Clyde Charles

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Charge:	Rape
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	18.67
Year Crime:	1981
Year Convicted:	1982
Year Cleared:	1999
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Louisiana
County or Region of Crime:	Terrebonne
City of Crime:	Houma
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Charles Clyde was wrongly convicted of raping a nurse in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana based on the victim's erroneous eyewitness identification. The nurse told police immediately after being raped that a clean shaven black man had raped her. Several hours later a deputy arrested the fully bearded Charles Clyde as he walked down the highway. He was taken to the victim and she identified Charles even though he didn't physically resemble her description of the rapist. Convicted by an all-white jury, Clyde was sentenced to life in prison. In 1999 he was excluded as the woman's assailant by tests of the assailants semen by DNA testing unavailable at the time of his trial. Based on the new evidence Clyde's conviction was overturned and he was released on December 17, 1999 just prior to Christmas. Clyde was wrongly imprisoned for almost 19 years. Charles was awarded $250,000 compensation by the State of Louisiana. The same DNA test that exonerated Charles implicated his brother Marlo Clyde as the rapist. Marlo was arrested four months after Charles' release, and in 2002 Marlo was convicted of raping the nurse and sentenced to life in prison. Charles died of natural causes on January 7, 2009. He was 55 and suffered from a number of physical ailments, including diabetes that required dialysis. Clyde was the first prisoner in the United States to sue under the federal Civil Rights Act to get his DNA compared with crime scene evidence."
Conviction Caused By:	"Eyewitness error of the victim, who had described her attacker as a clean shaven black man, while the innocent Charles Clyde was fully bearded.."
Innocence Proved By:	In 1999 Charles Clyde was excluded as the woman's assailant by tests of the assailants semen by DNA testing unavailable at the time of his trial. Based on the new evidence Clyde's conviction was overturned and he was released in December 1999 just prior to Christmas.
Defendant Aided By:	His two sisters provided the outside contacts necessary to keep his case alive until the Innocence Project New York became involved.
Compensation Awarded:	"$250,000 (State of Louisiana)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:	26
Age When Released:	45
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"La. man exonerated by DNA testing dies at age 55, AP story, The Times-Picayune, January 13, 2009"
Information Location 1:	http://www.nola.com/ap/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-45/1231908086288400.xml&storylist=topstories
Information Source 2:	"La. man exonerated by DNA testing dies at age 55, Associated Press story, January 13, 2009"
Information Location 2:	http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jn60TMI8apJCcZrPI1kdvu0isCogD95MI85G4
Information Source 3:	"Clyde Charles, The Case for Innocence, Frontline, PBS"
Information Location 3:	http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/case/cases/
Information Source 4:	Innocence Project database
Information Location 4:	http://www.innocenceproject.org/case/display_profile.php?id=63
Information Source 5:	"New Orleans Time-Picayune, January 19, 2000."
Information Location 5:
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Clyde Charles

Charge:

Rape

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

18.67

Year Crime:

1981

Year Convicted:

1982

Year Cleared:

1999

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Louisiana

County or Region of Crime:

Terrebonne

City of Crime:

Houma

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

"Eyewitness error of the victim, who had described her attacker as a clean shaven black man, while the innocent Charles Clyde was fully bearded.."

Innocence Proved By:

In 1999 Charles Clyde was excluded as the woman's assailant by tests of the assailants semen by DNA testing unavailable at the time of his trial. Based on the new evidence Clyde's conviction was overturned and he was released in December 1999 just prior to Christmas.

Defendant Aided By:

His two sisters provided the outside contacts necessary to keep his case alive until the Innocence Project New York became involved.

Compensation Awarded:

"$250,000 (State of Louisiana)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

26

Age When Released:

45

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"La. man exonerated by DNA testing dies at age 55, AP story, The Times-Picayune, January 13, 2009"

Information Location 1:

http://www.nola.com/ap/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-45/1231908086288400.xml&storylist=topstories

Information Source 2:

"La. man exonerated by DNA testing dies at age 55, Associated Press story, January 13, 2009"

Information Location 2:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jn60TMI8apJCcZrPI1kdvu0isCogD95MI85G4

Information Source 3:

"Clyde Charles, The Case for Innocence, Frontline, PBS"

Information Location 3:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/case/cases/

Information Source 4:

Innocence Project database

Information Location 4:

http://www.innocenceproject.org/case/display_profile.php?id=63

Information Source 5:

"New Orleans Time-Picayune, January 19, 2000."

Information Location 5:

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