|
Wrongly Convicted Database Record
|
Charge: |
Rape and Robbery (including burglary) |
Sentence: |
20 to 40 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
26 |
Year Crime: |
1982 |
Year Convicted: |
1982 |
Year Cleared: |
2008 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Michigan |
County or Region of Crime: |
Wayne |
City of Crime: |
Detroit |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Walter Swift was wrongly convicted in 1982 of robbery and raping a pregnant woman in Detroit, Michigan. The rape victim described her attacker as a teenager, and Detroit police showed her photographs of a number of black teenagers. After she selected seven photos that she said resembled her rapist, police brought Swift in for questioning after randomly deciding that the next (eighth) photo the woman selected would be the suspect they brought in for questioning. The woman could not confidently identify Swift as her assailant, but she did implicate him. Based on her tentative identification Swift was charged with the crime. However, during Swift’s trial, the jury did not hear any testimony about the victim’s uncertainty he was her rapist. Also during Swift's trial, the jury didn't hear testimony from a lab technician who discovered forensic evidence that excluded Swift as the perpetrator. After the jury found Swift guilty he was sentenced to life in prison. After more than two decades in prison Swift discovered the prosecution hadn't disclosed his identification by the victim was unreliable, and the exclusionary forensic evidence. Based on the exculpatory evidence the prosecution failed to disclose as required under Brady v. Maryland, Swift filed a motion for a new trial that was granted. The Wayne County DA's motion to dismiss the charges was granted and Swift was released on May 22, 2008 after 26 years in prison. In 2010 Switft filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Detroit and several Detroit police officers involved in his prosecution. On February 3, 2015 the City of Detroit agreed to settle Swift's lawsuit for $2,500,000 -- less than $100,00 per year of imprisonment. Swift was represented in his civil case by attorney Julie Hurwitz and Neufeld, Scheck & Brustin, LLP. Two of the partners in NS&B are Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld, co-founders of the non-profit Innocence Project in New York." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Erroneous eyewitness identification and prosecution misconduct of concealing exculpatory forensic evidence. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"The Wayne County DA's motion to dismiss the charges was granted and Swift was released on May 22, 2008 after 26 years in prison." |
Defendant Aided By: |
Innocence Project of New York |
Compensation Awarded: |
"$2,500,000 (City of Detroit, Feb. 3, 2015)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
|
Age When Imprisoned: |
21 |
Age When Released: |
47 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Detroiter convicted in '82 cleared of rape, By Joe Swickard (staff), Detroit Free Press, May 22, 2008" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080522/NEWS01/805220434/1003 |
Information Source 2: |
"Detroit City Council will consider $2.5 million settlement for wrongful conviction of Walter Swift, By Ryan Felton, Metro Times (Detroit, MI), February 3, 2015" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.metrotimes.com/Blogs/archives/2015/02/03/detroit-city-council-will-consider-25-million-settlement-for-wrongful-conviction-of-walter-swift |
Information Source 3: |
|
Information Location 3: |
|
Information Source 4: |
|
Information Location 4: |
|
Information Source 5: |
|
Information Location 5: |
|
Book About Case: |
|
Book Information: |
|
Book About Case (2): |
|
Book Information (2): |
|
Movie About Case: |
|
Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org