Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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William E. Barnhouse

 

Charge:

Rape

Sentence:

80 years

Years Imprisoned:

25

Year Crime:

1992

Year Convicted:

1992

Year Cleared:

2017

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Indiana

County or Region of Crime:

Delaware

City of Crime:

Muncie

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

"William E. Barnhouse was wrongly convicted in December 1992 of rape and criminal deviate conduct in the sexual assault of a woman on April 21, 1992 behind a vancant building near downtown Muncie, Indiana. Barnhouse's prosecution was based on the his identification by the victim, after he was apprehended near the crime scene. Barnhouse had been previously accused, but not convicted, of multiple sexual assaults. William Barnhouse was sentenced to 80 years in prison. In January 2016 the Delaware County District Attorney's Office agreed to post-conviction DNA testing of semen on the victim's pants and in her body. The DNA testing excluded Barnhouse as a source of the semen. On February 24, 2017 the Innocence Project in New York announced it was representing Barnhouse. Five days later, on March 1, 2017, the Delaware County District Attorney's Office and the IP lawyers submitted a joint petition to set-aside Barnhouse's conviction based on the new exculpatory DNA evidence. On March 8, 2017 the motion was granted by Delaware Circuit Court 2 Judge Kimberly Dowling. The DA's Office declined to retry Barnhouse, and their motion to dismiss the charges was granted, and Barnhouse was ordered immediately released."

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"Based on the new exculpatory DNA evidence the Delaware County District Attorney's Office and Barnhouse's lawyers submitted a joint petition to set-aside Barnhouse's conviction. On March 8, 2017 the motion was granted by Delaware Circuit Court 2 Judge Kimberly Dowling. The DA's motion to dismiss the charges was granted and Barnhouse was ordered immediately released."

Defendant Aided By:

Innocence Project in New York

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

35

Age When Released:

60

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Muncie man walks free after rape conviction set aside, By Douglas Walker, The Star Press (Muncie, Ind.), March 8, 2017"

Information Location 1:

http://www.thestarpress.com/story/news/crime/2017/03/08/muncie-man-walks-free-after-rape-conviction-set-aside/98876014/

Information Source 2:

"Muncie man's '92 rape conviction to be set aside, By Douglas Walker, The Star Press (Muncie, Ind.), March 1, 2017"

Information Location 2:

http://www.thestarpress.com/story/news/crime/2017/03/01/muncie-mans-92-rape-conviction-set-aside/98592716/

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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org

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