The jury recommended a life sentence, but the judge overrode the recommendation and sentenced DuBoise to death. Robert DuBoise was convicted at a trial that relied on a testimony from an unreliable jailhouse informant and faulty bite-mark analysis. Based on the junk science of bite mark evidence and the unreliable testimony of a jailhouse informant, DuBoise was convicted and sentenced to death. The dentist, Dr Richard Souviron, gained notoriety as an expert after testifying in the murder trial of serial killer Ted Bundy that one of his Florida victims had a bite mark that matched his teeth. Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from the Innocence Project: The CRU announced their collaboration with the Innocence Project to audit prior cases involving bite mark evidence. Weve had an innocent man locked up for a crime that he did not commit, while the real perpetrator was never held accountable for this horrific murder, Andrew H. Warren, the state attorney in Hillsborough County, Fla., said Wednesday. Robert N Dubois Address: 3600 Oak Tree Ln Titusville, FL 32780 Name: Robert N Dubois Address: 3600 Oak Tree Ln Titusville, FL 32780 Phone: (321) 544-5346 Dwelling Type: Single Family Dwelling Unit Length of Residence: Under one year Median Home Value: $975,000 Median Household Income: $578,000 Vehicle: 2003 NISSAN FRONTIER Report ID: 42214660 Even after nearly 37 years, a prosecutors job is to seek justice, and that obligation to seek justice never ends. During the re-investigation, Dr. Adam Freeman, a forensic odontologist, reviewed the bite mark evidence and testimony in this case. Theres no question I feel terrible, he said. Robert DuBoise A man in Florida who was exonerated after spending 37 years in prison for a 1983 rape and murder filed a lawsuit against police officials and the forensic dentist who testified against him, claiming they "knowingly fabricated" evidence used to convict him. Were righting this wrong today, finally.. Photo of Robert DuBois hugging his mother by Martha Asencio-Rhine, Tampa BayTimes. A free man for the first time since he was a teenager, Mr DuBoise must now put his life back together after almost 40 years in prison, the lawsuit says. Robert Duboise served 37 years in Florida State Prison for the death of Barbara Grams, a 19-year-old Tampa woman police found beaten to death behind a dental practice in 1983. Robert DuBoise, 55, has spent two-thirds of his life behind bars for the 1983 rape and killing of a woman in Tampa, Fla. For now, though, DuBoise is just celebrating his newfound freedom. provided cannot be used for any unlawful purpose. When investigators began to identify suspects, they also came across a local resident who referred to Robert DuBoise as someone who caused problems at a hangout place in the area. I cant get back the decades that I lost, but Im going to try to rebuild my life with my family. (September 14, 2020 Tampa, Florida) Today, Robert DuBoise was exonerated from all charges in the 1983 rape and murder of a young woman in Tampa, Florida. The Innocence Project, which is affiliated with Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, is a national litigation and public policy organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. In 1988, the Florida Supreme Court changed the sentence to life in prison. Robert DuBoise is pictured on his bed at his new home in Tampa. In a hearing two years later, the Court Clerk testified that all of the evidence admitted into his original trial was destroyed in 1990. After three years on death row, the Florida Supreme Court reversed Robert DuBoises death sentence and substituted it with life plus fifteen years. Killer Motive: What Drives People To Kill? The jailhouse informants testimony has also been discredited. Robert Dubois in Florida. Robert A. Dubois Obituary. was wrongfully convicted of raping and murdering a woman walked free Thursday after 37 years behind bars. Following DuBoises exoneration last year, Souviron told the Tampa Bay Times that he wouldnt be so adamant about his guilt if given another opportunity to testify. In 2006, DuBoise sought post-conviction DNA testing, but an evidence search at the time revealed that all evidence admitted at trial, which included evidence collected as part of the rape kit, was destroyed in 1990. DuBoise was re-sentenced to life for the murder and 15 years for the attempted sexual battery to run consecutively. After hugging his mother, he spoke to an assemblage of reporters and cameras. Convicted of murder and sentenced to death, his sentence was reduced in 1988 to life in prison until his exoneration and release last year. Prosecutors and Mr. DuBoises lawyer said they would then begin the lengthier process of asking the court to reverse his conviction and exonerate him. The DNA test results further discredited the informant because the results did not match Mr. DuBoise, his brother or his friend, whom the informant had implicated in the crime, Mr. Warren said. The Crime On August 19, 1983, a young woman's body was found behind a dental office in Tampa, Florida. When the charges are formally dismissed, DuBoise will become Floridas 30th death-row exoneree since 1973, the most in the nation. Its been 37 years, said Hillsborough county state attorney Andrew Warren. Within weeks, through the cooperation of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit State Attorneys Office, the Innocence Project, and the local assistance of the Innocence Project of Florida, DuBoise was released from prison August 27, 2020, into the arms of his mother, Myra, his sister, Harriett, and his attorney Susan Friedman. Mr DuBoise has been deprived of all the basic pleasures of human experience, which all free people enjoy as a matter of right., Florida man cleared of rape and murder convictions after 37 years in prison, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. The discovery of a rape kit for victim Barbara Grams, which had been presumed destroyed decades earlier, provided conclusive evidence that Robert DuBoise wasn't guilty of the 19-year-old's 1983 rape and murder. I am Australian and want you to know that that there are others around the world that care about people such as yourself and support the Innocence Project and the work they do. Robert DuBoise hugging his mother Myra DuBoise following his release from prison after 37 years on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020 in Bowling Green, Florida. Souviron famously helped authorities convict Ted Bundy for the 1979 murder of Lisa Levy based on the bite mark the notorious serial killer left on the victims buttocks. He concluded that the original bite mark conclusions are unsupported by science and, most critically, found that although three experts at trial concluded that the mark on the victims cheek was a bite mark, the injury in this case was in fact not a bite mark. A free man for the first time since he was a teenager, Mr. DuBoise must now put his life back together after almost 40 years in prison, the lawsuit says. DuBoise never confessed to anyone and maintained his innocence throughout, his lawyers said. The state has executed 99 prisoners during that period, or one exoneration for every 3.3 executions. DNA testing of the samples confirmed what Mr. DuBoise had long said: that he was not responsible for the rape and murder of the woman, Barbara Grams, 19, prosecutors said. Exonerated man walks out of Florida prison, Tampa Bay Times, August 27, 2020; Curt Anderson and Tamara Lush, Innocent Florida inmate released after 37years, Associated Press, August 27, 2020; Emily McCain and Heather Leigh, Its abeautiful day | Tampa man walks free after 37years in prison for murder, WFTS-TV, Tampa, August 27, 2020; Staff, Innocence Project Client Robert DuBoise Released After Nearly 37 Years in Prison for 1983 Tampa Murder, The Innocence Project, August 27,2020. On Sept. 10, 2020, the Innocence Project filed a Motion for Post-Conviction Relief and Vacate Judgment and Sentence based on newly discovered evidence. After nearly 40 years, Robert DuBoise reunites with his sister Harriett (left) and attorney Susan Friedman after his release from Hardee Correctional Institute (Image: Casey Brooke Lawson/ The Innocence Project). He has been living in a Tampa center for people wrongfully imprisoned and has said he must learn the ways of modern life, from shopping at Walmart to using an iPhone. Floridas last death-row exoneration was in the case of Clifford Williams, Jr., who was freed in March 2019 after serving 42 years for a murder he did not commit. The Medical Examiner also identified what was thought to be a human bite-mark on the victims cheek. As a result, the judge denied his request to test the other biological evidence and agreed on the States theory that excluding Robert from the evidence would still not prove his innocence. Mr. The CRUs audit is the first systematic review of bite mark cases that has been initiated by a prosecutors office. 1:32. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, against former Tampa police Detectives Phillip Saladino and K.E. He walked free that afternoon. In fact, the victims injury was not a human bite mark at all, wroteDaniel Marshall, an attorney for the Human Rights Defense Center representing DuBoise. The promise or expectation of receiving leniency or other benefits for their testimony creates a strong incentive for these witnesses to lie. I always knew that DNA would prove my innocence and hoped that the evidence could be found not just for me, but for my family as well. 6 Wrongful Convictions That Were Overturned. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. His strength, courage, and determination for nearly four decades has made this day possible. Robert Alan Dubois, 58 Resides in Glendale, AZ Lived In Scottsdale AZ, Fort Lauderdale FL, Phoenix AZ, Oak View CA Related To Keith Dubois, Jordan Dubois, Rhonda Dubois, K Dubois Also known as Robert A Duborj Includes Address (9) Phone (4) See Results Robert E Dubois, 63 Resides in Valparaiso, FL Lived In Niceville FL, York PA, Wrightsville PA We knew that Roberts conviction rested on two leading causes of wrongful convictions jailhouse informant testimony and faulty forensicsand today, there is indisputable scientific evidence that proves his innocence. Wrongful convictions deprive victims and their families of justice; they deserve the truthnot false closure based on a false story. In the federal lawsuit filed this week, DuBoises attorneys name as defendants the city of Tampa, four police investigators and a forensic dentist who testified a bite mark on Grams cheek was from DuBoise based on a faulty beeswax mold. I am just so grateful that my voice was heard and the truth is out there, said DuBoise. Reserved. They erode confidence and trust in our system because, when you have a wrongful conviction, it means that we failed to do the most fundamental thing were supposed to do, which is to find the truth., Im proud that we were able to play a role in freeing an innocent man, he continued. The Innocence Project of Florida served as local counsel on the case. DuBoises lawsuit quotes a speech to a police chiefs in which Souviron said: If you tell me that is the guy that did it, I will go into court and say that is the guy that did it.. Death Penalty Information Center | 1701 K Street NW Suite 205 Washington, DC 20006, Phone: 202-289-2275 | Email: [emailprotected], Privacy Policy | 2023 Death Penalty Information Center, Innocence Project Client Robert DuBoise Released After Nearly. As a result, the defense cannot raise concerns about the jailhouse informants motivations and reliability to the judge and jury. I can never regain the birthdays, holidays and precious time I lost with them, nevermind the life I could have made for myself. Unlike other areas of forensic analysis, bite mark analysis lacks validated rules, regulations or processes for accreditation that would establish standards for the expert testimony. They have also lived in Indialantic, FL and Fort Myers, FL. R.H. Price, the estate of Det. The state attorney is now looking into other cases. At the time, the inmate, who was facing a life sentence, claimed hed received no promises in exchange for testimony. Cops Who Became Cold Blooded Murderers. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. DuBoise has been deprived of all the basic pleasures of human experience, which all free people enjoy as a matter of right., Have a tip we should know? He was convicted of her murder and initially sentenced to death. We found 28 records for people named Robert Dubois in 25 cities in Florida throughout Titusville, Orlando, and 23 more cities! The basis for the claims are deprivation of due process, illegal detention and prosecution, and conspiracy to deprive constitutional rights, among other things. Robert DuBoise following his exoneration after 37 years on Monday, Sept. 14, 2020, in Tampa, Florida. and indictments stem from bite mark evidence, and the misapplication of forensic science was involved in 45 percent of DNA exoneration cases. The case against DuBoise was weak from the start. The exoneration was a result of cooperation between prosecutors and the Innocence Project, which works to free wrongly convicted prisoners. Ms. Friedman said that she along with Mr. DuBoises mother and sister planned to meet Mr. DuBoise after he is released from prison on Thursday. 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