DNA Clears Man in
Prison for 16 Years for Rape
Posted - Ноября 27 2015 14:07
DNA Clears Man in Prison for 16 Years for Rape
DNA Clears Man in Prison for 16 Years for Rape
Luis Vargas, who has been in prison for 16 years, reacts in court as he
is exonerated on Monday.
His lawyers expect he'll be released by immigration authorities because
he was a legal resident at the time of arrest and the matter is
connected to a conviction that has now been reversed.
DNA tests found that the crimes Vargas was convicted of were actually
committed by the notorious "Teardrop Rapist", who earned the moniker due
to the teardrop tattoo under his eye.
With improvements in DNA technology, his attorneys had the ability in
show that genetic data in the forcible rape was linked to not Vargas and
the Teardrop Rapist.
Officials now blame the rapes on the "teardrop rapist", an unidentified
attacker who was already believed to have raped 39 women, mostly at
knife-point, over the past 20 years.
No DNA evidence was collected from the other sexual assaults attributed
to Vargas, but prosecutors had argued at his trial that there were so
many similarities among the three cases that they had to have been
committed by the same person. Vargas had insisted on his innocence all
along, telling the court at his 1999 sentencing that he was concerned
the individual who "really did these crimes might really be raping
someone out there, might really be killing someone out there".
During the trial, the prosecution relied only on the testimony of the
women and did not test the rape kits that had been taken from the women,
in spite of testimony from witnesses who said Vargas was working at a
bagel shop where he was employed when the attempted rapes and rape
occurred.
Vargas was partly convicted because of his tattoo but suspicions were
also heightened because he had pleaded guilty to raping his girlfriend
while drunk in 1992.
"I think he's let go of any bitterness and he's just happy to move
forward and be reunited with this family, hopefully for Christmas", said
attorney Raquel Cohen of the California Innocence Project.
While Vargas' DNA came back as a nonmatch, a lab compared DNA from a
victim's shorts to a DNA profile of the "teardrop rapist".
The judge noted that their preliminary identifications were irregular
and sensitive in describing their opponent.
"Bad eyewitness identifications are one of the leading causes of
wrongful convictions", California Innocence Project Director, Professor
Justin Brooks, said in a statement.
Prosecutors concluded it was a case of mistaken identity and that new
evidence had undermined their case, Deputy District Attorney Nicole
Flood said in a letter to the judge.
His daughter, Cristal Nora Vargas, told KABC-TV, she is ready to help
her father take back his life.
She got married, to allow them to reveal some of those rituals, but she
delayed the service.
Michael Hanline was last November 69 when he was free of prison.
The California Innocence Project, whose lawyers worked for 15 years to
free him, said Hanline was the longest-serving wrongfully incarcerated
inmate in California history.
http:///23870/dna-clears-man-in-prison-for-16-years-for-rape
DNA Clears Man in
Prison for 16 Years for Rape
Posted - Ноября 27 2015 14:07
DNA Clears Man in Prison for 16 Years for Rape
DNA Clears Man in Prison for 16 Years for Rape
Luis Vargas, who has been in prison for 16 years, reacts in court as he
is exonerated on Monday.
His lawyers expect he'll be released by immigration authorities because
he was a legal resident at the time of arrest and the matter is
connected to a conviction that has now been reversed.
DNA tests found that the crimes Vargas was convicted of were actually
committed by the notorious "Teardrop Rapist", who earned the moniker due
to the teardrop tattoo under his eye.
With improvements in DNA technology, his attorneys had the ability in
show that genetic data in the forcible rape was linked to not Vargas and
the Teardrop Rapist.
Officials now blame the rapes on the "teardrop rapist", an unidentified
attacker who was already believed to have raped 39 women, mostly at
knife-point, over the past 20 years.
No DNA evidence was collected from the other sexual assaults attributed
to Vargas, but prosecutors had argued at his trial that there were so
many similarities among the three cases that they had to have been
committed by the same person. Vargas had insisted on his innocence all
along, telling the court at his 1999 sentencing that he was concerned
the individual who "really did these crimes might really be raping
someone out there, might really be killing someone out there".
During the trial, the prosecution relied only on the testimony of the
women and did not test the rape kits that had been taken from the women,
in spite of testimony from witnesses who said Vargas was working at a
bagel shop where he was employed when the attempted rapes and rape
occurred.
Vargas was partly convicted because of his tattoo but suspicions were
also heightened because he had pleaded guilty to raping his girlfriend
while drunk in 1992.
"I think he's let go of any bitterness and he's just happy to move
forward and be reunited with this family, hopefully for Christmas", said
attorney Raquel Cohen of the California Innocence Project.
While Vargas' DNA came back as a nonmatch, a lab compared DNA from a
victim's shorts to a DNA profile of the "teardrop rapist".
The judge noted that their preliminary identifications were irregular
and sensitive in describing their opponent.
"Bad eyewitness identifications are one of the leading causes of
wrongful convictions", California Innocence Project Director, Professor
Justin Brooks, said in a statement.
Prosecutors concluded it was a case of mistaken identity and that new
evidence had undermined their case, Deputy District Attorney Nicole
Flood said in a letter to the judge.
His daughter, Cristal Nora Vargas, told KABC-TV, she is ready to help
her father take back his life.
She got married, to allow them to reveal some of those rituals, but she
delayed the service.
Michael Hanline was last November 69 when he was free of prison.
The California Innocence Project, whose lawyers worked for 15 years to
free him, said Hanline was the longest-serving wrongfully incarcerated
inmate in California history.
http:///23870/dna-clears-man-in-prison-for-16-years-for-rape
DNA Clears Man in
Prison for 16 Years for Rape
Posted - Ноября 27 2015 14:07
DNA Clears Man in Prison for 16 Years for Rape
DNA Clears Man in Prison for 16 Years for Rape
Luis Vargas, who has been in prison for 16 years, reacts in court as he
is exonerated on Monday.
His lawyers expect he'll be released by immigration authorities because
he was a legal resident at the time of arrest and the matter is
connected to a conviction that has now been reversed.
DNA tests found that the crimes Vargas was convicted of were actually
committed by the notorious "Teardrop Rapist", who earned the moniker due
to the teardrop tattoo under his eye.
With improvements in DNA technology, his attorneys had the ability in
show that genetic data in the forcible rape was linked to not Vargas and
the Teardrop Rapist.
Officials now blame the rapes on the "teardrop rapist", an unidentified
attacker who was already believed to have raped 39 women, mostly at
knife-point, over the past 20 years.
No DNA evidence was collected from the other sexual assaults attributed
to Vargas, but prosecutors had argued at his trial that there were so
many similarities among the three cases that they had to have been
committed by the same person. Vargas had insisted on his innocence all
along, telling the court at his 1999 sentencing that he was concerned
the individual who "really did these crimes might really be raping
someone out there, might really be killing someone out there".
During the trial, the prosecution relied only on the testimony of the
women and did not test the rape kits that had been taken from the women,
in spite of testimony from witnesses who said Vargas was working at a
bagel shop where he was employed when the attempted rapes and rape
occurred.
Vargas was partly convicted because of his tattoo but suspicions were
also heightened because he had pleaded guilty to raping his girlfriend
while drunk in 1992.
"I think he's let go of any bitterness and he's just happy to move
forward and be reunited with this family, hopefully for Christmas", said
attorney Raquel Cohen of the California Innocence Project.
While Vargas' DNA came back as a nonmatch, a lab compared DNA from a
victim's shorts to a DNA profile of the "teardrop rapist".
The judge noted that their preliminary identifications were irregular
and sensitive in describing their opponent.
"Bad eyewitness identifications are one of the leading causes of
wrongful convictions", California Innocence Project Director, Professor
Justin Brooks, said in a statement.
Prosecutors concluded it was a case of mistaken identity and that new
evidence had undermined their case, Deputy District Attorney Nicole
Flood said in a letter to the judge.
His daughter, Cristal Nora Vargas, told KABC-TV, she is ready to help
her father take back his life.
She got married, to allow them to reveal some of those rituals, but she
delayed the service.
Michael Hanline was last November 69 when he was free of prison.
The California Innocence Project, whose lawyers worked for 15 years to
free him, said Hanline was the longest-serving wrongfully incarcerated
inmate in California history.
http:///23870/dna-clears-man-in-prison-for-16-years-for-rape
'Luis Vargas, who has been in prison for 16 years, reacts in court as he is exonerated on Monday. His lawyers expect he'll be released by immigration authorities because he was a legal resident at the time of arrest and the matter is connected to a conviction that has now been reversed. DNA tests found that the crimes Vargas was convicted of were actually committed by the notorious "Teardrop Rapist", who earned the moniker due to the teardrop tattoo under his eye. With improvements in DNA technology, his attorneys had the ability in show that genetic data in the forcible rape was linked to not Vargas and the Teardrop Rapist. Officials now blame the rapes on the "teardrop rapist", an unidentified attacker who was already believed to have raped 39 women, mostly at knife-point, over the past 20 years. No DNA evidence was collected from the other sexual assaults attributed to Vargas, but prosecutors had argued at his trial that there were so many similarities among the three cases that they had to have been committed by the same person. Vargas had insisted on his innocence all along, telling the court at his 1999 sentencing that he was concerned the individual who "really did these crimes might really be raping someone out there, might really be killing someone out there". During the trial, the prosecution relied only on the testimony of the women and did not test the rape kits that had been taken from the women, in spite of testimony from witnesses who said Vargas was working at a bagel shop where he was employed when the attempted rapes and rape occurred. Vargas was partly convicted because of his tattoo but suspicions were also heightened because he had pleaded guilty to raping his girlfriend while drunk in 1992. ........While Vargas' DNA came back as a nonmatch, a lab compared DNA from a victim's shorts to a DNA profile of the "teardrop rapist". The judge noted that their preliminary identifications were irregular and sensitive in describing their opponent. "Bad eyewitness identifications are one of the leading causes of wrongful convictions", California Innocence Project Director, Professor Justin Brooks, said in a statement. Prosecutors concluded it was a case of mistaken identity and that new evidence had undermined their case, Deputy District Attorney Nicole Flood said in a letter to the judge.'
