Bennie Starks

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Charge:	Sexual Assault and Assault
Sentence:	60 years
Years Imprisoned:	20
Year Crime:	1986
Year Convicted:	1986
Year Cleared:	2013
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Illinois
County or Region of Crime:	Lake
City of Crime:	Waukegan
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Bennie Starks was wrongly convicted of sexual assault and battery in 1986 based on the expert testimony of a crime lab analyst that a bite mark on the victim was made by Bennie Starks. Starks was sentenced to 60 years imprisonment for sexual assault and 5 years for battery. Starks conviction was vacated and he was released on $100,000 bail on October 4, 2006, after a DNA test excluded him as the source of crime scene evidence originating from the alleged perpetrator. Authorities acknowledged during the process of Starks federal civil rights lawsuit that the alleged victim fabricated the rape allegation. Starks filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Waukegan and three of its former police officers. In December 2015 the lawsuit was settled for $990,000."
Conviction Caused By:	Faulty bite mark testimony by a crime lab analyst.
Innocence Proved By:	DNA tests unavailable at the time of his conviction excluded him as the woman's alleged attacker.
Defendant Aided By:	Innocence Project NY
Compensation Awarded:	"$990,000 (City of Waukegan, Dec. 2015)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	26
Age When Released:	47
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Prison door swings open, By Dave Wischnowsky, Chicago Tribune, October 5, 2006"
Information Location 1:	"http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0610050059oct05,1,4411333.story?coll=chi-newslocal-hed"
Information Source 2:	"Authorities want innocence certificate vacated in case of man cleared by DNA, By Dan Hinkel (Staff writer), Chicago Tribune, December 24, 2014"
Information Location 2:	http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-bennie-starks-certificate-of-innocence-met-20141224-story.html
Information Source 3:	"Waukegan OKs paying into wrongful conviction settlement, By Associated Press, The Washington Times, December 9, 2015"
Information Location 3:	http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/dec/9/waukegan-oks-paying-into-wrongful-conviction-settl/
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Bennie Starks

Charge:

Sexual Assault and Assault

Sentence:

60 years

Years Imprisoned:

20

Year Crime:

1986

Year Convicted:

1986

Year Cleared:

2013

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Illinois

County or Region of Crime:

Lake

City of Crime:

Waukegan

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Faulty bite mark testimony by a crime lab analyst.

Innocence Proved By:

DNA tests unavailable at the time of his conviction excluded him as the woman's alleged attacker.

Defendant Aided By:

Innocence Project NY

Compensation Awarded:

"$990,000 (City of Waukegan, Dec. 2015)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

26

Age When Released:

47

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Prison door swings open, By Dave Wischnowsky, Chicago Tribune, October 5, 2006"

Information Location 1:

"http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0610050059oct05,1,4411333.story?coll=chi-newslocal-hed"

Information Source 2:

"Authorities want innocence certificate vacated in case of man cleared by DNA, By Dan Hinkel (Staff writer), Chicago Tribune, December 24, 2014"

Information Location 2:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-bennie-starks-certificate-of-innocence-met-20141224-story.html

Information Source 3:

"Waukegan OKs paying into wrongful conviction settlement, By Associated Press, The Washington Times, December 9, 2015"

Information Location 3:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/dec/9/waukegan-oks-paying-into-wrongful-conviction-settl/

Information Source 4:

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

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