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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Manslaughter |
Sentence: |
15 years - LI |
Years Imprisoned: |
26.5 |
Year Crime: |
1982 |
Year Convicted: |
1984 |
Year Cleared: |
2014 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
District of Columbia |
County or Region of Crime: |
District of Columbia |
City of Crime: |
District of Columbia |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Kevin Martin was wrongly convicted in 1984 of manslaughter in the 1982 rape and murder of 19-year-old Ursula Brown in Washinton D.C. Martin's conviction was based on testimony by an FBI expert that Martin's pubic hair matched a pubic hair recovered from the crime scene. Although Martin asserted his innocence, he agreed to an Alford plea in exchange for a sentence of 15 years to life in prison. Martin filed a petition to withdraw his guilty plea based on the discovery that the pubic hair had been mishandled, and that the original FBI report only found that Martin's pubic hair was "like" the crime scene pubic hair -- not that they matched. Martin's petition was denied. Martin filed a petition for DNA testing that was denied, but the evidence Martin wanted tested couldn't be found, and the prosecution agreed to his resentencing. Martin was resentenced to 15 to 30 years for unrelated armed robberies and 15 to 30 years for Brown's rape and murder. The sentencing made Martin eligible for parole, which was granted in 2009. In 2014 Martin again filed a petition for DNA testing, and Brown's rape kit was found. The prosecution agreed to the DNA testing, which excluded Martin as the source while it matched the DNA profile of another man -- William Davidson. The U.S. Attorney's Office also determined Martin's conviction was unreliable because it was based on the expert FBI hair analysis testimony, and hair analysis had subsequently been discredited as junk science. Based on the new exculpatory evidence supporting his actual innocence, Martin's lawyers and the U.S. Attorney's Office filed a joint motion to vacate Martin's convictions. The petition was granted on July 21, 2014 and Judge Robert Richter issed Martin a Certificate of Innocence. Martin filed a lawsuit under the District of Columbia's Unjust Imprisonment Act seeking $30 million. On August 4, 2016 it was reported that the lawsuit was settled for $4.3 million." |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
"Based on the new exculpatory evidence supporting his actual innocence, Martin's lawyers and the U.S. Attorney's Office filed a joint motion to vacate Martin's convictions. The petition was granted on July 21, 2014 and Judge Robert Richter issed Martin a Certificate of Innocence." |
Defendant Aided By: |
Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project |
Compensation Awarded: |
"$4.3 million (Dist. of Columbia, Aug. 2016)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
17 |
Age When Released: |
43 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Man exonerated in 1982 D.C. killing; DNA reveals FBI error in conviction, By Keith L. Alexander and Spencer S. Hsu (Staff writers), The Washington Post, July 21, 2014" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/dc-man-exonerated-in-1982-rape-and-murder-dna-reveals-fbi-error-in-conviction/2014/07/21/ee7cc490-0ec8-11e4-8341-b8072b1e7348_story.html |
Information Source 2: |
"DC agrees to $4.3M settlement with man wrongly convicted of murder, By Paul Wagner, Fox5 (Washington D.C.), August 4, 2016" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.fox5dc.com/news/local-news/185337058-story |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org