Gary Dotson

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Charge:	Rape and Kidnapping (abduction)
Sentence:	25 to 50 years
Years Imprisoned:	8
Year Crime:	1977
Year Convicted:	1979
Year Cleared:	2003
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Illinois
County or Region of Crime:	Cook
City of Crime:	Chicago
Result:	Pardoned
Summary of Case:	"Gary Dotson was wrongly convicted in 1977 of rape and kidnapping based on the eyewitness testimony of the 15-year-old victim", and hair analysis that didn't exclude him. Gary Dotson was sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison. In 1985 the victim recanted. She said she made up the rape story to cover up that she had sex with her boyfriend after she had joined a fundamentalist Baptist church, and she was afraid she had become pregnant. She said that Dotson had never had sex with her and she was never raped. Dotson's conviction was vacated based on the new evidence, and he was released in 1985 after 8 years in prison based on her fabricated rape story. The DA dropped the charges in 1989, and DNA tests in 1999 excluded him as being the source of sperm recovered from the then girl. Dotson was pardoned by IL Gov. George Ryan on Jan. 9, 2003."
Conviction Caused By:	Perjury by alleged victim to conceal that she had consensual sex with her boyfriend. Misconduct by prosecution's forensic expert about seman and hair analysis
Innocence Proved By:	"DNA & Victim Recantation. She made up the rape story and falsely accused Dotson, who she never had sex with, to cover up that she had sex with her boyfriend after she joined a fundamentalist Baptist church."
Defendant Aided By:	Innocence Project NY
Compensation Awarded:	"$60,150 (State of Illinois, Aug 25, 2003)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	20
Age When Released:	28
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	Innocence Project database
Information Location 1:	http://www.innocenceproject.org/case/display_profile.php?id=01
Information Source 2:	"Convicted by Juries, Exonerated by Science: Case Studies in the Use of DNA Evidence to Establish Innocence after Trial, by Edward Connors, Thomas Lundregan, Neal Miller and Tom McEwen (US DOJ, National Institute of Justice, June 1996)"
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Information Source 3:	"LA Times, 8-15-89"
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Gary Dotson

Charge:

Rape and Kidnapping (abduction)

Sentence:

25 to 50 years

Years Imprisoned:

8

Year Crime:

1977

Year Convicted:

1979

Year Cleared:

2003

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Illinois

County or Region of Crime:

Cook

City of Crime:

Chicago

Result:

Pardoned

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Perjury by alleged victim to conceal that she had consensual sex with her boyfriend. Misconduct by prosecution's forensic expert about seman and hair analysis

Innocence Proved By:

"DNA & Victim Recantation. She made up the rape story and falsely accused Dotson, who she never had sex with, to cover up that she had sex with her boyfriend after she joined a fundamentalist Baptist church."

Defendant Aided By:

Innocence Project NY

Compensation Awarded:

"$60,150 (State of Illinois, Aug 25, 2003)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

20

Age When Released:

28

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

Innocence Project database

Information Location 1:

http://www.innocenceproject.org/case/display_profile.php?id=01

Information Source 2:

"Convicted by Juries, Exonerated by Science: Case Studies in the Use of DNA Evidence to Establish Innocence after Trial, by Edward Connors, Thomas Lundregan, Neal Miller and Tom McEwen (US DOJ, National Institute of Justice, June 1996)"

Information Location 2:

Information Source 3:

"LA Times, 8-15-89"

Information Location 3:

Information Source 4:

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: