In legal practice, there are cases where DNA traces of a suspect on various objects are used as evidence. Moreover, this aspect of forensics has gained popularity in mass culture through numerous TV series, media, and literary works. However, its efficiency may be demonstrated in various cases, one of which is Robert Clark, who was charged with rape, kidnapping, and armed robbery in 1982 (Innocence Project, 2018). After spending 24 years in prison, he proved his innocence due to conducting a DNA examination and gained his freedom after spending a third of his life in prison (Innocence Project, 2018). Thus, an analysis of this case is required, which will reveal the wrongful conviction and lead to several conclusions on the overall method of examination mentioned above.
First, it is essential to present an overview of the case to understand the context. The victim was kidnapped from a parking lot in East Atlanta, Georgia, on July 30, 1981 (Innocence Project, 2018). A man with a pistol barged into her car, threatening to kill her (Innocence Project, 2018). He beat the victim, raped her three times, and chained both her wrists and feet in two remote areas in Cobb County (Innocence Project, 2018). When the rapist drove away in the victim’s car, he also robbed and bound her, leaving the woman naked (Innocence Project, 2018). The woman spotted her automobile again two days later in an apartment complex and a man parked her car as she drove past (Innocence Project, 2018). The victim called the police and sent them to the apartment complex where the driver resided. The person was Robert Clark, he got initially arrested for motor vehicle theft on August 23, 1981 (Innocence Project, 2018). After confessing on August 6, 1981, he became a suspect in the case of raping the victim and was recognized by her in the same period (Innocence Project, 2018). As a result, the court has established the chronology of the case, and the only aspect left for the investigation was to deduct the trial.
The trial itself was not conducted on a legal level that was proper. On May 26, 1982, Clark faced a jury and was found guilty (Innocence Project, 2018). The victim stated that she did not doubt that Clark was the perpetrator (Innocence Project, 2018). The remaining slides were not removed because there was insufficient material for accurate DNA analysis (Innocence Project, 2018). As a result, the defendant was charged and imprisoned despite the lack of concrete proof of the physical rape.
Clark maintained his innocence and sought DNA testing after his conviction. In October 2003, the Innocence Project took up his case, and in December, the Project filed a motion under Georgia’s post-conviction DNA testing legislation with local counsel from the Georgia Innocence Project (Innocence Project, 2018). Despite the opposition of the District Attorney’s Office, the request was granted (Innocence Project, 2018). Clark’s choice of laboratory was subsequently successfully challenged by the State (Innocence Project, 2018). The results proved that the spermatozoa discovered on the vaginal slide could not have come from Clark (Innocence Project, 2018). After establishing their innocence, he was released on December 8, 2005 (Innocence Project, 2018). Clark was the sixth person in Georgia to be exonerated by post-conviction DNA testing, all of whom were wrongly identified by eyewitnesses (Innocence Project, 2018). Consequently, this was the end of the case, and there are conclusions to be made based on the presented information.
In conclusion, based on the chronology of events, it is evident that the judge’s wrongful conviction in the above case is the result of a permissive attitude toward the legal process. While the only evidence was the victim’s verbal report and ambiguous matches, additional forensic analysis was required. Moreover, the DNA examination of all the individuals involved could have served to successfully resolve the situation. As a result, this causal connection is the basis for the uniqueness of this case.
Reference
Innocence Project. (2018). Robert Clark Celebrates 13 Years of Freedom.