Josiah Elijah Sutton

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Charge:	Rape
Sentence:	25 years
Years Imprisoned:	4.75
Year Crime:	1998
Year Convicted:	1999
Year Cleared:	2003
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Texas
County or Region of Crime:	Harris
City of Crime:	Houston
Result:	Pardoned
Summary of Case:	"Josiah Elijah Sutton was wrongly convicted in 1999 of car jacking and rape based on a false positive evaluation of a DNA test. DNA retesting four years after his conviction confirmed his claim of innocence. Josiah Sutton was released on March 12, 2003. On June 27, 2003 the Harris County District Attorney's Office announced it was going to recommend an Executive Pardon for Josiah Sutton. Sutton had received $182,800 in compensation from the State of Texas as of 2012."
Conviction Caused By:	False positive analysis of a test of his DNA against DNA samples collected from the victim.
Innocence Proved By:	UC Irvine Law Professor William Thompson found discrepancies in January 2003 between the orignial DNA test and the testimony of the prosecution's expert witness employed by the Houston Crime Lab. DNA retesting that confirmed the DNA test performed at the time of his prosecution had been erroneously evaluated to indicate a high probability he was the attacker - when it should have excluded him.
Defendant Aided By:	UC Irvine Law Professor William Thompson and Innocence Project NY
Compensation Awarded:	"$118,749.97 lump sum payment plus $1,726.56 monthly annuity (State of Texas, 9-22-2006)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:	16
Age When Released:	21
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	""You Think DNA Evidence Is Foolproof. Think Again," Adam Liptak, NY Times, March 16, 2003."
Information Location 1:	http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/16/weekinreview/16LIPT.html?pagewanted=print&position=top
Information Source 2:	"More Than An Academic Interest - UCI professor's expertise helps free innocent man, Laylan Connelly, Irvine World News, May 22, 2003"
Information Location 2:	http://www.irvineworldnews.com/Astories/may22/dna.html
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Josiah Elijah Sutton

Charge:

Rape

Sentence:

25 years

Years Imprisoned:

4.75

Year Crime:

1998

Year Convicted:

1999

Year Cleared:

2003

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Texas

County or Region of Crime:

Harris

City of Crime:

Houston

Result:

Pardoned

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

False positive analysis of a test of his DNA against DNA samples collected from the victim.

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

UC Irvine Law Professor William Thompson and Innocence Project NY

Compensation Awarded:

"$118,749.97 lump sum payment plus $1,726.56 monthly annuity (State of Texas, 9-22-2006)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

16

Age When Released:

21

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

""You Think DNA Evidence Is Foolproof. Think Again," Adam Liptak, NY Times, March 16, 2003."

Information Location 1:

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/16/weekinreview/16LIPT.html?pagewanted=print&position=top

Information Source 2:

"More Than An Academic Interest - UCI professor's expertise helps free innocent man, Laylan Connelly, Irvine World News, May 22, 2003"

Information Location 2:

http://www.irvineworldnews.com/Astories/may22/dna.html

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Information Location 3:

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Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

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Movie About Case:

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