DNA tests free prisoner who went to jail in 1996
Source: Agencies |
May 2, 2012, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
ROBERT Dewey was 33 when he went to prison for the 1994 rape and murder of a Colorado woman. On Monday, the 51-year-old walked free after new DNA tests pointed to someone else as a suspect.
A judge dismissed charges against Dewey and declared him a free man. Dewey flashed a small smile through his trim beard.
He told reporters he just wanted to kick back, ride his motorcycle and spend time with his family.
"Contrary to popular belief, the world doesn't stop when you go to prison," Dewey said. "There's a lot for me to catch up on."
In 1996, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole after he was convicted of killing 19-year-old Jacie Taylor, who was found dead in her bathtub in Palisade on June 4, 1994.
DNA technology at the time gave jurors conflicting information, according to news accounts. At his sentencing hearing, Dewey said there was still a killer out there.
The Colorado Attorney General's Office's Justice Review Project took up Dewey's case last year. The advanced DNA tests that cleared him led to an arrest warrant being issued for Douglas Thames.
Thames had lived near Taylor, and his DNA profile is linked to evidence found in Taylor's apartment, according to an affidavit.
Thames is currently serving a life sentence for a 1989 murder.
Dewey said he tried to stay positive while behind bars. "It threw me into a dark tunnel," he said of his conviction.
Dewey told reporters he wanted to ride his motorcycle but had no specific plans for where. "As long as it's in the wind, I'm happy," he said.
A judge dismissed charges against Dewey and declared him a free man. Dewey flashed a small smile through his trim beard.
He told reporters he just wanted to kick back, ride his motorcycle and spend time with his family.
"Contrary to popular belief, the world doesn't stop when you go to prison," Dewey said. "There's a lot for me to catch up on."
In 1996, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole after he was convicted of killing 19-year-old Jacie Taylor, who was found dead in her bathtub in Palisade on June 4, 1994.
DNA technology at the time gave jurors conflicting information, according to news accounts. At his sentencing hearing, Dewey said there was still a killer out there.
The Colorado Attorney General's Office's Justice Review Project took up Dewey's case last year. The advanced DNA tests that cleared him led to an arrest warrant being issued for Douglas Thames.
Thames had lived near Taylor, and his DNA profile is linked to evidence found in Taylor's apartment, according to an affidavit.
Thames is currently serving a life sentence for a 1989 murder.
Dewey said he tried to stay positive while behind bars. "It threw me into a dark tunnel," he said of his conviction.
Dewey told reporters he wanted to ride his motorcycle but had no specific plans for where. "As long as it's in the wind, I'm happy," he said.
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