North Carolina dropped all charges against Dwayne Allen Dail (pictured), who spent nearly half his life in prison for a rape he did not commit. Dail, now 39, was sentenced to two life sentences plus 18 years in 1989. He has always maintained his innocence, but was convicted after the 12-year-old victim identified him as her assailant and the state claimed that hair found at the crime scene was microscopically consistent with his. Standard protocol would have ordered the destruction of all evidence in the case after a period of time, but when a police officer originally involved in the case retired, authorities found a piece of the girl’s nightgown in an evidence bag in his desk drawer. The nightgown had not been entered as evidence during Dail’s trial in 1989 because the victim’s underwear and other personal items were considered sufficient. It was tested by the State Bureau of Investigations and new analysis of the DNA on the victim’s nightgown matched a different person. Wayne County District Attorney Branny Victory asked the state court to dismiss the original charges with prejudice, meaning Dail cannot be retried on the offense.

The dismissal of charges against Dail follows a 6-year investigation by the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence. His attorney, Christina Mumma, said that Dail plans to seek a full pardon from the governor, as well as financial compensation that could total as much as $20,000 for each year he was wrongly imprisoned. After winning his freedom, Dail stated that he is “a blessed man,” and that he now plans to spend time with his family and visit the grave of his brother, who died while Dail was still in prison.

(WRAL and the Associated Press, August 28, 2007). The case illustrates the potential problems with recent legislation that would allow the death penalty for the rape of a child. It also underscores the problems with eyewitness identification and the withholding and destruction of evidence. See Non-murder Crimes and the Death Penalty and Innocence.