The exculpatory DNA evidence freed Robert DuBoise of his wrongful conviction and made him Floridas 30th person exonerated after being sentenced to death. DuBoise was released after new DNA testing of the crime scene evidence that was thought to have been destroyed excluded him as the assailant. He was released from prison last month. 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 . Robert Ray Dubois, 73 Resides in Davenport, FL Lived In Kissimmee FL, Sevierville TN, Pigeon Forge TN, Bradford OH Related To William Dubois, Connie Dubois, Evelyn Dubois, Lisa Dubois, Diane Dubois Also known as Robert R Du Bois Includes Address (9) Phone (10) Email (2) See Results Robert Duane Dubois, 47 Resides in Daytona Beach, FL Robert F Debois, Dubois Robert Dubois, Robert I Dubois, Robert F Dubois, Robert F Du Bois Principal at Lord Is Good LLC , Professional Surveyors and Mappers at WINTER HAVEN SR HIGH SCHOOL Report this profile . DuBoise is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. Robert Dubois in Florida. Grams in August 1983 was forcibly raped and beaten to death while walking home from work. DNA evidence proved his innocense in the rape and murder of Barbara Grams. Based on junk-science bite-mark evidence and false testimony from a prison informant, Robert DuBoise (pictured with his mother, Myra, following his release) was convicted of raping and murdering 19-year-old Barbara Grams. In 2006, DuBoise sought post-conviction DNA testing, but an evidence search at the time revealed that all evidence admitted at trial, which included evidence collected as part of the rape kit, was destroyed in 1990. He may be eligible for substantial compensation: in February, the state of Florida approved a $2 million compensation claim for a man whod been in prison since 1976 for a murder he didnt commit. Wrongful convictions deprive victims and their families of justice. Wrongful convictions are contrary to the very fiber of our system, Warren said at a news conference following the courts action. He was released on . Address: 204 37th Avenue North #182 He was arrested around 5:00 a.m., and, after he started screaming and kicking, he was restrained by ropes and handcuffs and sedated with a tranquilizer called Haldol. Souviron famously helped authorities convict Ted Bundy for the 1979 murder of Lisa Levy based on the bite mark the notorious serial killer left on the victims buttocks. Supporters of DuBoise have requested $1.85 million in compensation from the state Legislature, but that claims bill has so far gone nowhere. Robert DuBoise hugging his mother Myra DuBoise following his release from prison after 37 years on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020 in Bowling Green, Florida. Ms. Friedman said that she along with Mr. DuBoises mother and sister planned to meet Mr. DuBoise after he is released from prison on Thursday. The family of the victim deserves to have the truth, and this new evidence helps reveal the truth for all of us., Mr. Warren said he had apologized to Mr. DuBoise on behalf of the entire criminal justice system., The only person who benefits from wrongful conviction is the actual perpetrator, Mr. Warren said. Following DuBoises exoneration last year, Souviron told the Tampa Bay Times that he wouldnt be so adamant about his guilt if given another opportunity to testify. 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.. Wrongful convictions tear at the very foundation of our system and everything that prosecutors stand for: public safety, fairness and justice. The Medical Examiner also identified what was thought to be a human bite-mark on the victims cheek. 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. Robert E Dubois has a BuildZoom score of 90, which places them above 47% of 191,428 contractors in Florida. 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. For 37 years, weve had an innocent man locked up in prisonwhile the real perpetrator was never held accountable for this heinous crime. And a dental expert cited by the Innocence Project found that the injury on Ms. Gramss cheek was not a bite mark at all, Mr. Warren 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. 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,. Robert DuBoise leaves the Hardee County Correctional Institute after 37 years in prison. They deserve the truth, not false closure based on a false story. The dentist, Dr Richard Souviron, gained notoriety as an expert after testifying in the murder trial of serial killer Ted Bundy that one of his Florida victims had a bite mark that matched his teeth. To date, at least 33 known wrongful convictions and indictments stem from bite mark evidence, and the misapplication of forensic science was involved in 45 percent of DNA exoneration cases. Burke and John Counsman and Sergeant R.H. Price.. I always knew that DNA would prove my innocence and hoped that the evidence could be found not just for me, but for my family as well. After a 2008 hearing, a judge concluded that even if the evidence was suitable for testing, it would not exonerate DuBoise because the states theory was that two other individuals participated in the crime. The lawsuit, first reported by the Tampa Bay Times, seeks unspecified damages. 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. DuBoise is represented by the Innocence Project, who worked collaboratively with the Conviction Review Unit at the Office of the State Attorney for the 13th Judicial Circuit in Tampa. His sentence was reduced in 1988 to life in prison until his exoneration and release last year. The Innocence Project is advocating for legislation to remove this provision. Robert has always maintained his innocence and he has fought for decades to prove that he was wrongfully convicted, she said. The lawsuit, first reported by theTampa Bay Times, seeks unspecified damages. The basis for the claims are deprivation of due process, illegal detention and prosecution, and conspiracy to deprive constitutional rights, among other things. Through observation and autopsy, authorities concluded the woman was raped and beaten to death. 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. A few weeks later on September 14, 2020, the court vacated his wrongful convictions and the State dropped the charges against Robert DuBoise in a virtual hearing, exonerating him after 37 years incarcerated for a crime he did not commit. On Sept. 10, 2020, the Innocence Project filed a Motion for Post-Conviction Relief and Vacate Judgment and Sentence based on newly discovered evidence. In fact, the victims injury was not a human bitemark at all, Daniel Marshall, an attorney for the Human Rights Defense Center, wrote in the lawsuit. During the re-investigation, Dr. Adam Freeman, a forensic odontologist, reviewed the bite mark evidence and testimony in this case. Today, it has finally succeeded.. 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. (Image: Casey Brooke Lawson/The Innocence Project) (September 14, 2020 Tampa, Florida) Today, Robert DuBoise was exonerated from all charges in the 1983 rape and murder of a young woman in Tampa, Florida. DuBoise never confessed and maintained his innocence throughout, his lawyers said. Death Penalty Information Center | 1701 K Street NW Suite 205 Washington, DC 20006, Phone: 202-289-2275 | Email: [emailprotected], Privacy Policy | 2023 Death Penalty Information Center, Innocence Project Client Robert DuBoise Released After Nearly. 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. From a human point of view, of course, I feel terrible, Souviron reportedly said, adding: I played a part in his conviction. Publisher: Peter Schorsch @PeterSchorschFL. 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. Weve had an innocent man locked up for a crime that he did not commit, while the real perpetrator was never held accountable for this horrific murder, Andrew H. Warren, the Hillsborough County state attorney, said at a news conference on Wednesday. The woman had been beaten and sexually assaulted. Beyond that, wrongful convictions threaten public safety, putting an innocent person behind bars while the actual person who committed the crime goes free, Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren said. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Exonerated man walks out of Florida prison, Tampa Bay Times, August 27, 2020; Curt Anderson and Tamara Lush, Innocent Florida inmate released after 37years, Associated Press, August 27, 2020; Emily McCain and Heather Leigh, Its abeautiful day | Tampa man walks free after 37years in prison for murder, WFTS-TV, Tampa, August 27, 2020; Staff, Innocence Project Client Robert DuBoise Released After Nearly 37 Years in Prison for 1983 Tampa Murder, The Innocence Project, August 27,2020. DuBoise was re-sentenced to life for the murder and 15 years for the attempted sexual battery to run consecutively. (Image: Casey Brooke Lawson/AP Images for The Innocence Project). At the time, the inmate, who was facing a life sentence, claimed hed received no promises in exchange for testimony. Pennsylvania man who wrongly spent 23 years on death row is freed, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Supporters of DuBoise have requested $1.85m in compensation from the state legislature, but that bill has gone nowhere. 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.. 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. This wont be easy, but it will be worth it, he said. The only physical evidence implicating Mr. DuBoise was fabricated bitemark evidence that supposedly matched Mr. DuBoise to an injury on the victims body. Killer Motive: What Drives People To Kill? DuBoise has not yet been officially exonerated. Souviron, whose practice is in Coral Gables, Florida, did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment on the DuBoise case on Saturday. All of the other physical evidence excluded DuBoise and there were no eyewitnesses that placed him near the crime scene. Robert Dubois in Florida. DuBoise, 55, was convicted in the 1983 murder of 19-year-old Barbara Grams, who was raped and beaten while walking home from her job at a Tampa mall. 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. Warren said that his office was preparing court papers to complete the exoneration process. 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