Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Joseph Frey

 

Charge:

Rape

Sentence:

102 years

Years Imprisoned:

19

Year Crime:

1991

Year Convicted:

1994

Year Cleared:

2013

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Wisconsin

County or Region of Crime:

Winnebago

City of Crime:

Oshkosh

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

"Joseph Frey was wrongly convicted in Winnebago County, Wisconsin on February 2, 1994 of sexually assaulting a UW-Oshkosh student at knifepoint in her apartment in 1991. His conviction was based on the victim's not very confident identification of Frey, even though DNA testing of crime scene evidence didn't matvh his DNA profile, and an Oshkosh Police detective destroyed important evidence before the trial. Frey was sentenced to 102 years in prison. Based on exclusionary DNA testing results of crime scene evidence by testing techniques unavailable at the time of his trial, Frey's conviction was overturned on May 22, 2013, and he was released on $100,000 bond on July 12, 2013. The Winnebago County DA subsequently elected not to retry Frey and his chargez were dismissed. The DNA profile identified by the 2013 testing matched a man who after the 1991 attack sexually assault two sisters, ages 12 and 13, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. The man died before the testing in Frey's case was conducted. On March 19, 2014 the Wisconsin Claims Board awarded Frey $25,000 compensation -- the maximum the Board is authorized to award by Wisconsin law."

Conviction Caused By:

"Erroneous eyewitness identification by the victim, and destruction of important evidence by an Oshkosh Police detective before the trial."

Innocence Proved By:

"Frey's conviction was overturned on May 22, 2013 by new DNA evidence excluding him as the women's assailant, and he was released on $100,000 bond on July 12, 2013. The Winnebago County DA subsequently elected not to retry Frey and his rape charge was dismissed."

Defendant Aided By:

Wisconsin Innocence Project

Compensation Awarded:

"$25,000 (State of Wisconsin, March 2014)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

35

Age When Released:

54

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Man freed after 1994 rape conviction overturned, By Jennifer K. Woldt, (Oshkosh Northwestern Media), Wsconsin State Journal, July 13, 2013"

Information Location 1:

http://host.madison.com/news/local/crime_and_courts/man-freed-after-rape-conviction-overturned/article_1dd41a68-afc0-522e-82b7-62b383025bb0.html

Information Source 2:

"Wrongfully convicted Wisconsin prisoners could get increased compensation, By Staff writer, WMTV (Madison, Wisconsin), November 12, 2013"

Information Location 2:

http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/208668621.html

Information Source 3:

"Joseph Frey, By Board Granting Compensation, Wisconsin State Claims Board, March 19, 2014"

Information Location 3:

http://claimsboard.wi.gov/docview.asp?docid=25608&locid=28

Information Source 4:

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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org

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