Wrongfully convicted man in 1983 rape and murder case exonerated by DNA evidence

55-year old Robert DuBoise has spent 37 years in prison for the 1983 rape and killing of Barbara Grams in Tampa, Florida. DuBoise has always maintained innocence, but in 1990, the evidence from his trial was destroyed, squashing all hopes of reversing his conviction.

But a recent discovery by a Hillsborough County prosecutor that could change DuBoise’s conviction. He discovered that the county medical examiner’s office was able to preserve rape kit samples that were not used in Duboise’s trial.

Confirming what DuBoise has maintained since 1983, DNA testing of the samples revealed that he was not responsible for the rape and murder of Grams, who was found raped and beaten to death behind a dental office in Tampa.

In his trial in 1985, the prosecutors said that DuBoise, his brother, and a friend had been driving in Tampa when they saw 19-year old Barbara Grams and then abducted, raped, and killed her. They presented a testimony from a local dentist who concluded that the injury on her cheek was a bite mark. A dental expert supported this, saying that the bite was inflicted by DuBoise.

A jailhouse informant also testified that DuBoise had confessed to killing and raping Grams with his brother and friend. The brother and friend, however, were not charged because of the lack of evidence convicting them. Meanwhile, DuBoise was convicted of first degree murder and attempted sexual battery in 1985 and was initially sentenced to death, which was later on changed to life in prison.

A review conducted in 2018 by the Innocence Project found that the injury on Grams’ cheek was not a bite mark and that the jailhouse informant who previously testified against DuBoise was not a credible witness. They also discovered other significant inconsistencies in the testimony.

But it was the DNA test result that discredited the witness testimony because the results did not match DuBoise’s profile, his brother, or his friend, who were also implicated in the crime. In other words, there is not one piece of evidence that proves DuBoise’s guilt. Instead, the DNA evidence points overwhelmingly to his innocence.

Prosecutors have moved to free DuBoise by filing a joint motion with his lawyer, reducing his sentence to time served. Once the judge approves the motion, DuBoise could walk out of the Hardee Correctional Institution in Bowling Green, Florida, a free man after 37 years.

Andrew H. Warren, the Hillsborough County state attorney, said at a news conference on Wednesday that he has apologized to DuBoise on behalf of the entire criminal justice system, adding that the only person who has benefited from the wrongful conviction is the actual perpetrator.

The prosecutors said that the DNA testing has identified two other men, one of which had more genetic material present on the samples and is now considered a person of interest. They decline to reveal the person’s identity and claim that he poses no threat to public safety.

According to Susan Friedman, an Innocence Project lawyer who represents DuBoise, his client has always maintained his innocence, fighting for decades against his wrongful conviction. So while he was thrilled to hear the news, his reaction was like “waking up from a nightmare.”

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Wrongfully convicted man in 1983 rape and murder case exonerated by DNA evidence

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