Sit in jail for $2.4 million?

[SHERIFF]

DNA testing is the greatest thing since cell phones! These stories make me sick to my stomach.
Can you imagine sitting in jail an innocent person for 3 decades, even if you did receive $2.4 million for it?

Dallas, Texas -- A Texas man declared innocent Tuesday after 30 years in prison could have cut short his prison stint twice and made parole — if only he would admit he was a sex offender.

But Cornelius Dupree Jr. refused to do so, doggedly maintaining his innocence in a 1979 rape and robbery, in the process serving more time for a crime he didn't commit than any other Texas inmate exonerated by DNA evidence.

Dupree was sentenced to 75 years in prison in 1980 for the rape and robbery of a 26-year-old Dallas woman a year earlier. He was released in July on mandatory supervision, and lived under house arrest until October. About a week after his release, DNA test results came back proving his innocence in the sexual assault.

Under Texas compensation laws for the wrongly imprisoned, Dupree is eligible for $80,000 for each year he was behind bars, plus a lifetime annuity. He could receive $2.4 million in a lump sum that is not subject to federal income tax.

[SILVERSURFER03]

i hope he gets paid .... thats just unreal

[ctrlraven]

He stood up for what he believed in, his innocence instead of taking the easy way out. Hope he gets what is due to him.

[Leadfoot281]

To top it all off, the real bad guys have been on the loose for 30 years. :eek:

[martyo]

To top it all off, the real bad guys have been on the loose for 30 years. :eek:

But I bet they didn't get that kind of money. :D

[ImpalaSlayer]

man that would be so horrible

[2,4shofast]

man that would be so horrible


:stupid:Not worth it....sad

[TFB]

:stupid:Not worth it....sad

Agreed, but at this point it's time to take the money and run...

[LANDY]

imagine getting out after 30 years, the man doesnt know nothing but prison.
100 millions still not enough.
that type of mistake would make someone get out, hunt the people who pointed fingers and take thier life one by one. they basicly took his already.he would just go back home after that.
rant.............

[GAMike]

DNA testing is the greatest thing since cell phones! These stories make me sick to my stomach.
Can you imagine sitting in jail an innocent person for 3 decades, even if you did receive $2.4 million for it?

Dallas, Texas -- A Texas man declared innocent Tuesday after 30 years in prison could have cut short his prison stint twice and made parole — if only he would admit he was a sex offender.

But Cornelius Dupree Jr. refused to do so, doggedly maintaining his innocence in a 1979 rape and robbery, in the process serving more time for a crime he didn't commit than any other Texas inmate exonerated by DNA evidence.

Dupree was sentenced to 75 years in prison in 1980 for the rape and robbery of a 26-year-old Dallas woman a year earlier. He was released in July on mandatory supervision, and lived under house arrest until October. About a week after his release, DNA test results came back proving his innocence in the sexual assault.

Under Texas compensation laws for the wrongly imprisoned, Dupree is eligible for $80,000 for each year he was behind bars, plus a lifetime annuity. He could receive $2.4 million in a lump sum that is not subject to federal income tax.

We are all so quick to feel compassion for this guy and thats great but.....

3 questions I would ask:

1. How did Dupree come to be on law enforcements radar for this crime?

2. Was he truly an "innocent victim" of circumstance or does he have a criminal record that indicated a prediliction crimes like he was imprisoned for? Therefor saving the public from all the crimes he may have committed if he were free.......

3. What if anything happens to the investigating officers and prosecution team for getting this wrong?

I know the crime occurred 30 years ago, and that some of the folks involved are probably retired by now, but they should have to answer for the mistakes, just like an employee at a company who makes a mistake.

Q's 1 & 2 I submitt are reasonable, because the police usually don't just pull anyone in for questioning. They usually cast a net based on a profile. If this guy fit the profile, then there is something about him that caused suspicion, and that could be his list of prior offenses, proximity to the crime, witness descriptions/lineups, forensic evidence at the time ect.

Its rare that a person with no prior criminal record, gets picked up for a crime like this, and then locked up is all i'm saying. If the police were looking for a quick conviction for a high profile crime and got this guy in a box based on his profile fitting the crime that really sucks and should be punished, but it may have saved someone from being a crime victim down the line. Might be wrong, but.......

[kernie]

I wonder how many innocents have been executed in texas, now that's the ultimate in injustice!

:beer:

[ImpalaSlayer]

imagine getting out after 30 years, the man doesnt know nothing but prison.
100 millions still not enough.
that type of mistake would make someone get out, hunt the people who pointed fingers and take thier life one by one. they basicly took his already.he would just go back home after that.
rant.............

exactly, id prolly rather be dead anyway after that.

[TFB]

This seem to be fairly common in Tx, back when I went to Chicago after my Marauder there was a article in the magazine on the airplane about several different people who had been exonerated by DNA tests... All had received a good sum of money, don't remember any as being this guy though...

[SHERIFF]

1. How did Dupree come to be on law enforcements radar for this crime?

3. What if anything happens to the investigating officers and prosecution team for getting this wrong?



eyewitness misidentification!!!!


This story hits close to home with me. Namely, eyewitness misidentification. In 2004, I had an old man claim a 20 year old Hispanic male, 5'4", 140 pounds, black hair, and without a mustache had committed a misdemeanor against him. At the time I was 5'11", white male, gray hair, 50+ years old, 220 pounds, had had a mustache for 30+ years, and lived 120 miles from where this guy lived. The "victim" still picked me out of a photo lineup.... and told the judge in open court that I still looked like a skinny young Hispanic male. The judge could see he had some serious eyesight problems. And believe it or not, this "victim" used to be a police officer for a few years before becoming disabled and living off disability. The judge in this three ring circus dismissed the false charge against me without my having to utter one word in court. Lawsuits were filed against the 4 cops who were instrumental in falsely charging me in the first place. After years of depositions, hearings and motions, all 4 settled out of court as soon as jury trial dates were set to hear my lawsuits against them. What happens to the cops? Nothing! The taxpayers picked up the tab for the large sums of money and attorney fees they had to pay me.

But, anyhow, maybe the entire Dupree story will answer your questions a little better.... imported below. This guy was a young kid when he was convicted. He hadn't had a lot of time to commit a lot of crimes in his short life on the outside.

A Texas man declared innocent Tuesday after 30 years in prison had at least two chances to make parole and be set free – if only he would admit he was a sex offender. But Cornelius Dupree Jr. refused to do so, doggedly maintaining his innocence in a 1979 rape and robbery, in the process serving more time for a crime he didn't commit than any other Texas inmate exonerated by DNA evidence.

"Whatever your truth is, you have to stick with it," Dupree, 51, said Tuesday, minutes after a Dallas judge overturned his conviction.

Nationally, only two others exonerated by DNA evidence spent more time in prison, according to the Innocence Project, a New York legal center that specializes in wrongful conviction cases and represented Dupree. James Bain was wrongly imprisoned for 35 years in Florida, and Lawrence McKinney spent more than 31 years in a Tennessee prison.

Dupree was sentenced to 75 years in prison in 1980 for the rape and robbery of a 26-year-old Dallas woman a year earlier. He was released in July on mandatory supervision, and lived under house arrest until October. About a week after his release, DNA test results came back proving his innocence in the sexual assault.

A day after his release, Dupree married his fiancee, Selma. The couple met two decades ago while he was in prison.

His exoneration hearing was delayed until Tuesday while authorities retested the DNA and made sure it was a match to the victim. Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins supported Dupree's innocence claim.

Looking fit and trim in a dark suit, Dupree stood through most of the short hearing, until state district Judge Don Adams told him, "You're free to go." One of Dupree's lawyers, Innocence Project Co-Director Barry Scheck, called it "a glorious day."

"It's a joy to be free again," Dupree said.

This latest wait was nothing for Dupree, who was up for parole as recently as 2004. He was set to be released and thought he was going home, until he learned he first would have to attend a sex offender treatment program.

Those in the program had to go through what is known as the "four R's." They are recognition, remorse, restitution and resolution, said Jim Shoemaker, who served two years with Dupree in the Boyd Unit south of Dallas.

"He couldn't get past the first part," said Shoemaker, who drove up from Houston to attend Dupree's hearing.

Shoemaker said he spent years talking to Dupree in the prison recreation yard, and always believed his innocence.

"I got a lot of flak from the guys on the block," Shoemaker said. "But I always believed him. He has a quiet, peaceful demeanor."

Under Texas compensation laws for the wrongly imprisoned, Dupree is eligible for $80,000 for each year he was behind bars, plus a lifetime annuity. He could receive $2.4 million in a lump sum that is not subject to federal income tax.

The compensation law, the nation's most generous, was passed in 2009 by the Texas Legislature after dozens of wrongly convicted men were released from prison. Texas has freed 41 wrongly convicted inmates through DNA since 2001 – more than any other state.

Dallas County's record of DNA exonerations – Dupree is No. 21 – is unmatched nationally because the county crime lab maintains biological evidence even decades after a conviction, leaving samples available to test. In addition, Watkins, the DA, has cooperated with innocence groups in reviewing hundreds of requests by inmates for DNA testing.

Watkins, the first black district attorney in Texas history, has also pointed to what he calls "a convict-at-all-costs mentality" that he says permeated his office before he arrived in 2007. At least a dozen other exonerated former inmates from the Dallas area who collectively served more than 100 years in prison upheld a local tradition by attending the hearing and welcoming the newest member of their unfortunate fraternity. One of them, James Giles, presented Dupree with a $100 bill as a way to get his life restarted.

At one point, Scheck pointed out that eyewitness misidentification – the most common cause of wrongful convictions – was the key factor that sent Dupree to prison. The attorney then asked how many of the others were wrongly imprisoned because an eyewitness mistakenly identified them. A dozen hands went in the air.

Not in attendance Tuesday was Dupree's accused accomplice, Anthony Massingill, who was convicted in the same case and sentenced to life in prison on another sexual assault. The same DNA testing that cleared Dupree also cleared Massingill. He says he is innocent, but remains behind bars while authorities test DNA in the second case.

Dupree was 20 when he was arrested in December 1979 while walking to a party with Massingill. Authorities said they matched the description of a different rape and robbery that had occurred the previous day. Police presented their pictures in a photo array to the victim. She picked out Massingill and Dupree. Her male companion, who also was robbed, did not pick out either man when showed the same photo lineup.
Dupree was convicted of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. According to court documents, the woman and her male companion stopped at a Dallas liquor store in November 1979 to buy cigarettes and use a payphone. As they returned to their car, two men, at least one of whom was armed, forced their way into the vehicle and ordered them to drive. They also demanded money from the two victims.

The men eventually ordered the car to the side of the road and forced the male driver out of the car. The woman attempted to flee but was pulled back inside.

The perpetrators drove the woman to a nearby park, where they ***** her at gunpoint. They debated killing her but eventually let her live, keeping her rabbit-fur coat and her driver's license and warning her they would kill her if she reported the assault to police. The victim ran to the nearest highway and collapsed unconscious by the side of the road, where she was discovered.

Dupree was convicted and spent the next three decades appealing. The Court of Criminal Appeals turned him down three times.

[GAMike]

Thanks for posting Sheriff....... Its an interesting story. I am always facinated not by the printed word, but more by what was omitted.

We focus on the victim of this particular misscarrige of justice, but again the questions I ask can be more probative than the story offers.

For instance this happened in Dallas........ How many other men in the Dallas metro would fit the description given? How many would have similar visual characteristics? Where did the photo come from? Was it a fresh photo, or was it out of a mugshot book? If it was fresh, how did the photo get taken, or find its way to the investigators? If it was out of a mugshot book, when was it added to the book and for what reason?

With regards to "Convict-at-all-cost-mentality" What was the investigative process for this case?

Get a description, and go back to the station and pull out the mugshot book and see if any people fit close enough? If yes, then coach the witnesses ever so slightly that the people you will see are all bad people, so just pick a couple and we will go from there...... Once settling on these two people how thorough were the police in investigating alibi's and conflicting stories with victim/witness statements. What was the pressure to get this case to court? Was there financial, racial, social pressure?

These are the details I would love to see reporters go into when delivering a story like this. Often they don't. If this guy never had a record, and was a reasonably clean living fella, then its a travisty for both him and his family........ If on the other hand he was a guy at 20 with regular interaction with the legal system, then that is the risk one runs, but its never thought of by sketchy folks until its too late. The downside to this is that the guys who actually perpetrated the crime, could be still out running around if they themselves didn't get busted for some other crime.

[MOTOWN]

its nice to see this man set free!, this happens all too often in the u.s. thank god indeed for DNA, with most crimes like this the real criminals are usually in prison on other charges, or dead as a result of their lifestyle.

[SHERIFF]

Rather than create a new thread....

I don't have diabetes yet. My mother has it, my grandmother had it, so I will probably inherit it as well.

Having said this, this story is crazy and scary at the same time.

The deputies received training in how to recognize an emerency situation after this incident.


http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/usnews/crime/5754-ohio-man-sues-sheriffs-dept-after-beating-by-deputies

[CBT]

[QUOTE=SHERIFF;997215]eyewitness misidentification!!!!


This story hits close to home with me. Namely, eyewitness misidentification. In 2004, I had an old man claim a 20 year old Hispanic male, 5'4", 140 pounds, black hair, and without a mustache had committed a misdemeanor against him. At the time I was 5'11", white male, gray hair, 50+ years old, 220 pounds, had had a mustache for 30+ years, and lived 120 miles from where this guy lived. The "victim" still picked me out of a photo lineup.... and told the judge in open court that I still looked like a skinny young Hispanic male. The judge could see he had some serious eyesight problems. And believe it or not, this "victim" used to be a police officer for a few years before becoming disabled and living off disability. The judge in this three ring circus dismissed the false charge against me without my having to utter one word in court. Lawsuits were filed against the 4 cops who were instrumental in falsely charging me in the first place. After years of depositions, hearings and motions, all 4 settled out of court as soon as jury trial dates were set to hear my lawsuits against them. What happens to the cops? Nothing! The taxpayers picked up the tab for the large sums of money and attorney fees they had to pay me.

How did a picture of you end up in a photo line up 120 miles away is the better question.

[Egon Spengler]

So I have a question. What is this guy supposed to put on his resume now for that gap in work or education. Was in prison, but falsely accused? Either way, his prison time is going to haunt him for the rest of his life trying to find work. Whether he was falsely accused or not, he was still in prison and like said, only knows prison life...

[CBT]

So I have a question. What is this guy supposed to put on his resume now for that gap in work or education. Was in prison, but falsely accused? Either way, his prison time is going to haunt him for the rest of his life trying to find work. Whether he was falsely accused or not, he was still in prison and like said, only knows prison life...

He's an old millionaire who could care less about a resume.

[SHERIFF]

How did a picture of you end up in a photo line up 120 miles away is the better question.

I am not suppose to discuss it since all the parties I named in lawsuits have settled out of court. You know the routine, they will pay me large sums of money if I just shut up about it. :)

But you can read a lot about it in this link. The author compiled a lot of the facts before the cases were settled.

http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2010/07/15/COVER-steve-shifflett-G.aspx

[CBT]

This was the first thing he bought:
http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/sfo/540076210.html (http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/sfo/540076210.html)

[SHERIFF]

So I have a question. What is this guy supposed to put on his resume now for that gap in work or education. Was in prison, but falsely accused? Either way, his prison time is going to haunt him for the rest of his life trying to find work. Whether he was falsely accused or not, he was still in prison and like said, only knows prison life...

Well, 2 choices in my opinion....

1) I would hope he seeks out financial counseling, spends his money wisely, and can afford to live off $2.4 million (plus interest and investments) for the rest of his life.

or

2) List the 30 years of prison on his application, along with the fact that he was falsely accused and convicted.... and finally cleared by repeated testing of his DNA. I would like to think most employers would understand and not hold it against him.

[CBT]

Well, 2 choices in my opinion....

1) I would hope he seeks out financial counseling, spends his money wisely, and can afford to live off $2.4 million (plus interest and investments) for the rest of his life.

or

2) List the 30 years of prison on his application, along with the fact that he was falsely accused and convicted.... and finally cleared by repeated testing of his DNA. I would like to think most employers would understand and not hold it against him.

3) Movie/Book deal.

[SHERIFF]

3) Movie/Book deal.

True on #3 choice!

Book..... I suspect it would be a good seller.

Movie ...... we will most likely see it as a Network movie at least.
Some of the major networks have probably already contacted him.

[CBT]

True on #3 choice!

Book..... I suspect it would be a good seller.

Movie ...... we will most likely see it as a Network movie at least.
Some of the major networks have probably already contacted him.
Well I don't know about showing it on normal t.v., too much prison sex. :puke:

[TAKEDOWN]

You can always gain or make more money, but lost time is lost time and you can never get it back!

[PonyUP]

You can always gain or make more money, but lost time is lost time and you can never get it back!

That's true, he missed dating, getting married (Although he is married now), family occassions, 30 football seasons with football pools, strip clubs, driving, movies, elections, purchasing his first Marauder, modding his first Marauder, The entire run of Law and Order, Reality TV, The Cubs going to the playoffs 4 times, New Orleans winning the Superbowl, sex on a regular basis with a woman, good pizza, bar-b-que

No amount of money can make up for what was missed. Though I also agree with GAMike, I'd be real curious to know he got on the radar in the first place

[CBT]

That's true, he missed dating, getting married (Although he is married now), family occassions, 30 football seasons with football pools, strip clubs, driving, movies, elections, purchasing his first Marauder, modding his first Marauder, The entire run of Law and Order, Reality TV, The Cubs going to the playoffs 4 times, New Orleans winning the Superbowl, sex on a regular basis with a woman, good pizza, bar-b-que

No amount of money can make up for what was missed. Though I also agree with GAMike, I'd be real curious to know he got on the radar in the first place

Yeah? I doubt that. I'm pretty sure his dance card ticket got punched on a regular basis.

[PonyUP]

Yeah? I doubt that. I'm pretty sure his dance card ticket got punched on a regular basis.

No, no, no, I said dating. You know when you take a nice girl out, listen to incomprehensible crap, try to be funny, have a nice dinner and go home with that unsatisfied feeling?

Just kidding ladies

[Krytin]

Though I also agree with GAMike, I'd be real curious to know he got on the radar in the first place


Here's a likely senario:

He and his friend looked like a match to the description given of the two perps (arresting officer's statement!).

The two are picked up and their pictures are taken at the station for a photo ID line-up.

The victim makes an ID that is incorrect (the second victim did NOT ID these two even though he was also an "eye witness") - something that happens FAR to often.

You don't have to be on anybody's "radar" to get picked up off the street and be falsely accused - it appears to happen quite often in TX based on the statistics reported!

[PonyUP]

Here's a likely senario:

He and his friend looked like a match to the description given of the two perps (arresting officer's statement!).

The two are picked up and their pictures are taken at the station for a photo ID line-up.

The victim makes an ID that is incorrect (the second victim did NOT ID these two even though he was also an "eye witness") - something that happens FAR to often.

You don't have to be on anybody's "radar" to get picked up off the street and be falsely accused - it appears to happen quite often in TX based on the statistics reported!

Texas does seem to be leading the way in this. I would hope that police would rely on more than witness statements as studies have proven eye witnesses are highly unreliable. You usually can't get anyone to agree, that is why the eye witness reports are usually combined with some sort of evidence.

though this happened 30 years ago and evidence procedures and forensic advancements have grown quite a bit over the years.

[GAMike]

You don't have to be on anybody's "radar" to get picked up off the street and be falsely accused - it appears to happen quite often in TX based on the statistics reported!

I would beg to differ on your first point here Krytin. Specifically in this case given the distance between the incident and where the 2 people where picked up.

This situation leads me to beleive that the police had a picture of 1 or both of these individuals (didn't this guys buddy get picked up the previous year for something??? Don't have time to go back and sift though). So this guy was either picked up because he hung out with a guy who upon the police looking for matches with what they had in house on his friend, came up with this fit or what they knew about him.... Don't think it was a random thing. If it was not, the story should be clear about those circumstances is my thought.

If it was his buddy who triggered it, then its just another example of why people need to be careful who they associate with.........

Now as far as being falsely accused in TX? Yikes:help:

[SHERIFF]

You just got mugged. You give the police a pretty good description of the guy who mugged you. If the police do their job properly they are suppose to compose a photo lineup with suspects who look the same. So, the police lay out a photo lineup and ask you to pick out the person who mugged you. Look below and tell me which guy mugged you?

Eyewitness identification is a tool that has put many innocent people in jail. Most judges won't place much faith in photo lineup IDs any longer.


http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx43/VaSheriff/mugs-focal_792847c.jpg

[musclemerc]

All those pics are of the same person.

[CBT]

You just got mugged. Look below and tell me which guy mugged you?



http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx43/VaSheriff/mugs-focal_792847c.jpg

Ummmmmmmm....the guy with the lazy eye?

[LANDY]

You just got mugged. You give the police a pretty good description of the guy who mugged you. If the police do their job properly they are suppose to compose a photo lineup with suspects who look the same. So, the police lay out a photo lineup and ask you to pick out the person who mugged you. Look below and tell me which guy mugged you?

Eyewitness identification is a tool that has put many innocent people in jail. Most judges won't place much faith in photo lineup IDs any longer.


http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx43/VaSheriff/mugs-focal_792847c.jpgsame guy, he looks like he is on that **** in every other picture.

[GAMike]

Considering the advancements in facial recognition software, and that the FBI makes it available as a service to most LE agencies (some larger ones even have invested in their own), I would hope the days of mistaken identity are over...... That said if your photo gets taken while under suspicion for a crime, and you have no priors, LE should be forced to shred your photo instead of adding it to a muggshot database.

If you were cleared they should have no right to collect a dossier on you. jmho:o

Its a narrow scope law enforcement operates under specifically for reason like this. It should stay that way othewise we would have J Edgar Hoovers in every dept.

[MercNasty]

Yea that was a few years ago when it was like 13 people that got out of jail after dna tests were done but they did not get this much money, i believe they had only received like 40,000 it wasnt 80,000 per year back then i guess.



This seem to be fairly common in Tx, back when I went to Chicago after my Marauder there was a article in the magazine on the airplane about several different people who had been exonerated by DNA tests... All had received a good sum of money, don't remember any as being this guy though...

[SHERIFF]

That said if your photo gets taken while under suspicion for a crime, and you have no priors, LE should be forced to shred your photo instead of adding it to a muggshot database.

In Virginia, the police can solicit random photos of law abiding citizens from the Department of Motor Vehicles files..... and place them in a photo lineup. You can be arrested here if a victim makes a mistake and picks out a totally innocent person from the photos the DMV provides. I'll tell ya, it just ain't right. To think law enforcement can put you in harm's way by allowing a mistaken person to pick out your photo in a lineup composed of law abiding citizens.

And to complicate things even further... and due to the driver's license renewal process now, some DMV photos on file can be as old as 8 to 10 years.