[Great68]

DNA Clears Man After 28 Years Behind Bars

CLEVELAND — An Ohio man who spent nearly 30 years in prison is being released after new DNA tests showed he didn’t rape an 11-year-old girl.

Raymond Towler had been serving a life sentence for the rape of a girl in a Cleveland park in 1981. Cuyahoga (ky-uh-HOH’-guh) County Common Pleas Judge Eileen Gallagher choked back tears as she vacated the conviction on Wednesday and left the bench to shake Towler’s hand at the defense table.
Prosecutors had asked the court to act immediately after receiving the test results Monday.
The Ohio Innocence Project, an organization that uses DNA evidence to clear people wrongfully convicted of crimes, says Towler has served the second-longest amount of time among prisoners in the U.S. who were eventually exonerated by DNA.



Holy shit, I can't imagine how it would feel loose 1/3 of your life knowing you're innocent... I hope he sues.

[CRS]

He's going to sue but it is going to be settle outside of court.

Even then, what amount of money can amount to the time spent in prison when you are surrounded by murders and rapists. Even though this guy was innocent, the prison system has a messed up morale code where child-murders and rapists get treated the worst.

How can you give back 28 years to a man? How can you give back all the shit he would have endured in prison for being a child rapist? How can you give back a man his life?

[StylinRed]

sadly this happens all too frequently

many states are abolishing the death penalty because too many people are found to be innocent

Illinois put a moratorium on it after the governor found out over half those on death row were proven to be innocent due to DNA

there's another famous case where a man (Frank Lee Smith) died in prison from cancer while fighting for his innocence, it was proven after he died that he was innocent



i think all states in the US pay have reparation laws for circumstances like these, and among other reasons im not exactly certain if he can sue

[Great68]

sadly this happens all too frequently

many states are abolishing the death penalty because too many people are found to be innocent

Illinois put a moratorium on it after the governor found out over half those on death row were proven to be innocent due to DNA

there's another famous case where a man (Frank Lee Smith) died in prison from cancer while fighting for his innocence, it was proven after he died that he was innocent

Exactly. There are a lot of people in favour of Capital Punishment... For me, one innocent life taken by Capital Punishment is one too many. Society just should not take that risk.

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

wtf how he gonna get repaid now geez

28 freaking years

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

sadly this happens all too frequently

many states are abolishing the death penalty because too many people are found to be innocent

Illinois put a moratorium on it after the governor found out over half those on death row were proven to be innocent due to DNA

there's another famous case where a man (Frank Lee Smith) died in prison from cancer while fighting for his innocence, it was proven after he died that he was innocent



i think all states in the US pay have reparation laws for circumstances like these, and among other reasons im not exactly certain if he can sue

dude not like serving ur entire life in prison is any better. Hell if i was innocent and got accused, i probably wish i was dead instead spending 30 years with murders and rapists.

[Ax2-Y]

sadly this happens all too frequently

many states are abolishing the death penalty because too many people are found to be innocent

I dont know about "frequently"...
Forensic DNA technology has been around for atleast 15 years and that is why in the 90's you saw a large number of people being exonerated through DNA testing. Now a days, it is really quite rare to have a case like this popping up.

The injustice in this guys case is why it took ~15 years to have his DNA finally tested when the technology was there a long time ago. The testing should have been done years ago and he should already be a free man. As such, he's gonna get paiiiiiid
http://www.orchidfootwear.com/news/wp-content/LumpyRainPhoto450w.jpg

[hotjoint]

wow. I wonder how much he'll get

[Greenstoner]

i hope he gets shit load of money and education and a career, i really feel bad for him.

[RRxtar]

according to google hes 52.

[AzNightmare]

How old is this man?

And how did he end up being the one wrongly accused?
Did he just look like the real rapist?
Was his DNA similar to the real rapist?

Was he completely a stranger and innocent to the incident and
just bad luck? Or was he a part of the incident somehow, but just didn't
do the actual crime so he's off the hook?
I don't get it.

[Grim]

28yrs..
Wasted..
Things must b a drastic change for him
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[CRS]

How old is this man?

And how did he end up being the one wrongly accused?
Did he just look like the real rapist?
Was his DNA similar to the real rapist?

Was he completely a stranger and innocent to the incident and
just bad luck? Or was he a part of the incident somehow, but just didn't
do the actual crime so he's off the hook?
I don't get it.

DNA evidence wasn't quite perfected when he was arrested and tried.

[7seven]

No amount of money can make up for what this guy has been through.

[AzNightmare]

DNA evidence wasn't quite perfected when he was arrested and tried.

Yeah, but what I'm asking is...
Was it completely random by chance this guy got tagged?

Why couldn't it have been you or me? Or the guy down the street?

That's basically what I'm asking.

[LiquidTurbo]

That is brutal. Poor guy.

[7seven]

Yeah, but what I'm asking is...
Was it completely random by chance this guy got tagged?

Why couldn't it have been you or me? Or the guy down the street?

That's basically what I'm asking.

In May 1981, the victim and her 13-year-old male cousin were walking their bicycles in the Rocky River Reservation of Cleveland Metroparks. The rapist lured the children behind some bushes by asking them to help with an injured deer. He then pulled a gun and forced the boy to watch the rape, police said.

Towler was arrested 19 days later when a ranger stopped him for a traffic violation in the park. The ranger noticed that Towler resembled a drawing of the rape suspect. The victim and witnesses identified Towler from a photo, police said.

A jury found Towler guilty. A judge sentenced him to life in prison plus an additional 12 to 40 years for crimes against the boy.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/11/dna_evidence_raises_questions.html

[411ken]

I wonder what the victim thinks about all this now? She is 39yrs old..

[fishing666]

being in jail is a full time job all the time job so he will get paid
28yrs x 35$/hr * 24hrs/day * 365days/year
i ignored inflation and interest

Ohio owes him $8 584 800 taxable dollars

that amount of money will bring him justice.

[twitchyzero]

how did the preserve the dna for 30 years?
they put the semen in the fridge and hope that in the future there will be dna technology?

[Great68]

that amount of money will bring him justice.

It's compensation, but by no means is it "Justice".

[Manic!]

how did the preserve the dna for 30 years?
they put the semen in the fridge and hope that in the future there will be dna technology?

DNA does not have to be kept refrigerated. You could have a blood stain on a cloth thats been sitting in a room for years and still get DNA evidence off it.


Under federal law, compensation would be $50,000 per year of incarceration.
http://www.legalinfo360.com/2010/02/man-finally-found-innocent-after-28-years-in-jail-2/

[!Yaminashi]

I seriously hope he gets more than 1,500,000

[Boostaholic]

reminds me of that movie The Shawshank Redemption. This guy is probably institutionalized to the point that when he comes out, he won't know what the hell there is to do.

[Ulic Qel-Droma]

i'd use the money to take out the entire victim's family and the judge and the jury. ;)

or actually i would invest it first, so i have more left over after to go on vacation yeahhhhh.

[JSilver]

Imagine the victims family; the amount of hatred and justice they had when they believed they had the right guy behind bars.

They must feel guilty as shit.

[v.Rossi]

shit i always took the fact that if you did nothing, you have nothing to lose. i guess that doesnt always work out, 28 years... damn.

[Vansterdam]

No amount of money can make up for what this guy has been through.

QFT

28 years holy fuck

[flagella]

The world has pretty much changed in 28 years.

[sleazyho]

If i were him i would find the bitch and rape her for real

[Poonpee]

24 to 52 omg... Could do alot in that age/time

The guy who did it probably laughing right now !

[silva95teg]

Aother issue is someone probably did rape the 11 year old and he served their time.

[FerrariEnzo]

damn.. no amount of money will SUFFICE after being in jail for 28 years.. i dnt think i would want to leave.. knowing how much the world has changed..

ITS pretty much too late for him to have a family, tack on another 19 years to watch your kid grow up... hes gona be 60!!! at least his kids will enjoy the money... wow soo fucked...

[shenmecar]

It took 28 years to find DNA evidence of the true rapist to compare with this innocent man? X.x

[twitchyzero]

DNA does not have to be kept refrigerated. You could have a blood stain on a cloth thats been sitting in a room for years and still get DNA evidence off it.


interesting..i'd thought bodily fluids won't last only nails and hair.

[Phil@rise]

If i were him i would find the bitch and rape her for real

Fuck you you piece of shit! She was an 11 year old kid how is it her fault?!

[you!]

owned

[gabbergabber]

28 years in the slammer.... What can he do now..

[JSALES]

28 years, feel bad for the guy

[Kim Jong Un]

He probably lost a grip of society.

[Not really racist!]

Damage has been done, poor guy is probably scarred for life now

[Energy]

Wow those were the best years of his life too. He could've had a career, gotten married, had kids etc etc etc but now that's all gone.

He'll have to get justice somehow.

[iwantaskyline]

Fuck you you piece of shit! She was an 11 year old kid how is it her fault?!

Because she and the boy with her (during the rape) identified him as the rapist in court. Which makes it her fault.

[vafanculo]

Also for being convicted with a crime like that he didn't have an easy time in jail either.
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[SkinnyPupp]

QFT

28 years holy fuck
28 hard years. Life in prison must be especially bad if you're in there for raping an 11 year old.

[Hehe]

If i were him i would find the bitch and rape her for real

Double jeopardy at its finest. :D

[Phil@rise]

Because she and the boy with her (during the rape) identified him as the rapist in court. Which makes it her fault.

You need a grip on reality too they were pulled into the bush via gun point and were fucking children! Don't you think they were scared and maybe their memories not so good after the fact. You don't think this dude was maybe similar looking to the real perp, you idiots don't think that maybe the prosecutors persuaded the kids to finger this dude. There's plenty of reasons why this dude might have gotten fingered and none of them are the childrens fault!

[iwantaskyline]

You need a grip on reality too they were pulled into the bush via gun point and were fucking children! Don't you think they were scared and maybe their memories not so good after the fact. You don't think this dude was maybe similar looking to the real perp, you idiots don't think that maybe the prosecutors persuaded the kids to finger this dude. There's plenty of reasons why this dude might have gotten fingered and none of them are the childrens fault!

That's not the point is it? They identified him as the rapist, they were the cause of him going to jail for 28 years. Which means its their fault. I'm not saying they're bad people.

[ToneCapone]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00715/TOWLER_1C_585x350_715251a.jpg

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article7120167.ece

a more interesting read on this.

"Under state law, Mr Towler is entitled to $40,330 (£27,350) for every year of his wrongful imprisonment, not including lost wages and any damages he may win by suing the Ohio Department of Corrections. A previous inmate wrongfully jailed for a shorter period was awarded $1.4 million."

[sleazyho]

You need a grip on reality too they were pulled into the bush via gun point and were fucking children! Don't you think they were scared and maybe their memories not so good after the fact. You don't think this dude was maybe similar looking to the real perp, you idiots don't think that maybe the prosecutors persuaded the kids to finger this dude. There's plenty of reasons why this dude might have gotten fingered and none of them are the childrens fault!

Youre missing the point. The kids put that guy in jail fully knowing he was completely innocent. Theyre basically just as bad as the rapist, maybe even worse. And now that chick is ignoring their phone calls. Bitch knows what she did was wrong.

[Kim Jong Un]

Just because he's black, that's probably why.