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Wrongly
Convicted Database
Record
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Years
Imprisoned:
|
16 |
Charge: |
Rape |
Sentence: |
Life Imprisonment |
Year Convicted: |
1987 |
Year
Cleared:
|
2003 |
Location
of Trial:
|
Louisiana |
Result:
|
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary
of Case:
|
Wrongly convicted in 1987 of raping a 13 year old girl based on the girls false identification and a radio belonging to the girl found in his possession. He claimed to have found the radio in the street. He was telling the truth, given the fact the girl testified a single man attacked her and Gene Bibbins was excluded as her attacker. Apparently her attacker grabbed the radio and then dropped it in his haste to get away. The results from two DNA tests unavailable at the time of his conviction excluded him as the girl's attacker. His convictions were vacated and the charges dismissed on March 7, 2003. Awarded $150,000 in compensation in February 2006. That was the maximum award allowed under Louisiana's compensation statute. In May 2008 the City of Baton Rouge settled Bibbins federal civil rights lawsuit against the city for $1 million. Bibbins will receive about $600,000 after his legal fees and a payment to the Innocence Project for work they performed on his 2003 exoneration. |
Conviction
Caused By:
|
False eyewitness testimony by the victim. |
Innocence
Proved By:
|
DNA
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Defendant
Aided By:
|
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Compensation Awarded: |
$1.15 million total. $150k from State of Louisiana plus $1 million from the City of Baton Rouge (May 2008) |
Was Perpetrator Found? |
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Age
When Imprisoned:
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Age
When Released:
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Information Source 1: |
"After 16 Years, DNA Frees Man Imprisoned For Rape," (AP), Seattle Times, December 8, 2002, p. A12." |
Information
Location 1:
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Information
Source 2:
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2nd DNA Test Clears Man in La. Rape Case, New Orleans (AP), Guardian Unlimited, London, UK, Dec. 7, 2002 |
Information
Location 2:
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-2225837,00.html |
Information
Source 3:
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Prison term worth 150,000, The Advocate (Baton Rouge), February 7, 2006 |
Information
Location 3:
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http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/2268586.html |
Information
Source 4:
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Metro council OKs $1 million settlement, By Scott Dyer, The Advocate (Baton Rouge), May 15, 2008 |
Information
Location 4:
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http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/18961794.html?showAll=y&c=y |
Information
Source 5:
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Information
Location 5:
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Ethnicity/Skin:
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Black |
Book
About
Case:
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Book
Information:
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Book About Case (2): |
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Book Information (2): |
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Movie About Case: |
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Comments About Case: |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org