Robert DuBoise was convicted of the 1983 killing of Barbara Grams after a forensic dentist testified regarding a faulty beeswax mold. Wrongful convictions deprive victims and their families of justice; they deserve the truthnot false closure based on a false story. He always believed that the truth would come to light., DNA Evidence Exonerates Man in 1983 Rape and Killing, Prosecutors Say, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/26/us/robert-duboise-wrongful-conviction.html. On Monday, a hearing before Hillsborough county judge Christopher Nash resulted in an order wiping away the convictions and life sentence, and removing DuBoise from the state sex offender registry. Once again, I apologize to Robert on behalf of the entire justice system for all he has gone through. Robert DuBoise, exonerated of 1983 murder, sues Tampa over imprisonment, Raymond Odierno, Army general who commanded in Iraq, dies of cancer at age 67, Justin McNeil appointed as new Jefferson County Supervisor of Elections, Antisemitic message distributor faces consequences in Palm Beach County court, Rick Scott says Democrats should be worried if Joe Biden is 2024 nominee, Last Call for 3.1.23 A prime-time read of whats going down in Florida politics, Jason Brodeur wants pay-to-play blog posts about elected officials reported with the state, Kamala Harris to speak at Miami Beach climate innovation summit. Detectives sought out the opinion of a second odontologist, Dr. Richard Souviron, who advised police to start collecting bite mark impressions from potential suspects. Another leading factor in wrongful convictions nationally is jailhouse informant testimony, playing a role in 17 percent of the 375 DNA-based exoneration cases. DNA evidence proved Robert DuBoise, who was released from prison last month, did not commit 1983 crime Robert DuBoise, 55, meets reporters with his sister Harriet, left, and mother Myra,. Thank you for visiting us. In short, there is not one shred of evidence that says that Robert DuBoise committed this crime, Mr. Warren said, and the DNA evidence compellingly points to his innocence.. The lawsuit, first reported by theTampa Bay Times, seeks unspecified damages. Butthe inmate was released from prison just 18 months after DuBoise's conviction, Hall said. In 2020, despite previous assurances that all the biological evidence from the rape kit was destroyed, slides from the victims autopsy were also found at the Medical Examiner for Hillsborough County. I am grateful to be here, now with a chance to move forward, but I know there are more innocent people like me still behind bars, said DuBoise. Thursday morning, the courtmoved to reduce DuBoises sentence to the exact amount of time he has already spent behind bars. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! Robert DuBoise, 55, has spent two-thirds of his life behind bars for the 1983 rape and killing of a woman in Tampa, Fla. The brother and friend were never charged because there was no other evidence against them, prosecutors said. The basis for the claims are deprivation of due process, illegal detention and prosecution, and conspiracy to deprive constitutional rights, among other things. In August of 2006, DuBoise filed a motion for postconviction DNA testing. You can check his/her address, phone number, email address, and other info on this page. and indictments stem from bite mark evidence, and the misapplication of forensic science was involved in 45 percent of DNA exoneration cases. 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). I praise them for all they did. DuBoise never confessed to anyone and maintained his innocence throughout, his lawyers said. DuBoise never confessed and maintained his innocence throughout, his lawyers said. Please avoid sharing any personal information in the comments below and join us in making this a hate-speech free and safe space for everyone. Until 2016, Florida permitted trial judges to impose death sentences despite jury recommendations for life or based on non-unanimous jury votes for death. Robert DuBoise is pictured on his bed at his new home in Tampa. 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. After three years on death row, the Florida Supreme Court reversed Robert DuBoises death sentence and substituted it with life plus fifteen years. According to the lawsuit, investigators initially focused on DuBoise after an attendant at a gas station across the street from where Grams body was found told police that three boys named Robert, Bo and Ray had been causing trouble in the area. He now has the freedom he has deserved all along. After cooperating with law enforcement and providing a sworn statement in DuBoises case, he was offered a plea and sentenced to five years in prison. Susan Friedman, an Innocence Project lawyer who represents Mr. DuBoise, said she told him on Monday that he had been cleared by DNA testing and was going to be set free. Experience 17 projects New Constructions The lawsuit, first reported by the Tampa Bay Times, seeks unspecified damages. The Judge overseeing this case is DRAPER, CAROL E. Chris Bumbaca. A Florida man who was wrongfully convicted of raping and murdering a woman walked free Thursday after 37 years behind bars. DuBoise was just 18 when he arrested in the Grams slaying. The District Attorneys should be help liable for every case that they wrongfully convict. Robert Michael Dubois, 45. Floridas newly established Conviction Review Unit agreed to review DuBoises case in September 2019, according to a timeline the state attorneys office provided to Oxygen.com. 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. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. They deserve the truth, not false closure based on a false story. The states theory at trial was that on Aug. 18, 1983, DuBoise, his brother Victor DuBoise and friend Raymond Garcia sexually assaulted and killed a 19-year-old woman, though only DuBoise was arrested and prosecuted for these crimes. Copyright 2023 LocatePeople.org. Based on a comparison of the impression and mold, Dr. Souviron determined DuBoise was a match to the mark left on the body and he was arrested immediately. I never lost faith that today would come. Help us advocate for the innocent by sharing the latest news from the Innocence Project. The state took 37 years away from Robert, Friedman said. DNA testing was conducted this summer and found that DNA from two males was present and excluded DuBoise. A Florida trial court has freed a former death-row prisoner after local prosecutors said new DNA evidence had proven his innocence of the rape and murder for which he was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death 37 years ago. 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 made of his teeth. You can learn more about how we consider cases here. In a speech he gave to a police chiefs meeting before the DuBoise case, the lawsuit quotes Souviron as saying 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., The lawsuit claims beeswax was not an accepted method of identifying teeth marks in murder cases and was used only because another officer in the Tampa Police Department operated a honey business on the side.. View FREE Public Profile & Reputation for Robert Dubois in Titusville, FL - See Court Records | Photos | Address, Emails & Phone Number | Personal Review | $70 - $79,999 Income & Net Worth Wrongful convictions deprive victims and their families of justice. Florida State Attorney's Office, Floridas newly established Conviction Review Unit agreed to review DuBoises case in September 2019, according to a, For one thing,the injury on Gramscheek likely wasnt a bite mark at all and even if it was, bite marks are no longer considered reliable evidence in identifying suspects, according to new expert testimony referenced in. Robert DuBoise hugging his mother Myra DuBoise following his release from prison after 37 years on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020 in Bowling Green, Florida. This wont be easy, but it will be worth it, he said. The jailhouse informants testimony has also been discredited. Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from the Innocence Project: DNA testing excludes DuBoise in a case that rested on unreliable bite mark evidence and jailhouse informant testimony. 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. The state attorney is now looking into other cases. All rights reserved. In 2007, pursuant to a court order the state responded that in 1990 the Hillsborough County Clerks Office disposed of the evidence in the regular course of business. Defense counsel met with a Tampa Police Department detective to determine whether any items not admitted at trial were in the police departments custody, at which time approximately ten boxes of evidence were foundmostly trace evidence. It wont be easy. On September 14, 2020, Robert DuBoise became the 30th person exonerated from Florida's death row. Address: 3600 Oak Tree Ln Titusville, FL 32780, Address: 660 Karen Dr Titusville, FL 32780, Address: 880 Edgewood Rd Titusville, FL 32780, Address: 2641 Arpana Ct Orlando, FL 32839, Address: 13657 Tetherline Trl Orlando, FL 32837, Address: 1802 NE 15th Ter Gainesville, FL 32609, Address: 900 S Kentucky Ave Winter Park, FL 32789, Address: 950 Southlakes Way SW Vero Beach, FL 32968, Address: 1827 Thornhill Rd Wesley Chapel, FL 33544, Address: 3776 Inverrary Blvd Lauderhill, FL 33319, Address: 565 Deer Creek Run Deerfield Bch, FL 33442, Address: 138 Colonial Blvd Palm Harbor, FL 34684, Address: 108 Elmwood Cir Seminole, FL 33777, Address: 8071 Kiawah Trce Port St Lucie, FL 34986, Address: 6465 142nd Ave N Clearwater, FL 33760, Address: 4253 Rudder Way New Prt Rchy, FL 34652, Address: 302 Sterling Dr Winter Haven, FL 33884, Address: 1035 E De Carlo Dr Deltona, FL 32725, Address: 20 S Compass Dr Ft Lauderdale, FL 33308, Address: 11406 Mystical Ln Bryceville, FL 32009, Address: 6101 Cleveland St Hollywood, FL 33024, Address: 6603 10th Ave W Bradenton, FL 34209, Address: 3256 St Ives Blvd Spring Hill, FL 34609, Address: 18504 Kuldin Ave Pt Charlotte, FL 33948, Address: 1248 Polk St Melbourne, FL 32935, Address: 34604 Sweetpea Ln Zephyrhills, FL 33541. was wrongfully convicted of raping and murdering a woman walked free Thursday after 37 years behind bars. Robert Dubois in Florida. The DNA profile was entered into CODIS and matched to an individual who had no connection to DuBoise. 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.. Robert A. Dubois Obituary. My small donations dont seem much but together we can all make a difference! Prosecutors in Hillsborough County, Fla., said Robert DuBoise, 55, had been wrongfully convicted. These people do not work for the Innocence Project of Florida. DuBoise has been deprived of all the basic pleasures of human experience, which all free people enjoy as a matter of right., Republished with permission of The Associated Press. And when you tell the truth, justice is done, said Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren. The American Board of Forensic Odontology (ABFO) has revised its standards and guidelines, and now explicitly states that an ABFO Diplomate shall not express conclusions unconditionally linking a bite mark to a dentition.. At the hearing on Monday, expert testimony showed that bite-mark evidence on the victims left cheek used at trial has been determined to be unreliable police used beeswax to take an impression of DuBoises teeth and that DNA showed conclusively he was not a suspect in the assault of Grams. He served three years on death row before the Florida Supreme Court vacated his death sentence. However, evidence on the case was presumed destroyedin 1990, apparently aspart of a routine process, Grayson Kamm, communications officer for the Office of the State Attorney, 13th Judicial Circuit, said in a phone interview with Oxygen.com. 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. The Innocent project did their job. DuBoise was released after new DNA testing of the crime scene evidence that was thought to have been destroyed excluded him as the assailant. . Phone: (727) 642-3162 The Conviction Review Unit (CRU) at the Office of the State Attorney for the 13th Judicial Circuit has announced that in light of the clear injustice that occurred in this case and the discreditation of bite mark analysis as a reliable scientific technique, they will collaborate with the Innocence Project to review Hillsborough County cases that utilized bite mark evidence to secure a conviction. Mr. Warren said that the scientific community, including the National Academy of Sciences, had rejected the type of bite-mark analysis used in Mr. DuBoises case. Robert DuBoise, 56, was freed in August last year after long-shelved untested DNA evidence from a rape kit proved he was innocent of the rape and murder of 19-year-old Barbara Grams in Tampa . In 2020, through continued investigation and digging from the lead of the CRU and DuBoises counsel at the Innocence Project, slides of DNA from the original autopsy were discovered in storage at the office of the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner. The Innocence Project of Florida served as local counsel on the case. This directly contradicted the Assistant State Attorneys statement to the jury that the informant was in prison and that he would be going right back to prison to finish serving his sentence. In 2007, Mr. DuBoise filed a motion to have DNA from his case tested, but the evidence admitted at his trial had been destroyed in 1990, and Mr. DuBoises motion was denied, prosecutors said. To prove their case, prosecutors presented testimony from a local dentist who concluded that an injury on Ms. Gramss cheek was a bite mark, as well as testimony from a dental expert who said that Mr. DuBoise had inflicted the bite. During the investigation it was discovered that after a death sentence was secured, DuBoises trial prosecutor filed a motion to mitigate the jailhouse informants sentence and the court granted the order finding that the jailhouse informant had totally cooperated with the State of Florida in the Capital Murder trial of Robert E. DuBoise. The informant was immediately released despite an earlier determination by the Florida Parole and Probation Commission that he should not be granted an earlier presumptive parole date. If you believe you have been contacted by such a person, please. DuBoise has not yet been officially exonerated. View Robert Roger Dubois results in Melbourne, FL including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. The DNA profile was entered into CODIS and matched to an individual who had no connection to DuBoise. The Innocence Project began investigating DuBoises case in 2018 and in 2019 and requested that the CRU reopen the case based on new evidence about the jailhouse informant and concerns about the discredited bite mark evidence. (August 27, 2020 Tampa, Florida) Today, Robert DuBoise walked free after spending almost 37 years in prison for a 1983 rape and murder in Tampa, Florida, he did not commit. During the reinvestigation, Dr. Adam Freeman, a forensic odontologist, reviewed the bite mark evidence and testimony in this case. Fraud Alert:We have heard that there are people who fraudulently represent themselves as working for the Innocence Project of Florida, promising legal representation in exchange for money. A forensic DNA analyst, Nancy Wilson, said two people were involved in the Grams assault, neither of them DuBoise. Press "Enter" or click on the arrow to show results. 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? Charge: Capital Murder and Attempted Sexual Battery, Conviction: Capital Murder and Attempted Sexual Battery, Real perpetrator found? It had instead been held in storage at the local medical examiners office, according to the case timeline. The Innocence Project began investigating DuBoises case in 2018 due to both the unreliable informant testimony and flawed bite mark analysis on which the case rested. At his trial, in 1985, prosecutors said that Mr. DuBoise, his brother and a friend had been driving in Tampa when they saw Ms. Grams walking down the street, abducted her and raped and killed her. The complaint further claims that investigators fabricated evidence and withheld exculpatory evidence relating to jailhouse informants, falsely contending that Mr. DuBoise confessed to the crime.. Cops Who Became Cold Blooded Murderers. Born in Manchester, NH on November 18, 1952, Robert was a son of the late Robert and Irene (Delisle) Dubois. I can never regain the birthdays, holidays and precious time I lost with them, nevermind the life I could have made for myself. A Florida man exonerated of a 1983 rape and murder after serving 37 years in prison is suing over his wrongful conviction in which a disproven bite mark was crucial evidence. Marshall provided support for the claim by quoting several lines from a speech Souviron gave just before DuBoises trial. DNA testing showed that DNA from two males was present and excluded DuBoise, Victor DuBoise and Raymond Garcia. Youve never seen someone so happy to be cooking in the Florida heat, Kamm said, recalling DuBoise's first moments in the blazing sunlight as a free man. Best Match Powered by Whitepages Premium AGE 70s Robert Dubois Melbourne, FL (Bowe Gardens) View Full Report Addresses 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. It was DuBoises trial prosecutor who filed a Motion to Mitigate the jailhouse informants sentence citing his total cooperation with the State in DuBoises trial. Warren said that his office was preparing court papers to complete the exoneration process. At a 2008 hearing, the Court Clerk testified that all the evidence admitted at DuBoises trial, which included the victims rape kit, were destroyed in 1990, just five years after his conviction. 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