Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Glen Woodall

 

Charge:

"Sexual Assault, Kidnapping and Rape"

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

4.5

Year Crime:

1987

Year Convicted:

1987

Year Cleared:

1992

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

West Virginia

County or Region of Crime:

Cabell

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

"Glen Woodall was wrongly convicted on July 8, 1987 of sexually assaulting, kidnapping and robbing two women in two separate incidents in Cabell County, West Virginia. Both women identified him and the prosecution's expert, State Crime Lab technician Fred Zain testified that Glen Woodall's hair was microscopically consistent with hair found in each woman’s car. Woodall was convicted and senteced to two life terms in prison without parole and to 203 to 335 years in prison. Woodall's lawyer filed a motion for "experimental" DNA testing of the hairs, which was denied by the trial judge. Woodall's conviction was affirmed on direct appeal in 1989. (State v. Woodall, 385 S.E.2d 253, 1989) In 1991 Woodall was granted post-conviction DNA testing of the hairs. After the DNA tests excluded Woodall, he filed a peitition of habeas corpus based on the new evidence of his innocence. On July 15, 1991, the trial court held a hearing on the petition and vacated Woodall's conviction. After 4-1/2 years of incarceration Woodall was released on $150,000 bond and restricted to home confinement. In April 1992 the State conducted its own DNA testing that also excluded Woodall. The State moved to dismiss Woodall's indictment, which was granted by the judge on May 4, 1992. Thus the very same hairs that the prosecution had relied on convict Woodall based on Zain's expert testimony. Woodall's trial was the first one that it is known the false testimony of "expert" Fred Zain was used to convict an innocent person. Glen Woodall filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the State of West Virginia that was settled in 1993 for $1 million in compensation for his false imprisonment."

Conviction Caused By:

"Eyewitness error and faulty analysis of hair evidence by the prosecution's forensic expert, Fred Zain."

Innocence Proved By:

"Indictment dismissed on May 4, 1992 after Woodall was excluded as the women's assailant by DNA tests unavailable at the time of his trial."

Defendant Aided By:

Innocence Project NY

Compensation Awarded:

"$1 million (State of West Virginia, 1993 - fed. civil rights lawsuit)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

28

Age When Released:

32

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Edward Connors, Thomas Lundregan, Neal Miller, Tom McEwen, "Convicted by Juries, Exonerated by Science: Case Studies in the Use of DNA Evidence to Establish Innocence After Trial," National Institute of Justice, 1996, at 74-76."

Information Location 1:

http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/dnaevid.pdf

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

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