation in exchange for money. In a hearing two years later, the Court Clerk testified that all of the evidence admitted into his original trial was destroyed in 1990. You can learn more about how we consider cases here. Robert has spent over 36 years in prison because of discredited bite mark evidence and the testimony of an unreliable jailhouse informant who we now know received benefits in exchange for that testimony. During the investigation it was discovered that after a death sentence was secured, DuBoises trial prosecutor filed a motion to mitigate the jailhouse informants sentence and the court granted the order finding that the jailhouse informant had totally cooperated with the State of Florida in the Capital Murder trial of Robert E. DuBoise. The informant was immediately released despite an earlier determination by the Florida Parole and Probation Commission that he should not be granted an earlier presumptive parole date. Supporters of DuBoise have requested $1.85m in compensation from the state legislature, but that bill has gone nowhere. The lawsuit, first reported by the Tampa Bay Times, seeks unspecified damages. Chris Bumbaca. Through observation and autopsy, authorities concluded the woman was raped and beaten to death. DNA testing showed that DNA from two males was present and excluded DuBoise, Victor DuBoise and Raymond Garcia. Wrongful convictions tear at the very foundation of our system and everything that prosecutors stand for: public safety, fairness and justice. After cooperating with law enforcement and providing a sworn statement in DuBoises case, he was offered a plea and sentenced to five years in prison. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, against former Tampa police Detectives Phillip Saladino and K.E. The Innocent project did their job. At his trial, in 1985, prosecutors said that Mr. DuBoise, his brother and a friend had been driving in Tampa when they saw Ms. Grams walking down the street, abducted her and raped and killed her. Phone: (727) 642-3162 The promise or expectation of receiving leniency or other benefits for their testimony creates a strong incentive for these witnesses to lie. A free man for the first time since he was a teenager, Mr DuBoise must now put his life back together after almost 40 years in prison, the lawsuit says. Detectives sought out the opinion of a second odontologist, Dr. Richard Souviron, who advised police to start collecting bite mark impressions from potential suspects. Jerry Lambe is a journalist at Law&Crime. Unlike other areas of forensic analysis, bite mark analysis lacks validated rules, regulations or processes for accreditation that would establish standards for the expert testimony. Keep up the good work Innocence Project! The woman had been beaten and sexually assaulted. Unlike other areas of forensic analysis, bite mark analysis lacks validated rules, regulations or processes for accreditation that would establish standards for the expert testimony. I praise them for all they did. Contributors & reporters: Phil Ammann, Roseanne Dunkelberger, A.G. Gancarski, Anne Geggis, Kelly Hayes, Ryan Nicol, Jacob Ogles, Gray Rohrer, Jesse Scheckner, Christine Sexton, Andrew Wilson, Wes Wolfe, and Mike Wright. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. On August 19, 1983, a young womans body was found behind a dental office in Tampa, Florida. Robert DuBoise, 55, meets reporters with his sister Harriet, left, and mother Myra, outside the Hardee county correctional institute after his release on 27 August in Hardee county, Florida. Robert has spent decades determined to show that he was wrongfully convicted, and we are eager to see him fully exonerated, said Susan Friedman, DuBoises Innocence Project attorney. All original evidence was thought to have been destroyed, as was noted by the court at an earlier time Soon after this discovery, DNA testing on the remaining evidence revealed positive identification of male DNA from the perpetrator and excluded Robert DuBoise as a contributor. In the federal lawsuit filed this week, DuBoises attorneys name as defendants the city of Tampa, four police investigators and a forensic dentist who testified a bite mark on Grams cheek was from DuBoise based on a faulty beeswax mold made of his teeth. Join to connect PR. Press "Enter" or click on the arrow to show results. As a result, the defense cannot raise concerns about the jailhouse informants motivations and reliability to the judge and jury. The testimony of DuBoises fellow inmate was also called into doubt. During 37 years in prison for the rape and murder of a 19-year-old woman in Tampa, Robert DuBoise never stopped trying to prove his innocence. DuBoise has not yet been officially exonerated. Today, it has finally succeeded.. [emailprotected]. Case Summary. 6 Wrongful Convictions That Were Overturned. On Monday, a hearing before Hillsborough county judge Christopher Nash resulted in an order wiping away the convictions and life sentence, and removing DuBoise from the state sex offender registry. Warren, the chief prosecutor, said his office was undertaking a review with the Innocence Project of cases in the Tampa area in which convictions relied heavily on now-discredited bite mark evidence. (Page 2) I am grateful to be here, now with a chance to move forward, but I know there are more innocent people like me still behind bars, said DuBoise. Judge Christopher. On September 14, 2020, Robert DuBoise became the 30th person exonerated from Florida's death row. On Wednesday, prosecutors said they had moved to free Mr. DuBoise by filing a joint motion with his lawyer to reduce his life sentence to time served. A man in Florida who was exonerated after spending 37 years in prison for a 1983 rape and murder filed a lawsuit against police officials and the forensic dentist who testified against him, claiming they knowingly fabricated evidence used to convict him. The Innocence Project urged the CRU to review the case based on concerns about the validity of forensic bite mark evidence and the heavy reliance on that evidence in this case. Charge: Capital Murder and Attempted Sexual Battery, Conviction: Capital Murder and Attempted Sexual Battery, Real perpetrator found? The discovery of a rape kit for victim Barbara Grams, which had been presumed destroyed decades earlier, provided conclusive evidence that Robert DuBoise wasn't guilty of the 19-year-old's 1983 rape and murder. In fact, the original prosecutions case rested rested primarily on two pieces of evidence:the testimony of a fellow inmate, and a woundon the woman's cheek that a dental expert identified as a bite mark from DuBoise's teeth, according to. Wrongful convictions deprive victims and their families of justice. Mr. Knowing that such an egregious mistake could happen here is gut-wrenching.. The Innocence Project of Florida served as local counsel on the case. The exoneration was a result of cooperation between prosecutors and the Innocence Project, which works to free wrongly convicted prisoners. DuBoise has been deprived of all the basic pleasures of human experience, which all free people enjoy as a matter of right., Have a tip we should know? He served three years on death row before the Florida Supreme Court vacated his death sentence. Burke, former Sgt. In August of 2006, DuBoise filed a motion for postconviction DNA testing. The expert who testified that it was Mr. DuBoises bite has since renounced similar evidence in other cases, Mr. Warren said. (Image: Casey Brooke Lawson/The Innocence Project). Dr. Souviron concluded that it was a match and detectives immediately arrested DuBoise who, at the time, was only 18 years old. On Sept. 10, 2020, the Innocence Project filed a Motion for Post-Conviction Relief and Vacate Judgment and Sentence based on newly discovered evidence. His sentence was reduced in 1988 to life in prison until his exoneration and release last year. In short, there is not one shred of evidence that says that Robert DuBoise committed this crime, Mr. Warren said, and the DNA evidence compellingly points to his innocence.. Weve had an innocent man locked up for a crime that he did not commit, while the real perpetrator was never held accountable for this horrific murder, Andrew H. Warren, the Hillsborough County state attorney, said at a news conference on Wednesday. The informant denied obtaining any benefit in exchange for his testimony against DuBoise, but did admit that he considered one of the detectives to be a real good friend. Although the informant was potentially facing a life sentence for his other charges, he was given a plea deal with a sentence of five years. Robert is related to Robert Eric Dubois and Mary Frances Dubois as well as 3 additional people. Souviron also allegedly said that If the detectives say he did it, I am going to go in there and say he did it., Souviron created a mold of DuBoises teeth using beeswax, which the complaint says was scientifically unreliable and only used because another officer in the Tampa Police Department operated a honey business on the side.. All Rights Reserved. Image via AP. Robert Dubois was wrongly convicted for a 1983 rape and murder. Floridas newly established Conviction Review Unit agreed to review DuBoises case in September 2019, according to a timeline the state attorneys office provided to Oxygen.com. In fact, the victims injury was not a human bitemark at all, Daniel Marshall, an attorney for the Human Rights Defense Center, wrote in the lawsuit. Robert DuBoise A man in Florida who was exonerated after spending 37 years in prison for a 1983 rape and murder filed a lawsuit against police officials and the forensic dentist who testified against him, claiming they "knowingly fabricated" evidence used to convict him. 0:00. On 11/07/2006 STATE OF FLORIDA filed an Other - Other Criminal lawsuit against DUBOIS, ROBERT BRANDON. Best Match Powered by Whitepages Premium AGE 70s Robert Dubois Melbourne, FL (Bowe Gardens) View Full Report Addresses 2023 Innocence Project. These people do not work for the Innocence Project of Florida. The promise or expectation of receiving leniency or other benefits for their testimony creates a strong incentive for these witnesses to lie. I can never regain the birthdays, holidays and precious time I lost with them, nevermind the life I could have made for myself. If a judge approves the motion on Thursday, Mr. DuBoise could walk out of Hardee Correctional Institution in Bowling Green, Fla., on Thursday afternoon, after 37 years behind bars. DuBoise will be the 171st documented death-row exoneration in the U.S. since 1973. Souviron, whose practice is in Coral Gables, did not immediately return a telephone message Saturday seeking comment. Have a tip or story idea? . All Rights Reserved. The DNA profile was entered into CODIS and matched to an individual who had no connection to DuBoise. Very little pointed to 18-year-old Robert DuBoise as the man responsible for the vicious rape and murder of 19-year-old Barbara Grams, who wasfound bludgeoned to deathin August 1983. Press "Enter" or click on the arrow to show results. During the medical examiners autopsy, he found a pattern injury on the victims face that was determined to be a human bite mark inflicted around the time of her death. 14 connections. The Innocence Project began investigating DuBoises case in 2018 due to both the unreliable informant testimony and flawed bite mark analysis on which the case rested. Thank you for visiting us. DuBoise has been deprived of all the basic pleasures of human experience, which all free people enjoy as a matter of right., Republished with permission of The Associated Press. Judge Nash reduced that sentence to time served and set a September 14 hearing date for the presentation of evidence to overturn his conviction. Souviron famously helped authorities convict Ted Bundy for the 1979 murder of Lisa Levy based on the bite mark the notorious serial killer left on the victims buttocks. (September 14, 2020 Tampa, Florida) Today, Robert DuBoise was exonerated from all charges in the 1983 rape and murder of a young woman in Tampa, Florida. The family of the victim deserves to have the truth, and this new evidence helps reveal the truth for all of us., Mr. Warren said he had apologized to Mr. DuBoise on behalf of the entire criminal justice system., The only person who benefits from wrongful conviction is the actual perpetrator, Mr. Warren said. He served three years on death row before the Florida Supreme Court vacated his death sentence. My small donations dont seem much but together we can all make a difference! View FREE Public Profile & Reputation for Robert Dubois in Titusville, FL - See Court Records | Photos | Address, Emails & Phone Number | Personal Review | $70 - $79,999 Income & Net Worth Although DuBoise was the charged perpetrator, there was no other physical or circumstantial evidence connecting him to the attack. Robert DuBoise leaves the Hardee County Correctional Institute after 37 years in prison. His innocence was proven after a review of the case by the Hillsborough county state attorneys office and the Innocence Project, which works nationwide. Convicted of murder and sentenced to death, his sentence was reduced in 1988 to life in prison until his exoneration and release last year. Supreme Court vacated his death sentence: public safety, fairness and justice dr. Souviron concluded that it a. Duboise will be the 171st documented death-row exoneration in the U.S. since 1973 Sexual Battery, Conviction: Capital and! 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