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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Rape |
Sentence: |
6 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
3 |
Year Crime: |
1987 |
Year Convicted: |
1988 |
Year Cleared: |
2007 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Illinois |
County or Region of Crime: |
DuPage |
City of Crime: |
Woodridge |
Result: |
Pardoned After Judicial Exoneration |
Summary of Case: |
"Marcus Lyons was wrongly convicted in 1988 of a November 30, 1987 sexual assault based on the 29-year-old victim's eyewitness identification of Lyons in a line-up, and his inconsistent statements about his whereabouts at the time of the crime. Lyons was sentenced to 6-years in prison. Marcus Lyons was released in 1991 after serving three years of his six year sentence. Lyons was so distraught about his conviction after his release, that he tried to nail himself to a wooden cross outside the DuPage County Courthouse. In 2006 Lyons filed a petition for DNA testing of the assailant's semen on the woman's bra. In 2007 the testing was conducted, and Lyons' DNA was excluded as the source of the semen. On September 19, 2007 Lyons conviction was vacated by a DuPage County judge after the State's Attorney's office declined to retry him for a lack of evidence. Lyons served three years of wrongful imprisonment plus 16 years as a registered sex offender. On September 4, 2008 Lyons filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal court alleging that Woodridge, Illinois police officers manipulated a police line-up, coached witnesses, and fabricated evidence to falsely implicate him in the crime. Lyons was pardoned on the basis of his actual innocence by Illinois Governor Rob Blagojevich on December 19, 2008, which enabled him to file a claim for about $85,000 in compensation from the State of Illinois. On June 7, 2012 it was announced that Lyons settled his lawsuit for $5 million." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Erroneous eyewitness identification by the victim. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"Based on DNA tests that excluded Lyons as the woman's assailant, on September 19, 2007 Lyons conviction was vacated by a DuPage County judge after the State's Attorney's office declined to retry him for a lack of evidence. Lyons was pardoned on the basis of his actual innocence by Illinois Governor Rob Blagojevich on December 19, 2008," |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
"$5 million (City of Woodridge, June 2012)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
Yes |
Age When Imprisoned: |
30 |
Age When Released: |
33 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Man cleared of rape by DNA is pardoned, By Maurice Possley (staff writer), Chicago Sun-Times, December 20, 2008" |
Information Location 1: |
"http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/1341746,CST-NWS-pardon20.article" |
Information Source 2: |
"Man wrongly imprisoned in 1987 rape in Woodridge settles lawsuit for $5 million, By Joseph Ruzich (Special reporter), Chicago Tribune, June 7, 2012" |
Information Location 2: |
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-06-07/news/chi-attorneys-man-wrongly-imprisoned-in-1987-rape-in-woodridge-settles-lawsuit-for-5-million-20120607_1_dna-evidence-million-settlement-marcus-lyons |
Information Source 3: |
"DNA clears man in 1987 rape case, By Christy Gutowski (staff), Daily Herald, September 20, 2007" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=41724&src=2 |
Information Source 4: |
"Suit says Woodridge police set-up man for false conviction in 1987 rape, By Gerry Smith, Chicago Tribune, September 5, 2008" |
Information Location 4: |
"http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-innocent-man-suit-both_06sep06,0,5446771.story" |
Information Source 5: |
"Gov. Rod Blagojevich pardons 22 people, By Antonio Olivo and Gerry Smith, Chicago Tribune, December 20, 2009" |
Information Location 5: |
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2008/dec/20/local/chi-blago-pardons-20dec20 |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org