Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Jeffrey Holemon

 

Charge:

Sexual Assault and Burglary

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

11.83

Year Crime:

1987

Year Convicted:

1988

Year Cleared:

1999

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Alabama

County or Region of Crime:

Tuscaloosa

City of Crime:

Tuscaloosa

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

"Jeffrey Holemon was wrongly convicted in 1988 of the rape of a female student at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in March 1987. The masked man forced his way into her apartment and after raping her he took her bank cards and car keys. The man never removed his mask so the woman couldn't describe his facial appearance. Her car was later found abandonced and a witness claimed to have seen a man emerge from it. Days after the rape, Holemon, 25, was arrested on March 21, 1987 on check forgery and burglary charges. The passerby viewed Holemon in a lineup and identified him as the man who exited the woman's vehicle. There was no physical, confession, or eyewitness identification linking Holemon to the rape, so his prosecution was based on the testimony of the passerby that he was the man who exited the woman's vehicle where it was found. After the jury convicted Holemon he was sentenced to life in prison. Holemon became eligible for parole in 1997, and since upon his release he would be required to register as a sex offender he had to provide a DNA sample. Holemon had insisted on his innocence to his fellow prisoners, and a jailhouse lawyer recommended that Holemon file a petition for his DNA to be tested against the biological evidence in the victim's rape kit. The request was granted and the test came back negative -- Holemon wasn't the woman's assailant. Holemon filed a petition for a new trial and to vacate his conviction based on the exclusionary DNA evidence. The petition was granted and Holemon was released in 1999 after 12 years in custody. After his release Holeman formed "The House of Hope", a christian organization that helps convicts re-enter society after their release. Holemon recieved no compensation for his wrongful imprisonment, and the perpetrator has not been identified as of July 2016."

Conviction Caused By:

Eyewitness error in identifying Holemon as man who exited the victim's vehicle.

Innocence Proved By:

Post-conviction DNA testing excluded Jeffrey Holemon as the woman's assailant.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

25

Age When Released:

37

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Jeffery Holemon, By Shelby Soares, Prezi.com, January 21, 2014"

Information Location 1:

https://prezi.com/g1cr-b3sfjtq/jeffery-holemon/

Information Source 2:

"Rebuilding lives: Joint fund-raising effort to benefit the House of Hope in Ralph, By Carla Jean Whitley (Staff writer), Tuscaloosa News, June 11, 2005"

Information Location 2:

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20050611/NEWS/506110318?tc=ar

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

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