Monday, January 8, 2018
Clarence Moses-EL; Colorado; A year after he was acquitted following a new trial, he has filed a civil rights lawsuit for malicious prosecution - alleging, amongst other things, destruction of evidence..."The accuser identified him as the attacker after a dream while medicated and hospitalized because of injuries she received in the attack. Police mistakenly destroyed DNA evidence after Moses-EL raised $1,000 from other inmates to pay for testing."..."The 98-page lawsuit recounts the nearly three-decade ordeal, laying out details of the police investigation, the two trials, and how detectives questioned the victim and failed to investigate other potential suspects. The lawsuit names LC Jackson as the attacker and blames the city for leaving him on the streets to commit more crimes, including a 1992 violent rape of a woman and her 9-year-old daughter. Jackson was a former neighbor of Moses-EL and the victim. The victim originally named Jackson as a possible suspect in her rape and beating because she had been drinking with him in the hours before the attack. “Mr. Jackson was left at liberty to victimize other members of the Denver community,” the lawsuit said. “And he did just that.” Jackson wrote Moses-EL from prison and appeared to be on the verge of admitting he was the attacker. But Jackson recanted after talking to an investigator from the district attorney’s office."
PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Moses-EL had been convicted of raping and beating a neighbor in 1987. He went through two trials before a jury determined last year that he was not guilty of first-degree sexual assault, second-degree assault and second-degree burglary. The brutal rape and attack of a woman who lived in the Five Points neighborhood remains unsolved. From the beginning, Moses-EL insisted he was innocent and that the victim falsely identified him. He refused to accept plea bargains that were offered over the years. The case featured many twists and turns. The accuser identified him as the attacker after a dream while medicated and hospitalized because of injuries she received in the attack."
STORY: "Clarence Moses-EL files civil rights lawsuit against Denver for malicious prosecution Lawsuit comes a year after Moses-EL was acquitted in a new trial," by reporter Noelle Phillips, published by The Denver Post on December 15, 2017.
GIST: "A Denver man who spent 28 years in prison for a rape and assault he did not commit is filing a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city, a former district attorney and police investigators. Clarence Moses-EL, acquitted by a jury in November 2016, is accusing the defendants of malicious prosecution, destruction of evidence, manufacturing false evidence, mishandling evidence, conspiracy to violate his civil rights and fundamental unfairness of prosecution, according to a copy of the lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Denver. The lawsuit asks for an unspecified amount in damages. But the lawsuit exposes the city to another legal liability and potentially expensive payout. In the past three years, Denver has spent more than $19 million to settle claims against its police and sheriffs department. Jenna Espinoza, a city spokeswoman, said the city had not been served with the lawsuit. “Once we receive the complaint, we will evaluate the claims and respond to them,” she said in an email. Moses-EL had been convicted of raping and beating a neighbor in 1987. He went through two trials before a jury determined last year that he was not guilty of first-degree sexual assault, second-degree assault and second-degree burglary. The brutal rape and attack of a woman who lived in the Five Points neighborhood remains unsolved. From the beginning, Moses-EL insisted he was innocent and that the victim falsely identified him. He refused to accept plea bargains that were offered over the years. The case featured many twists and turns. The accuser identified him as the attacker after a dream while medicated and hospitalized because of injuries she received in the attack. Police mistakenly destroyed DNA evidence after Moses-EL raised $1,000 from other inmates to pay for testing. Another man, who lived in the neighborhood and had been partying with the victim the night of the attack, confessed to the crime and then recanted. In December 2015, a Denver District Court judge ordered a new trial, saying new evidence and previously submitted evidence most likely would lead to an acquittal in a new trial. Moses-EL was released from prison. Still, former District Atttorney Mitch Morrissey pushed ahead with a new trial.........The 98-page lawsuit recounts the nearly three-decade ordeal, laying out details of the police investigation, the two trials, and how detectives questioned the victim and failed to investigate other potential suspects. The lawsuit names LC Jackson as the attacker and blames the city for leaving him on the streets to commit more crimes, including a 1992 violent rape of a woman and her 9-year-old daughter. Jackson was a former neighbor of Moses-EL and the victim. The victim originally named Jackson as a possible suspect in her rape and beating because she had been drinking with him in the hours before the attack. “Mr. Jackson was left at liberty to victimize other members of the Denver community,” the lawsuit said. “And he did just that.” Jackson wrote Moses-EL from prison and appeared to be on the verge of admitting he was the attacker. But Jackson recanted after talking to an investigator from the district attorney’s office."
