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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Rape |
Sentence: |
Life Imprisonment |
Years Imprisoned: |
37.5 |
Year Crime: |
1980 |
Year Convicted: |
1980 |
Year Cleared: |
2018 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Delaware |
County or Region of Crime: |
New Castle |
City of Crime: |
Wilmington |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Elmer Daniels was wrongly convicted in 1980 of the rape of a 15-year-old girl in Wilmington, Delaware. Daniels' prosecution was based on the eyewitness testimony of the victim who picked him out of 300 photos, and the testimony of FBI crime lab technician Special Agent Michael Malone, that a head hair with the same microscopic characteristics as Daniels' hair was found on the girl's panties, and that a pair of Daniels' pants seized by police from his home had a pubic hair with the same characteristics as the girl's pubic hair. Daniels testified in his defense that at the time of the rape he was playing basketball with friends at the Latin American Community Center. Several alibi witnesses testified that he was at the Community Center or in its vicinity at the approximate time of the rape. After his conviction by a jury the 18-year-old Daniels was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Based on the FBI's public acknowledgment in 2015 that microscopic hair analysis is not scientifically reliable, Daniels' attorney Emeka Igwe contacted the FBI about the flawed testimony in Daniels' case, and the U.S. Dept. of Justice notified the state about that unreliable testimony in January 2018. Igwe also discovered that contrary to testimony Daniels and the girl were not in the same class in school. That was important because the allegation they were in the same class was the basis for butting Daniels picture in the photo lineup from which the victim selected him as her assailant. The prosecution decided, considering the unreliable FBI expert testimony and that under today's sentencing guidelines Daniels' would have been subject to a 15 year sentence, to file a motion to dismiss the charges against him. The motion was granted by a Superior Court judge and Daniels was released on December 13, 2018. Daniels had been released on parole in 2015 but after eight months of freedom his parole was revoked for a second violation: He took a mandated class as a convicted sex offender, but he was denied a certificate of completion because he refused to accept responsibility for his crime." |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
"The prosecution decided, considering the unreliable FBI expert testimony and that under today's sentencing guidelines Daniels' would have been subject to a 15 year sentence, to file a motion to dismiss the charges against him. The motion was granted by a Superior Court judge and Daniels was released on December 13, 2018." |
Defendant Aided By: |
Philadelphia Attorney Emeka Igwe and private investigator Terrance Jones. |
Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
18 |
Age When Released: |
57 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Flawed testimony led to his conviction 39 years ago. Now, prosecutors say he can go free, By Brittany Horn, Delaware News-Journal, December 14, 2018" |
Information Location 1: |
https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/crime/2018/12/05/delaware-mans-life-sentence-prison-changed-flawed-fbi-testimony/2193013002/ |
Information Source 2: |
"Had it not been for this attorney, Elmer Daniels might still be in jail. Here's why, By Brittany Horn, Delaware News-Journal, December 18, 2018" |
Information Location 2: |
https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/crime/2018/12/18/after-39-years-prison-freed-delaware-man-stands-innocence/2231775002/ |
Information Source 3: |
"Alleged wrongfully convicted man hopes for freedom for his 57th birthday, By Amy Cherry, WDEL.com (Wilmington, DE), December 11, 2018" |
Information Location 3: |
https://www.wdel.com/news/alleged-wrongfully-convicted-man-hopes-for-freedom-for-his-th/article_b36e3a0e-fccc-11e8-ac7e-77361434f1b1.html |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org