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Wrongly
Convicted Database
Record
|
Years
Imprisoned:
|
22 |
Charge: |
Rape |
Sentence: |
11 to 35 years |
Year Convicted: |
1987 |
Year
Cleared:
|
2007 |
Location
of Trial:
|
New York |
Result:
|
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary
of Case:
|
Wrongly convicted in 1987 of two rapes based solely on the eyewitness identification of the victims. Anthony Capozzi was sentenced to 11 to 35 years in prison, and was offered parole if he would admit his guilt, which he refused to do. Capozzi was released on April 3, 2007, after DNA tests excluded him as the assailant. Buffalo PD cold case detective Dennis A. Delano was a key person in Capozzi's exoneration. Anthony Capozzi was wrongly imprisoned for 21 years, 7 months, and 22 days, plus the time he awaited trial. In June 2010 Capozzi settled for $4,250,000 his claim against the State of New York filed with the State Court of Claims. |
Conviction
Caused By:
|
Erroneous eyewitness testimony by the victims. |
Innocence
Proved By:
|
DNA tests excluded him as the assailant. The actual assailant later pled guilty to three counts of murder.
|
Defendant
Aided By:
|
Buffalo PD cold case detective Dennis A. Delano. |
Compensation Awarded: |
$4,250,000 (June 2010) |
Was Perpetrator Found? |
|
Age
When Imprisoned:
|
28 |
Age
When Released:
|
50 |
Information Source 1: |
Capozzi gets first taste of freedom, By Michael Beebe and John F. Bonfatti, The Buffalo News, April 5, 2007 |
Information
Location 1:
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http://www.buffalonews.com/101/story/46283.html?imw=Y |
Information
Source 2:
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Capozzi officially cleared of rape charges, By Michael Beebe, The Buffalo News, April 3, 2007 |
Information
Location 2:
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http://www.buffalonews.com/101/story/45497.html |
Information
Source 3:
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Capozzi gets $4.25 million from state in settlement, By Stephen T. Watson (staff), Buffalo News (Buffalo, NY), August 20, 2010 |
Information
Location 3:
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http://www.buffalonews.com/city/article89784.ece |
Information
Source 4:
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Location 4:
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Source 5:
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Location 5:
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Ethnicity/Skin:
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About
Case:
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Information:
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org