DNA Exonerates Man after 30 Years Behind Bars

[Ghost in the Machine]

(AP) DALLAS - A Texas man who spent more time in prison than any other DNA exoneree in the state is expected to have a court overturn his conviction at an exoneration hearing Tuesday.

Cornelius Dupree Jr., 51, was paroled out of prison in July after 30 years behind bars for aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. DNA test results that came back 10 days after his release excluded him as the person who raped and robbed a Dallas woman in 1979.

The Dallas County District Attorney's Office said Monday it supports Dupree's innocence claim.

Dupree has spent more time wrongly imprisoned than any other DNA exoneree in Texas, which has freed 41 wrongly convicted inmates through DNA since 2001, more than any other state. His 30 years would surpass James Woodard, who spent more than 27 years imprisoned for a murder that he was cleared of in 2008.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/01/03/national/main7209138.shtml?tag=topnews

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. I'm glad he's exonerated, but my heart breaks for the half of a lifetime that he was robbed of.

[tabasco]

7. Let's face it.

His entire life was fucked by the "justice" system.

[struggle4progress]

2. It sounds like more of Henry Wade's handiwork: wasn't Wade DA there until the mid 80s?

[BlueJazz]

3. Oh Man...How do you make it up to a Person who has had 30 years of his life stolen?

Damn...

[Number23]

4. 30 damn years for "for aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon?"

Not murder. Not rape. Not assault.

"Dupree was charged in 1979 with raping and robbing a 26-year-old woman and sentenced in 1980 to 75 years in prison for aggravated robbery. He was never tried on the rape charge."

What the hell? Why wasn't he ever tried on the rape charge, but given 75 YEARS for robbery??! Sounds as though the authorities knew they wouldn't be able to convict on the rape charges.

Outrageous. Sickening.

[KansasVoter]

5. I hope the state pays him millions!

[FreakinDJ]

6. Let me guess - "Positively IDed by the Victim"

on edit ...

the rape victim wrongly identified Dupree in a photo array. The man could not pick out Dupree in a photo lineup. At trial, both victims identified Dupree as one of the men who abducted them in court.

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/01/cornelius-dupree-jr-grits-for-breakfast.html

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. Mistakenly identified by witnesses is a problem that occurs all too-often!

[Ghost in the Machine]

9. Kick... for the morning shift :-)