Joseph Lamont Abbitt

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Charge:	Rape
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	14.5
Year Crime:	1991
Year Convicted:	1995
Year Cleared:	2009
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	North Carolina
County or Region of Crime:	Forsyth
City of Crime:
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Joseph Lamont Abbitt was wrongly convicted on June 22, 1995, of two counts of first-degree rape, one count of first-degree burglary and two counts of first-degree kidnapping on May 2, 1991 sexual assaults of a 16-year-old girl and her 13-year-old sister in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The girls told police that the man looked like Joseph Abbitt, who had previously lived in the neighborhood and a warrant was issued for his arrest. In 1994 Abbitt was arrested in Texas after he was arrested for writing bad checks. He was convicted in 1995 based on the eyewitness testimony of the two girls, and he was sentenced to life in prison. In 2009 DNA testing unavailable at the time of his trial excluded him as the girl's assailant. Abbitt filed a motion for a new trial based on the new forensic evidence. On September 2, 2009 Abbitt's conviction was vacated by a Forsyth Superior Court judge and he was released later that day. Abbitt was jailed one year awaiting trial, and spent another 14 year in prison, for a total of 15 years of incarceration. Abbitt was the seventh convicted man in North Carolina exonerated by DNA evidence. Abbitt wasn't awarded any compensation by the State of North Carolina, and in 2013 his federal civil rights lawsuit was dismissed. In March 2015 Abbitt died in an automobile accident."
Conviction Caused By:	Erroneous eyewitness testimony by the two victims.
Innocence Proved By:	"In 2009 DNA testing unavailable at the time of his trial excluded him as the girl's assailant. Abbitt filed a motion for a new trial based on the new forensic evidence. On September 2, 2009 Abbitt's conviction was vacated by a Forsyth Superior Court judge and he was released later that day."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	Federal lawsuit dismissed.
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	34
Age When Released:	49
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Abbitt is a free man - Exonerated by DNA after 14 years, he feels a bit lost, By Michael Hewlett and Wesley Young, Winston-Salem Journal, September 3, 2009"
Information Location 1:	http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2009/sep/03/abbitt-is-a-free-man/news/
Information Source 2:
Information Location 2:	http://www.charlotteobserver.com/local/story/924364.html
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Joseph Lamont Abbitt

Charge:

Rape

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

14.5

Year Crime:

1991

Year Convicted:

1995

Year Cleared:

2009

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

North Carolina

County or Region of Crime:

Forsyth

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Erroneous eyewitness testimony by the two victims.

Innocence Proved By:

"In 2009 DNA testing unavailable at the time of his trial excluded him as the girl's assailant. Abbitt filed a motion for a new trial based on the new forensic evidence. On September 2, 2009 Abbitt's conviction was vacated by a Forsyth Superior Court judge and he was released later that day."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Federal lawsuit dismissed.

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

34

Age When Released:

49

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Abbitt is a free man - Exonerated by DNA after 14 years, he feels a bit lost, By Michael Hewlett and Wesley Young, Winston-Salem Journal, September 3, 2009"

Information Location 1:

http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2009/sep/03/abbitt-is-a-free-man/news/

Information Source 2:

Information Location 2:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/local/story/924364.html

Information Source 3:

Information Location 3:

Information Source 4:

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: