Thomas Doswell

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Charge:	Rape
Sentence:	13-26 years
Years Imprisoned:	19
Year Crime:	1986
Year Convicted:	1987
Year Cleared:	2005
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Pennsylvania
County or Region of Crime:	Allegheny
City of Crime:	Pittsburgh
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Thomas Dowsell was wrongly convicted in 1987 of the 1986 rape of a 48-year-old woman at a hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At the time of his conviction Doswell was 25 and the father of two young children. Misidentified by witnesses after police investigators encouraged them to pick him out of a photo array of eight men - since his picture was marked with a red R indicating he was a known rapist. Released on August 1, 2005 after the prosecution moved to dismiss the rape charge after DNA tests unavailable at time of Doswell's conviction - and which were opposed by the prosecution - excluded him as the woman's assailant.. Thomas Doswell was wrongly imprisoned for 18 years. In December 2009 the City of Pittsburgh's city council approved a $3.78 million settlement of Doswell's federal civil rights lawsuit against the city. Under the settlement Doswell was to be paid $1.26 million in 2010, 2011 and 2012, with his legal fees paid from those payments. In January 2014 Doswell was sentenced to 11½ to 23 months in the Alegheny County Jail after pleading guilty to evidence-tampering and possession of drugs and a gun. Doswell was barred from legally possessing a firearm because of a 30-year-old robbery conviction. On Christmas Day 2015 the 56-year-old Doswell was found dead on the Meadow Street Bridge walkway in Pittsburgh's Larimer neighborhood."
Conviction Caused By:	Police misconduct of influencing photo array to encourage witnesses to pick Doswell.
Innocence Proved By:	Prosecutor moved to dismiss rape charge after DNA test unavailable at time of conviction excluded Doswell as the woman's assailant.
Defendant Aided By:	Innocence Project NY
Compensation Awarded:	"$3.78 million (City of Pittsburgh, December 2009)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	25
Age When Released:	44
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Local Man: Not Bitter About Wrongful Conviction, KDKA - CBS Ch 2 (Pittsburgh, PA), August 1, 2005"
Information Location 1:	http://kdka.com/local/local_story_213123455.html
Information Source 2:	"Pennsylvania DNA Test Clears Prisoners, National Briefing, New York Times, August 2, 2005"
Information Location 2:	http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/02/national/02brfs.html
Information Source 3:	"Pittsburgh Council OKs $3.8M Conviction Settlement, Associated Press story, New York Times, December 28, 2009"
Information Location 3:	http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/12/28/us/AP-US-Rape-Exoneration-Settlement.html
Information Source 4:	"Man exonerated by DNA after 19 years in prison found dead, By Staff, WTAE-TV (Pittsburgh, Penn.), December 27, 2015"
Information Location 4:	http://www.wtae.com/news/Man-exonerated-by-DNA-after-19-years-in-prison-found-dead/37146360
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Thomas Doswell

Charge:

Rape

Sentence:

13-26 years

Years Imprisoned:

19

Year Crime:

1986

Year Convicted:

1987

Year Cleared:

2005

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Pennsylvania

County or Region of Crime:

Allegheny

City of Crime:

Pittsburgh

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Police misconduct of influencing photo array to encourage witnesses to pick Doswell.

Innocence Proved By:

Prosecutor moved to dismiss rape charge after DNA test unavailable at time of conviction excluded Doswell as the woman's assailant.

Defendant Aided By:

Innocence Project NY

Compensation Awarded:

"$3.78 million (City of Pittsburgh, December 2009)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

25

Age When Released:

44

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Local Man: Not Bitter About Wrongful Conviction, KDKA - CBS Ch 2 (Pittsburgh, PA), August 1, 2005"

Information Location 1:

http://kdka.com/local/local_story_213123455.html

Information Source 2:

"Pennsylvania DNA Test Clears Prisoners, National Briefing, New York Times, August 2, 2005"

Information Location 2:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/02/national/02brfs.html

Information Source 3:

"Pittsburgh Council OKs $3.8M Conviction Settlement, Associated Press story, New York Times, December 28, 2009"

Information Location 3:

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/12/28/us/AP-US-Rape-Exoneration-Settlement.html

Information Source 4:

"Man exonerated by DNA after 19 years in prison found dead, By Staff, WTAE-TV (Pittsburgh, Penn.), December 27, 2015"

Information Location 4:

http://www.wtae.com/news/Man-exonerated-by-DNA-after-19-years-in-prison-found-dead/37146360

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

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