Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Calvin Lee Scott

 

Charge:

Sexual Assault (includes aggravated)

Sentence:

25 years

Years Imprisoned:

20

Year Crime:

1982

Year Convicted:

1983

Year Cleared:

2003

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Oklahoma

County or Region of Crime:

Pontotoc

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

"Calvin Lee Scott aka California Ford, was wrongly convicted in 1983 of sexually assaulting a woman in her home in 1982 in Pontotoc County, Oklahoma. Scott's prosecution was based on the testimony of an Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation lab analyst that hair samples Ford provided were consistent with those found at the crime scene. The victim couldn't identify Ford as her assailant because her head was covered during the attack. Scott turned down a plea bargain, insisting he had nothing to do with the crime. After his conviction by a jury that deliberated for only 30 minutes, Calvin Scott was sentenced to 25 years in prison. In 2003 Scott submitted his case to the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System for post-conviction DNA testing of biological evidence in his case. DNA testing of sperm recovered from the victim's vaginal swab by the OSBI excluded Scott. Based on the new exclusionary evidence Scott's conviction was vacated, the charges were dismissed, and he was released on December 3, 2003. Scott had already completed his rape sentence, but he was serving a sentence for an altercation with a prisoner while he was imprisoned. The DNA profile from the DNA testing was uploaded to the FBI's CODIS national DNA database, and it was matched to a man already in prison for a first degree rape. The Pontotoc County DA declined to charge the man because the statute of limitations had expired. In 2003 the State of Oklahoma passed a wrongful imprisonment compensation law. Scott filed a claim, and in August 2004 he was issued a check for $175,000. Scott was the first person compensated under the law. After Scott's release he was contacted by family members in Mississippi who he was unaware of, who informed him about his family history and that his real name was California Ford."

Conviction Caused By:

Erroneous expert hair analysis testimony that is now recognized as unreliable.

Innocence Proved By:

DNA tests unavailable at the time of his trial excluded him.

Defendant Aided By:

Oklahoma Indigent Defense System

Compensation Awarded:

"$175,000 (State of Oklahoma, August 2004)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

31

Age When Released:

51

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Former prisoner receives check for past 20 years, By Jack Money (Staff writer), The Oklahoman, September 4, 2004"

Information Location 1:

http://newsok.com/article/2864883

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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org

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