Dwayne Allen Dail

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Charge:	Child/Minor Sexual Assault
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	18
Year Crime:	1987
Year Convicted:	1989
Year Cleared:	2007
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	North Carolina
County or Region of Crime:	Wayne
City of Crime:	Goldsboro
Result:	Pardoned
Summary of Case:	"Dwayne Allen Dail was wrongly convicted in 1989 of raping a 12-year-old girl on September 4, 1987. He was immediately sentenced to two terms of life in prison plus 20 years on the same day as his conviction. Dwayne Dail turned down a plea bargain prior to his trial for three years probation. On August 28, 2007, Dail's conviction was vacated based on DNA testing of the assailant's semen on the girl's nightgown that excluded him as the girl's attacker. The DNA was matched to another man already imprisoned for another crime. Dail was wrongly imprisoned for 18 years after his conviction. North Carolina Governor Mike Easley pardoned Dail on October 10, 2007. Dail was awarded a total of $750,000 in compensation by the State of North Carolina. In January 2008 Dail was awarded $368,493 under North Carolina's state compensation statute -- $20k for each of his 18 years of imprisonment after his conviction. In September 2008 Dail was awarded an additional $381,507 in compensation by the State of North Carolina when the state law limits were increased in July 2008 to $50,000 per year up to a maximum of $750,000 (15 years). Dail filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Goldsboro that was settled in 2013 for $7,500,000."
Conviction Caused By:	"Eyewitness error by the victim, and the prosecution's expert testified that hairs believed to have originated from the attacker were similar to Dial's hair."
Innocence Proved By:	"On August 28, 2007, Dail's conviction was vacated based on DNA testing of crime scene evidence that excluded him as the girl's assailant. "
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$8,250,000 total. $7,500,000 (City of Goldsboro, 2013) and $750,000 total. $368,493 (State of NC, Jan. 2008) and $381,507 (State of NC, Sept. 2008)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:	21
Age When Released:	39
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"A search for evidence long-though-destroyed cleared dail, By Anessa Myers (staff), Goldsboro News-Argus, August 29, 2007"
Information Location 1:	http://www.newsargus.com/news/archives/2007/08/29/a_search_for_evidence_longthoughdestroyed_cleared_dail/index.shtml
Information Source 2:	"Wrongly convicted man ready to live life, By Mandy Locke and Titan Barksdale (Staff Writers), The News and Observer, August 29, 2007"
Information Location 2:	http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/685778.html
Information Source 3:	"Hunt to get additional $391,000 from state, By James Romoser, Winston-Salem Journal, August 20, 2008."
Information Location 3:
Information Source 4:	"Payouts to the wrongly jailed get a big boost, By Lynn Bonner, The News and Observer (Raleigh, NC), July 19, 2008"
Information Location 4:	http://www.newsobserver.com/news/crime_safety/dail/story/1146797.html
Information Source 5:
Information Location 5:	http://www.newsobserver.com/news/crime_safety/dail/story/900008.html
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Dwayne Allen Dail

Charge:

Child/Minor Sexual Assault

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

18

Year Crime:

1987

Year Convicted:

1989

Year Cleared:

2007

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

North Carolina

County or Region of Crime:

Wayne

City of Crime:

Goldsboro

Result:

Pardoned

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

"Eyewitness error by the victim, and the prosecution's expert testified that hairs believed to have originated from the attacker were similar to Dial's hair."

Innocence Proved By:

"On August 28, 2007, Dail's conviction was vacated based on DNA testing of crime scene evidence that excluded him as the girl's assailant. "

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$8,250,000 total. $7,500,000 (City of Goldsboro, 2013) and $750,000 total. $368,493 (State of NC, Jan. 2008) and $381,507 (State of NC, Sept. 2008)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

21

Age When Released:

39

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"A search for evidence long-though-destroyed cleared dail, By Anessa Myers (staff), Goldsboro News-Argus, August 29, 2007"

Information Location 1:

http://www.newsargus.com/news/archives/2007/08/29/a_search_for_evidence_longthoughdestroyed_cleared_dail/index.shtml

Information Source 2:

"Wrongly convicted man ready to live life, By Mandy Locke and Titan Barksdale (Staff Writers), The News and Observer, August 29, 2007"

Information Location 2:

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/685778.html

Information Source 3:

"Hunt to get additional $391,000 from state, By James Romoser, Winston-Salem Journal, August 20, 2008."

Information Location 3:

Information Source 4:

"Payouts to the wrongly jailed get a big boost, By Lynn Bonner, The News and Observer (Raleigh, NC), July 19, 2008"

Information Location 4:

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/crime_safety/dail/story/1146797.html

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/crime_safety/dail/story/900008.html

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