Bennie Starks was released from prison in 2006, after being locked up for 20 years for a crime he never committed. He is now suing the forensic experts who falsely testified against him in a case of sexual assault.<\/p>\n
Although Starks\u2019 charges were dismissed, the 53-year-old man
\nwill never regain his lost years. In 1986, he was found guilty of
\nassaulting and raping a 69-year-old woman from Waukegan, Ill., and
\nsentenced to 60 years in prison.<\/p>\n
Government witnesses, two dentists and a forensic technician
\ntestified against him. The rape victim also identified him in a
\nphoto line-up, but Starks believes two police officers encouraged
\nthe woman to accuse him.<\/p>\n
Dr. Carl Hagstrom and Dr. Russell Schneider, two dentists,
\ntestified that the bite marks on the victim\u2019s body matched the
\nmarks left by Starks\u2019 teeth. Their methodology, however, was
\noutdated and unreliable, according to information obtained by the
\nCourthouse News Service.<\/p>\n
With government witnesses, forensic \u2018experts\u2019, and the victim
\nherself alleging that Starks was the rapist, there was little he
\ncould do to keep himself out of prison. But in 2006, the Illinois
\nAppellate Court vacated the man\u2019s conviction and set up a retrial.
\nDNA evidence cleared him of the 1986 rape, and Starks walked out of
\nprison a free man.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t until January 2013 that all of his charges were
\ndismissed and his record was clean.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just overwhelmed with joy,\u201d<\/i> Starks told ABC after
\nwalking out of the courtroom with a clean slate. The man\u2019s
\nattorney, Jed Stone, compared the outcome to a \u201cray of sunlight
\nthat cracked through a cloud\u201d.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
But what Starks can\u2019t forget is the false testimony by the
\nstate\u2019s forensic technician, Sharon Thomas-Boyd, as well as the two
\ndentists who matched his teeth to the bite marks. Thomas-Boyd
\nfalsely claimed that Starks\u2019 semen matched the DNA found on the
\nvictim.<\/p>\n
US District Judge Gary Feinerman supported Starks\u2019 theory that
\nthe forensic experts engaged in a conspiracy to falsely accuse
\nhim.<\/p>\n
“The complaint amply alleges that the police defendants, the
\ndentist defendants, and Thomas-Boyd all worked to get Starks
\nconvicted for a crime he did not commit, and it is more plausible
\nthat they each made their contributions to that effort in the
\ncontext of an agreement to secure a wrongful conviction than that,
\nby some wild coincidence, everyone who came into contact with
\nStarks’s case independently developed a desire to see him convicted
\nand a willingness to lie in pursuit of that goal,”<\/i> the judge
\nsaid, according to court documents.<\/p>\n
It is unlikely that the police officers will be penalized for
\nlying to the jury, since they hold impunity for doing so. But it is
\npossible that they could face charges for prompting the rape victim
\nto falsely identify Starks as the suspect.<\/p>\n
Starks claims the conspiracy caused him emotional distress. The
\nInnocence Project, a group that originally helped the man clear his
\nname, told ABC that in cases where innocent men are imprisoned,
\nmisidentification is most often the cause.<\/p>\n
\u201cBennie\u2019s case features a wrongful identification and also
\nfaulty forensics,\u201d<\/i> Lauren Kaeseberg of the Innocence Project
\nsaid in January. \u201cMisidentifications make up 75 percent of
\nwrongful convictions.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
In the state of Illinois, committing conspiracy or perjury The defendants have filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, but
\nunder oath or affirmation is a class 3 felony, which could result
\nin 2-5 years imprisonment and\/or a fine of up to $25,000. The
\nlawsuit accuses the forensic experts of filing false reports,
\ngiving false statements, conspiring against Starks and pursuing
\nwrongful prosecutions.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nJudge Feinerman denied all motions except the intentional
\ninfliction of emotion distress.
<\/i><\/p>\n