DNA testing was conducted this summer and found that DNA from two males was present and excluded DuBoise. You can learn more about how we consider cases here. View Robert Dubois results in Fort Lauderdale, FL including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. In fact, the original prosecutions case rested rested primarily on two pieces of evidence:the testimony of a fellow inmate, and a woundon the woman's cheek that a dental expert identified as a bite mark from DuBoise's teeth, according to. 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 state attorney in Hillsborough County, Fla., said Wednesday. This platform and all of its content are owned by Extensive Enterprises Media. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Mr. DuBoises father died while he was incarcerated, she said. USA TODAY. He walked free that afternoon. The informant had several criminal charges pending, including kidnapping, armed robbery and battery on a law enforcement officer. Im so happy to see that the Innocence Project has been successful in freeing another innocent person and so happy that youre free, Robert, but also incredibly sad for all you have lost. In 1988, the Florida Supreme Court changed the sentence to life in prison. Butthe inmate was released from prison just 18 months after DuBoise's conviction, Hall said. Left; Robert and his mom, left, and his sister, right, on the day he was freed. During the medical examiners autopsy, he found a pattern injury on the victims face that was determined to be a human bite mark inflicted around the time of her death. DuBoises lawsuit quotes a speech to a police chiefs in which Souviron said: If you tell me that is the guy that did it, I will go into court and say that is the guy that did it.. The State sought this sentence reduction even though the Florida Parole and Probation Commission recommended against an earlier presumptive parole date. The Innocence Project began investigating DuBoises case in 2018 and in 2019 and requested that the CRU reopen the case based on new evidence about the jailhouse informant and concerns about the discredited bite mark evidence. As a result, the defense cannot raise concerns about the jailhouse informants motivations and reliability to the judge and jury. Robert Dubois in Florida We found 56 records for Robert Dubois in Melbourne, North Miami Beach and 32 other cities in Florida. So when he heard the news he was thrilled, but his reaction was, Its like waking up from a nightmare., Ms. Gramss family could not immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday. John Counsman, and forensic dentist Dr. Richard Souviron. A jury convicted Mr. DuBoise of first-degree murder and attempted sexual battery in 1985, and a judge sentenced him to death. One violent felony or more than one nonviolent felony will disqualify a person from Floridas Victims of Wrongful Incarceration Compensation Act which grants $50,000 per year of wrongful imprisonment by the State. Publisher: Peter Schorsch @PeterSchorschFL. In the early morning of August 19, 1983, a young womans body was found behind a dental office in Tampa, Florida. He was interrogated and taken to have a mold of his teeth made. 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.. View FREE Public Profile & Reputation for Robert Dubois in Titusville, FL - See Court Records | Photos | Address, Emails & Phone Number | Personal Review | $70 - $79,999 Income & Net Worth Robert DuBoise leaves the Hardee County Correctional Institute after 37 years in prison. Join to connect PR. The Innocence Project, which is affiliated with Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, is a national litigation and public policy organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. DuBoise maintained his innocence throughout his time in prison. In 2014, the Florida Supreme Court adopted a rule of criminal procedure requiring the prosecution to disclose impeachment evidence on jailhouse informants within 15 days of the defense requesting discovery materials. He was released on . Help us advocate for the innocent by sharing the latest news from the Innocence Project. The state must provide any benefits promised for testimony, the substance and circumstances of the statements the informant will testify about, the informants complete criminal history and other cases in which they cooperated with law enforcement in exchange for benefits. When investigators began to identify suspects, they also came across a local resident who referred to Robert DuBoise as someone who caused problems at a hangout place in the area. Robert. Contributors & reporters: Phil Ammann, Roseanne Dunkelberger, A.G. Gancarski, Anne Geggis, Kelly Hayes, Ryan Nicol, Jacob Ogles, Gray Rohrer, Jesse Scheckner, Christine Sexton, Andrew Wilson, Wes Wolfe, and Mike Wright. Robert DuBoise, 55, has spent two-thirds of his life behind bars for the 1983 rape and killing of a woman in Tampa, Fla. (August 27, 2020 Tampa, Florida) Today, Robert DuBoise walked free after spending almost 37 years in prison for a 1983 rape and murder in Tampa, Florida, he did not commit. I hope that my story helps others to keep fighting to prove their innocence. Under Floridas current compensation law, DuBoise is not eligible to receive any compensation for the 37 years he was in prison because, when he was a teenager, he was previously convicted of minor offenses related to the possession of a stolen bike, and entering a vacant home that was unlocked. DuBoise appealed his case in 2006, hoping to prove his innocence with DNA evidence that couldn't be properly processed in the '80s,local station WTSP reports. The brother and friend were never charged because there was no other evidence against them, prosecutors said. 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. Wrongful convictions deprive victims and their families of justice. Were righting this wrong today, finally.. Pennsylvania man who wrongly spent 23 years on death row is freed, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. All Filters. and indictments stem from bite mark evidence, and the misapplication of forensic science was involved in 45 percent of DNA exoneration cases. STAFF LOGIN. During the detectives canvas, DuBoise was identified as a person of interest after a local resident told police that he caused problems at their regular hangout. The exculpatory DNA evidence freed Robert DuBoise of his wrongful conviction and made him Floridas 30th person exonerated after being sentenced to death. Photo of Robert DuBois hugging his mother by Martha Asencio-Rhine, Tampa BayTimes. Florida remains the only state to disqualify exonerees from compensation if they were formerly convicted of unrelated felony offenses. A Florida man who was wrongfully convicted of raping and murdering a woman walked free Thursday after 37 years behind bars. From a human point of view, of course, I feel terrible, Souviron reportedly said, adding: I played a part in his conviction. He denied receiving any benefit in exchange for his testimony. They have also lived in Indialantic, FL and Fort Myers, FL. The inmate claimed that DuBoise had confessed to raping and murdering Grams alongside two other men, Teresa Hall,supervising attorney for the Conviction Review Unit, saidin a Thursday hearing. Photo: In the decades since, however, forensic experts have largely abandoned using bitemarks to identify suspects. It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Robert A. Dubois of Port Charlotte, Florida, who passed away on June 6, 2022, at the age of 80, leaving to mourn family and friends. Finally, the Conviction Review Unit discoveredthat Gramsrape kit hadnt been destroyed after all. DuBoise has been deprived of all the basic pleasures of human experience, which all free people enjoy as a matter of right., Republished with permission of The Associated Press. (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. In 1983, no reasonable dentist or forensic odontologist believed that bite mark molds made from beeswax impressions constituted a reliable or generally accepted basis for either identifying or excluding potential murder suspects, the suit states. Thank you for visiting us. The Innocence Project is advocating for legislation to remove this provision. It wont be easy. During the reinvestigation, Dr. Adam Freeman, a forensic odontologist, reviewed the bite mark evidence and testimony in this case. A lab was able to conclusively exclude DuBoise as a perpetrator upon reviewing DNA evidence, Hall said. Robert DuBoise, 56, wasfreed from prison in August 2020 after long-shelved, untested DNA evidence from a rape kit proved he was innocent of the slaying of 19-year-old Barbara Grams in Tampa. On Wednesday, prosecutors said they had moved to free Mr. DuBoise by filing a joint motion with his lawyer to reduce his life sentence to time served. Within weeks, through the cooperation of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit State Attorneys Office, the Innocence Project, and the local assistance of the Innocence Project of Florida, DuBoise was released from prison August 27, 2020, into the arms of his mother, Myra, his sister, Harriett, and his attorney Susan Friedman. Robert DuBoise, 56, was just 18 years old when he was wrongfully imprisoned for the death of 19-year-old Barbara Grams in Tampa, Florida. Dan Sullivan, After 37years, hes free. There are really true-hearted people in these offices now, he said. Or to keep it anonymous, click here. DuBoise will be the 171st documented death-row exoneration in the U.S. since 1973. 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 DuBoise following his exoneration after 37 years on Monday, Sept. 14, 2020, in Tampa, Florida. After nearly 40 years, Robert DuBoise reunites with his sister Harriett (left) and attorney Susan Friedman after his release from Hardee Correctional Institute (Image: Casey Brooke Lawson/ The Innocence Project). I am just so grateful that my voice was heard and the truth is out there, said DuBoise. You can learn more about how we consider cases here. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, against former Tampa police Detectives Phillip Saladino and K.E. 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