Alan G. Northrop

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Charge:	Rape
Sentence:	23 years 6 months
Years Imprisoned:	17
Year Crime:	1993
Year Convicted:	1993
Year Cleared:	2010
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Washington
County or Region of Crime:	Clark
City of Crime:	La Center
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Alan G. Northrop and co-defendant of Larry W. Davis. Alan Northrop and Larry Davis were wrongly convicted in 1993 after separate trials of burglary and raping and kidnapping a woman in La Center, WA on January 11, 1993. The sole evidence against the men was the testimony of the victim who was blindfolded during the attack. At first she did not identify either man from a photo line-up, but later identified both of them. In May 1993, a jury convicted Davis of being an accomplice to first-degree rape, and of first-degree kidnapping and first-degree burglary. He was sentenced to 20 years and six months in prison. In July 1993, a jury convicted Northrop of first-degree rape, kidnapping and burglary. He was sentenced to 23 years and six months in prison. The Innocence Project Northwest filed a lawsuit in 2005 to gain access to biological evidence that couldn't be tested by DNA testing available at the time of their trial. After years of litigation the lawsuit was successful and in early 2010 both men were excluded as the woman's assailants by DNA testing of the woman's fingernail scrapings, pubic hair and other crime scene items. On April 21, 2010 their convictions were overturned. Larry Davis had been released in January 2010 after completing his sentence, and Alan Northrop was released on bail following the hearing. On July 14, 2010 the Clark County Prosecutor dismissed the charges against the men. They were both wrongly imprisoned for 17 years. The Innocents Project Northwest at the University of Washington accepted the men's case in 2005, and it took five years to exonerate them. Davis and Northrop filed federal civil rights lawsuits against Clark County, the sheriff's department, and several officers involved in investigation of their case. On September 27, 2013, nine days into the federal jury trial, Clark County agreed to settle the lawsuit by paying $5.25 million each to Davis and Northrop."
Conviction Caused By:	"Erroneous eyewitness identification by the victim, who was blindfolded during the attack."
Innocence Proved By:	"Charges dismissed on July 14, 2010 after the two men's convictions were overturned on April 21, 2010 on the basis of new DNA evidence excluding them as the woman's assailant."
Defendant Aided By:	Innocence Project Northwest
Compensation Awarded:	"$5.25 million (Clark County, Wash., 2013)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	28
Age When Released:	45
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"1993 rape charges officially dropped, By Laura McVicker (staff), The Columbian (Vancouver, WA), July 14, 2010"
Information Location 1:	http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/jul/14/1993-rape-charges-officially-dropped/
Information Source 2:	"Decision on rape case retrial due in Aug, By Laura McVicker (staff), The Columbian (Vancouver, WA), June 9, 2010"
Information Location 2:	http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/jun/09/decision-on-rape-case-retrial-due-in-aug/
Information Source 3:	"Prosecutors to dismiss 1993 rape charges, By Laura McVicker (staff), The Columbian (Vancouver, WA), July 9, 2010"
Information Location 3:	http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/jul/09/prosecutors-to-dismiss-1993-rape-charges/
Information Source 4:	"Clark County to pay wrongly convicted men $10.5M, By Paris Achen (Columbian courts reporter), The Columbian (Vancouver, WA), September 30, 2013"
Information Location 4:	http://www.columbian.com/news/2013/sep/30/wrongly-convicted-men-lawsuit-clark-county/
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Alan G. Northrop

Charge:

Rape

Sentence:

23 years 6 months

Years Imprisoned:

17

Year Crime:

1993

Year Convicted:

1993

Year Cleared:

2010

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Washington

County or Region of Crime:

Clark

City of Crime:

La Center

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

"Erroneous eyewitness identification by the victim, who was blindfolded during the attack."

Innocence Proved By:

"Charges dismissed on July 14, 2010 after the two men's convictions were overturned on April 21, 2010 on the basis of new DNA evidence excluding them as the woman's assailant."

Defendant Aided By:

Innocence Project Northwest

Compensation Awarded:

"$5.25 million (Clark County, Wash., 2013)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

28

Age When Released:

45

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"1993 rape charges officially dropped, By Laura McVicker (staff), The Columbian (Vancouver, WA), July 14, 2010"

Information Location 1:

http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/jul/14/1993-rape-charges-officially-dropped/

Information Source 2:

"Decision on rape case retrial due in Aug, By Laura McVicker (staff), The Columbian (Vancouver, WA), June 9, 2010"

Information Location 2:

http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/jun/09/decision-on-rape-case-retrial-due-in-aug/

Information Source 3:

"Prosecutors to dismiss 1993 rape charges, By Laura McVicker (staff), The Columbian (Vancouver, WA), July 9, 2010"

Information Location 3:

http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/jul/09/prosecutors-to-dismiss-1993-rape-charges/

Information Source 4:

"Clark County to pay wrongly convicted men $10.5M, By Paris Achen (Columbian courts reporter), The Columbian (Vancouver, WA), September 30, 2013"

Information Location 4:

http://www.columbian.com/news/2013/sep/30/wrongly-convicted-men-lawsuit-clark-county/

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

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