Anthony Powell (Massachusetts defendant)

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Charge:	Rape and Kidnapping (abduction)
Sentence:	12 to 20 years
Years Imprisoned:	12.5
Year Crime:	1991
Year Convicted:	1992
Year Cleared:	2004
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Massachusetts
County or Region of Crime:	Suffolk
City of Crime:	Boston
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Anthony Powell was wrongly convicted in 1992 of the March 19, 1991 rape and kidnapping of a Dorchester, Massachusetts woman based on her erroneous identification of him as her attacker. There was evidence corroborating the woman's identification. DNA tests excluded him as the woman's attacker, and his conviction vacated on March 8, 2004. "Superior Court Judge Robert Mulligan, who presided at Anthony Powell's 1992 trial, overturned Powell's conviction and terminated his 12 to 20-year prison sentence. Wall then closed the door on the case by saying that evidence "strongly supports the conclusion that Powell did not commit rape in 1991." (Source, Powell Freed From Prison, Boston Globe, March 9, 2004). Anthony Powell was wrongly imprisoned for more than 12 years. In 2008 Powell was awarded $500,000 under Massachusetts Wrongful Conviction statute. In December 2008 Powell settled his civil rights lawsuit against the City of Boston and the Boston Police Department for $3,800,000. In the fall of 2008 Suffolk County charged Jerry Dixon with the rapes Powell had been convicted of committing."
Conviction Caused By:	Erroneous eyewitness identification
Innocence Proved By:	"Conviction reversed on March 8, 2004 based on DNA evidence excluding him as the victim's attacker."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$4,300,000 total. $3,800,000 (City of Boston in Dec. 2008), $500,000 (State of Massachusetts, 2008)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:	20
Age When Released:	33
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Powell Freed From Prison - DNA Evidence Clears Him, John Ellement (staff), Boston Globe, 3/9/2004"
Information Location 1:	http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/03/09/powell_freed_from_prison_dna_evidence_clears_him/
Information Source 2:	"Boston paid $36m to settle police lawsuits: Largest payouts over decade were for deaths, wrongful convictions, By Todd Wallack, Jan Ransom and Travis Anderson (Staff writers), Boston Globe, May 15, 2015"
Information Location 2:	https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/05/14/boston-spends-million-resolve-claims-against-police/KZ1NKhzahIDG51568m5FLK/story.html
Information Source 3:	"Powell, Anthony v. Commonwealth, SUCV2006-01137"
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Anthony Powell (Massachusetts defendant)

Charge:

Rape and Kidnapping (abduction)

Sentence:

12 to 20 years

Years Imprisoned:

12.5

Year Crime:

1991

Year Convicted:

1992

Year Cleared:

2004

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Massachusetts

County or Region of Crime:

Suffolk

City of Crime:

Boston

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Erroneous eyewitness identification

Innocence Proved By:

"Conviction reversed on March 8, 2004 based on DNA evidence excluding him as the victim's attacker."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$4,300,000 total. $3,800,000 (City of Boston in Dec. 2008), $500,000 (State of Massachusetts, 2008)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

20

Age When Released:

33

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Powell Freed From Prison - DNA Evidence Clears Him, John Ellement (staff), Boston Globe, 3/9/2004"

Information Location 1:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/03/09/powell_freed_from_prison_dna_evidence_clears_him/

Information Source 2:

"Boston paid $36m to settle police lawsuits: Largest payouts over decade were for deaths, wrongful convictions, By Todd Wallack, Jan Ransom and Travis Anderson (Staff writers), Boston Globe, May 15, 2015"

Information Location 2:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/05/14/boston-spends-million-resolve-claims-against-police/KZ1NKhzahIDG51568m5FLK/story.html

Information Source 3:

"Powell, Anthony v. Commonwealth, SUCV2006-01137"

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