Kirk L. Odom

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Charge:	"Rape, Burglary and Robbery"
Sentence:	21-1/2 years
Years Imprisoned:	22.583
Year Crime:	1981
Year Convicted:	1981
Year Cleared:	2012
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	District of Columbia
County or Region of Crime:	District of Columbia
City of Crime:	Washington D.C.
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Kirk L. Odom was wrongly convicted of rape in September 1981 of the February 24, 1981 rape and sodomization of a woman who broke into her Washington D.C. residence and raped her at gunpoint. Kirk Odom was arrested for the crime on May 19, 1981 after the victim identified him in a police line-up. His prosecution was based on his identification by the victim and expert testimony that his hair matched that of the perpetrator. After his conviction by a jury Odom was sentenced to 20 to 66 years in prison. After 21 years, six months, and eleven days he was released on parole on March 19, 2003. Odom served an additional 383 days in custody for a parole violation related to his rape conviction. So Odom spent a total of 22 years, six months, and twenty-nine days in prison related to his 1981 rape conviction. In 2012 DNA testing unanavailable at the time of his trial excluded him as the assailant. The charges against Kirk Odom were dismissed on July 13, 2012 by D.C. Superior Court Judge Herbert B. Dixon who wrote in his three-page Order, "“Mr. Odom has been the victim of a grave miscarriage of justice. He is actually innocent of the crimes for which he was convicted.” In 2014 Odom was awarded $1.125 million under the federal wrongful conviction compensation statute that provided for $50,000 per year of wrongful imprisonment. Odom filed a claim for compensation under the District of Columbia's Unjust Imprisonment Act, D.C. Code § 2-421 et seq. (2012 Repl.), enacted in 1980. The District of Columbia vigorously opposed awarding Odom any money under the law, asserting that his award under the federal law should bar him from also receiving money from the Dist. of Columbia, because the U.S. Attorney's Office had prosecuted Odom. Dist. of Columbia Superior Court Judge Neal E. Kravitz presided over a bench trial related to Odom's claim from Nov. 3-20, 2014, and additional briefing was filed in the case. Judge Kratitz ruled Odom was entitled to compensation from the Dist. of Columbia, and on Feburary 27, 2015 he ordered the District of Columbia to pay Odom $9,154,500, citing Odom’s “serious and continuing” psychological injuries.” Judge Kravitz calculated Odom's damage award at $1,000 per day of Odom’s incarceration (8,247 days x $1,000 = $8,247,000), $250 per day of his time spent on parole (2,942 x $250 = $735,500), and $200 per day between his exoneration and the conclusion of his compensation trial on Nov 20, 2014 (860 days x $200 = $172,000) It was the second, and largest award, under D.C.'s compensation law. In July 2015 Judge Kravitz added an additional $500,000 to the award, for a total of $9,654,500."
Conviction Caused By:	Erroneous eyewitness testimony by the 27-year-old victim and erroneous expert hair analysis testimony.
Innocence Proved By:	"The charges against Kirk Odom were dismissed on July 13, 2012 by D.C. Superior Court Judge Herbert B. Dixon who wrote in his three-page Order, "“Mr. Odom has been the victim of a grave miscarriage of justice. He is actually innocent of the crimes for which he was convicted.”"
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$10,779,500 total. $1.125 million (2014, U.S. government), $9,154,500 (Feb. 2015, Dist. Of Columbia), and 500,000 (July 2015, Dist. Of Columbia)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:	18
Age When Released:	41
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Kirk Odom, who served 20 years for 1981 D.C. rape, is innocent, prosecutors say, By Spencer S. Hsu (staff writer), The Washington Post, July 10, 2012"
Information Location 1:	http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/kirk-odom-who-served-20-years-for-1981-dc-rape-is-innocent-prosecutors-say/2012/07/10/gJQAUjZNbW_story.html?wpisrc=emailtoafriend
Information Source 2:	"D.C. to pay record $9.2 million in wrongful conviction, By Spencer S. Hsu (Staff writer), The Washington Post, February 28, 2015"
Information Location 2:	http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/judge-orders-dc-to-pay-record-91-million-in-wrongful-conviction-case/2015/02/27/f54edaa6-beea-11e4-8668-4e7ba8439ca6_story.html
Information Source 3:	"Kirk L. Odom v. Dist. Of Columbia, No. 2013 CA 3239 (Superior Ct of the Dist. Of Columbia, Civil Div., 2-27-2015), (Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law awarding Odom a total of $9,154,500 compensation.)"
Information Location 3:	http://www.aele.org/law/Odom.pdf
Information Source 4:	"District of Columbia Court Adds to NSB Client Kirk Odom’s Record Recovery, By NSB, www.nsbcivilrights.com, July 22, 2015"
Information Location 4:	http://www.nsbcivilrights.com/district-of-columbia-court-adds-to-nsb-client-kirk-odoms-record-recovery/
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Kirk L. Odom

Charge:

"Rape, Burglary and Robbery"

Sentence:

21-1/2 years

Years Imprisoned:

22.583

Year Crime:

1981

Year Convicted:

1981

Year Cleared:

2012

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

District of Columbia

County or Region of Crime:

District of Columbia

City of Crime:

Washington D.C.

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Erroneous eyewitness testimony by the 27-year-old victim and erroneous expert hair analysis testimony.

Innocence Proved By:

"The charges against Kirk Odom were dismissed on July 13, 2012 by D.C. Superior Court Judge Herbert B. Dixon who wrote in his three-page Order, "“Mr. Odom has been the victim of a grave miscarriage of justice. He is actually innocent of the crimes for which he was convicted.”"

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$10,779,500 total. $1.125 million (2014, U.S. government), $9,154,500 (Feb. 2015, Dist. Of Columbia), and 500,000 (July 2015, Dist. Of Columbia)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

18

Age When Released:

41

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Kirk Odom, who served 20 years for 1981 D.C. rape, is innocent, prosecutors say, By Spencer S. Hsu (staff writer), The Washington Post, July 10, 2012"

Information Location 1:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/kirk-odom-who-served-20-years-for-1981-dc-rape-is-innocent-prosecutors-say/2012/07/10/gJQAUjZNbW_story.html?wpisrc=emailtoafriend

Information Source 2:

"D.C. to pay record $9.2 million in wrongful conviction, By Spencer S. Hsu (Staff writer), The Washington Post, February 28, 2015"

Information Location 2:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/judge-orders-dc-to-pay-record-91-million-in-wrongful-conviction-case/2015/02/27/f54edaa6-beea-11e4-8668-4e7ba8439ca6_story.html

Information Source 3:

"Kirk L. Odom v. Dist. Of Columbia, No. 2013 CA 3239 (Superior Ct of the Dist. Of Columbia, Civil Div., 2-27-2015), (Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law awarding Odom a total of $9,154,500 compensation.)"

Information Location 3:

http://www.aele.org/law/Odom.pdf

Information Source 4:

"District of Columbia Court Adds to NSB Client Kirk Odom’s Record Recovery, By NSB, www.nsbcivilrights.com, July 22, 2015"

Information Location 4:

http://www.nsbcivilrights.com/district-of-columbia-court-adds-to-nsb-client-kirk-odoms-record-recovery/

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