Richard Alexander

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Charge:	"Attempted Rape, Robbery and Burglary"
Sentence:	70 years
Years Imprisoned:	5.33
Year Crime:	1996
Year Convicted:	1998
Year Cleared:	2001
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Indiana
County or Region of Crime:	St Joseph
City of Crime:	South Bend
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Richard Alexander was wrongly convicted of two rapes based on the eyewitness identification by the victims. In 2001 one of the perpetrators confessed and provided details only one of the victimizers could have known. DNA tests were then conducted on the attacker's hair collected from the crime scene. The DNA didn't match Alexander's DNA, but it did match that of a man -- Michael Murphy -- who confessed to one of the rapes Alexander had been convicted of committing when confronted with the DNA evidence. Alexander' was released after 5-1/2 years of wrongful imprisonment, and he filed a civil rights lawsuit claiming his rights had been violated during his prosecution. Alexander's lawsuit was dismissed by the US District Court judge. In January 2006 the federal Seventh Circuit Ct of Appeals upheld the dismissal of Alexander's civil rights lawsuit - ruling that he had not proven his rights were violated during the course of his wrongful conviction."
Conviction Caused By:	Eyewitness error. He was charged with rape on the basis of being picked out of lineups by witnesses who said his voice and build were similar to their attackers.
Innocence Proved By:	DNA tests conducted following the confession of one of the actual perpetrators.
Defendant Aided By:	Innocence Project
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:	29
Age When Released:	34
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	Innocence Project database
Information Location 1:	http://www.innocenceproject.org/case/display_profile.php?id=100
Information Source 2:	"Man Fails to convince court his rights were violated, Indianapolis Star, January 5, 2006"
Information Location 2:	http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060105/NEWS01/601050441/1006/NEWS01
Information Source 3:	"Alexander v. city of south bend, no. 04-2535 (7th cir. 01-03-2006)"
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Richard Alexander

Charge:

"Attempted Rape, Robbery and Burglary"

Sentence:

70 years

Years Imprisoned:

5.33

Year Crime:

1996

Year Convicted:

1998

Year Cleared:

2001

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Indiana

County or Region of Crime:

St Joseph

City of Crime:

South Bend

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Eyewitness error. He was charged with rape on the basis of being picked out of lineups by witnesses who said his voice and build were similar to their attackers.

Innocence Proved By:

DNA tests conducted following the confession of one of the actual perpetrators.

Defendant Aided By:

Innocence Project

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

29

Age When Released:

34

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

Innocence Project database

Information Location 1:

http://www.innocenceproject.org/case/display_profile.php?id=100

Information Source 2:

"Man Fails to convince court his rights were violated, Indianapolis Star, January 5, 2006"

Information Location 2:

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060105/NEWS01/601050441/1006/NEWS01

Information Source 3:

"Alexander v. city of south bend, no. 04-2535 (7th cir. 01-03-2006)"

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: