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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Attempted Rape and Attempted Sodomy |
Sentence: |
8 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
7 |
Year Crime: |
1998 |
Year Convicted: |
2000 |
Year Cleared: |
2014 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
New York |
County or Region of Crime: |
Bronx |
City of Crime: |
New York City |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Tyrone Hicks was wrongly convicted in 2000 of the attempted rape and attempted sodomy of a 27-year-old woman in the Bronx, New York in 1998. The jury relied on the eyewitness testimony of the victim to convict Hicks, who was later sentenced to 8 years in prison. Hicks was released on parole in 2007. In 2010 post-conviction DNA testing of a wooden dowel that was used to scrape the victim's fingernails resulted in a partial DNA profile that exluded Hicks as the perpetrator. Based on the new evidence Hicks filed a motion for a new trial that was opposed by the Bronx County DA's Office. The police reopened an investigation of several sexual assaults that had occurred in the Bronx neighborhood where the woman was attacked. The same day that the woman was assaulted 14-year-old Marleny Cruz had been raped and murdered across the street from her apartment. Biological evidence in that case was DNA tested and in 2012 was matched to James Martin, who was imprisoned in Pennsylvania for murdering his wife. When confronted with the DNA evidence Martin admitted to raping and murdering Cruz, and later pled guilty to those crimes, but he denied assaulting the woman Hicks was convicted of assaulting. Bronx County Supreme Court Justice Darcel Clark granted Hicks' motion for a new trial in October 2012 based on new exclusionary DNA evidence. In February 2014 the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division affirmed Justice Clark's decision, and on May 15, 2014 the charges against Hicks were dismissed after the Bronx County DA elected not to retry him. In 2016 Hicks' claim for wrongful imprisonment compensation filed with the New York State Court of Claims was settled for $1,500,000. In June 2015 Hicks filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against New York City seeking $10 million compensation for violation of his constitutional rights. On February 7, 2017 U.S. District Court Judge Paul A. Crotty's dismissed Hicks' complaint due to the lack of any constitutional violation by any officer involved in his prosecution. (Hicks v. City of N.Y.•15-CV-04888 (PAC),?22?(S.D.N.Y. Feb. 7, 2017))" |
Conviction Caused By: |
Erroneous eyewitness testimony by the victim. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On October 2012 the Bronx County Supreme Court Justice Darcel Clark granted Hicks' motion for a new trial based on new exclusionary DNA evidence. In February 2014 the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division affirmed Justice Clark's decision, and on May 15, 2014 the charges against Hicks were dismissed after the Bronx County DA elected not to retry him." |
Defendant Aided By: |
The Post-Conviction Project. |
Compensation Awarded: |
"$1,500,000 (State of New York, 2016)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
43 |
Age When Released: |
50 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Tyrone Hicks Sues for $10M, By Innetwork, June 26, 2015" |
Information Location 1: |
http://innocencenetwork.org/tyrone-hicks-sues-for-10m/ |
Information Source 2: |
"Hicks v. City of N.Y.•15-CV-04888 (PAC),?22?(S.D.N.Y. Feb. 7, 2017) (U.S. District Court Judge Paul A. Crotty's dismissal of complaint due to no constitutional violation by any officers involved in his prosecution.)" |
Information Location 2: |
https://casetext.com/case/hicks-v-city-of-ny-1 |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org