|
Wrongly Convicted Database Record
|
Charge: |
Rape |
Sentence: |
30 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
10.9 |
Year Crime: |
1982 |
Year Convicted: |
1983 |
Year Cleared: |
2007 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Texas |
County or Region of Crime: |
Dallas |
City of Crime: |
Dallas |
Result: |
Pardoned |
Summary of Case: |
"James Douglas Waller was wrongly convicted in 1983 of raping a 12-year-old boy in 1982 who lived in the same apartment complex as Waller. James Waller's conviction was based on the boy's identification of him as the perpetrator. James Waller was released on parole in 1993. In 2007 DNA testing unavailable at the time fo his conviction on hair and semen of the perpetrator excluded James Waller. On January 17, 2007, the charges were dismissed against Waller, and the Dallas County DA apologized, saying, "There are times when we make mistakes, and when we do, we ought to be big enough to admit it." Waller was the 12th person exonerated by DNA evidence in Dallas County." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Erroneous eyewitness identification by the victim. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"In 2007 DNA testing unavailable at the time fo his conviction on hair and semen of the perpetrator excluded James Waller. On January 17, 2007, the charges were dismissed against Waller." |
Defendant Aided By: |
Innocence Project NY |
Compensation Awarded: |
"$1,209,166.67 lump sum payment plus $7,039.32 monthly annuity (State of Texas, 10-23-2009)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
|
Age When Imprisoned: |
26 |
Age When Released: |
36 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Texas Justice Questioned After Exoneration, AP Story, CBS News, January 19, 2007" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/19/national/main2380307.shtml |
Information Source 2: |
"Man cleared by DNA test fights for full exoneration, By Robert Tharp (staff writer), Dallas Morning News, January 18, 2007" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-waller_18met.ART.North.Edition1.29fc5aa.html |
Information Source 3: |
"Old cases back to haunt county, By Steve McGonigle, Dallas Morning News, January 22, 2007" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/012207dnmetexoneration.203a0e8.html |
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