DuBoise is represented by the Innocence Project, who worked collaboratively with the Conviction Review Unit at the Office of the State Attorney for the 13th Judicial Circuit in Tampa. Although the jailhouse informant claimed to not have been given anything in exchange for his cooperation, he did receive a plea deal that reduced his potential life sentence to five years. Prosecutors and Mr. DuBoises lawyer said they would then begin the lengthier process of asking the court to reverse his conviction and exonerate him. Photo of Robert DuBois hugging his mother by Martha Asencio-Rhine, Tampa BayTimes. Refine Your Search Results. Chris Bumbaca. Today, Robert finally has some measure of justice. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! DNA testing of the samples confirmed what Mr. DuBoise had long said: that he was not responsible for the rape and murder of the woman, Barbara Grams, 19, prosecutors said. Grams was attacked and beaten to death while walking home from her job at a restaurant on 19 August 1983. I praise them for all they did. Robert Dubois was wrongly convicted for a 1983 rape and murder. Then, last September, the Innocence Project asked Mr. Warrens office, which had created a Conviction Review Unit in 2018, to examine Mr. DuBoises case. In addition, the lawsuit contends that investigators conspired with jailhouse informants to falsely implicate DuBoise in the Grams killing and were guilty of misconduct in the handling of his case. The exculpatory DNA evidence freed Robert DuBoise of his wrongful conviction and made him Floridas 30th person exonerated after being sentenced to death. In 2007, Mr. DuBoise filed a motion to have DNA from his case tested, but the evidence admitted at his trial had been destroyed in 1990, and Mr. DuBoises motion was denied, prosecutors said. Its been 37 years, said Hillsborough county state attorney Andrew Warren. Robert is a very patient person, Ms. Friedman said. In addition, the lawsuit contends that investigators conspired with jailhouse informants to falsely implicate DuBoise and were guilty of misconduct. Based on a comparison of the impression and mold, Dr. Souviron determined DuBoise was a match to the mark left on the body and he was arrested immediately. They punish the innocent while allowing the actual perpetrator to go free. 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. Time and freedom, together, are essential . All Rights Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. As a result, the judge denied his request to test the other biological evidence and agreed on the States theory that excluding Robert from the evidence would still not prove his innocence. 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, Souviron said during a speech at the International Association of Chiefs of Police, according to the complaint. St. Petersburg, Florida 33704. (Page 2) Working with State Attorney Andrew Warrens Conviction Integrity Unit, the parties told the court that there was in fact no bite mark and that DNA evidence from an untested rape kit excluded DuBoise and implicated two other men. He now has the freedom he has deserved all along. Beyond that, wrongful convictions threaten public safety, putting an innocent person behind bars while the actual person who committed the crime goes free, Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren said. For one thing,the injury on Gramscheek likely wasnt a bite mark at all and even if it was, bite marks are no longer considered reliable evidence in identifying suspects, according to new expert testimony referenced ina state attorney's officepress release. However, evidence on the case was presumed destroyedin 1990, apparently aspart of a routine process, Grayson Kamm, communications officer for the Office of the State Attorney, 13th Judicial Circuit, said in a phone interview with Oxygen.com. Prior to his conviction, he was transported to Hillsborough County Jail where a jailhouse informant interacted with him and later falsely testified DuBoise had confessed to the crime during his time there. 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. After testifying in court against DuBoise and once a death sentence was secured, the informant received a further sentence reduction to time served and he was immediately released. Grams in August 1983 was forcibly raped and beaten to death while walking home from work. The woman had been beaten and sexually assaulted. DNA testing was conducted this summer and found that DNA from two males was present and excluded DuBoise. The testimony of DuBoises fellow inmate was also called into doubt. Susan Friedman, the Innocence Project lawyer representing DuBoise, said he maintained his innocence on Death Row and often in solitary confinement in six Florida prisons. Cops Who Became Cold Blooded Murderers. The brother and friend were never charged because there was no other evidence against them, prosecutors said. Souviron, whose practice is in Coral Gables, Florida, did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment on the DuBoise case on Saturday. Im comforted by knowing that weve provided the truth now to this community, and especially to the victims family who were given false closure based on a false story all these years.. 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. I am grateful to be here, now with a chance to move forward, but I know there are more innocent people like me still behind bars, said DuBoise. Mr. DuBoise is a man of faith, Ms. Friedman said, and hoped to go to church and the beach after his release. Crime News is your destination for true crime stories from around the world, breaking crime news, and information about Oxygen's original true crime shows and documentaries. They deserve the truth, not false closure based on a false story. The Medical Examiner also identified what was thought to be a human bite-mark on the victims cheek. (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. The only additional evidence introduced at trial that supported this theory came from a jailhouse informant. Jerry Lambe is a journalist at Law&Crime. One of them who was a major contributor of DNA on the samples meaning more of his genetic material was present is now considered a person of interest in the killing of Ms. Grams, who was found raped and beaten to death behind a Tampa dental office in 1983. 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John Counsman, and forensic dentist Dr. Richard Souviron. By that point, Grams was being represented by Innocence Project attorney Susan Friedman. Phone: (727) 642-3162 Wrongful convictions are contrary to the very fiber of our system, Warren said at a news conference following the courts action. The promise or expectation of receiving leniency or other benefits for their testimony creates a strong incentive for these witnesses to lie. In many wrongful convictions, such as DuBoises, these benefits provided in exchange for their testimony are never disclosed. The jury unanimously recommended that DuBoise be sentenced to life, but his trial judge, Henry Lee Coe III, overrode their recommendation and sentenced DuBoise to be executed in Floridas electric chair. Robert DuBoise was convicted at a trial that relied on a testimony from an unreliable jailhouse informant and faulty bite-mark analysis. He walked free that afternoon. Marshall provided support for the claim by quoting several lines from a speech Souviron gave just before DuBoises trial. Refine Your Search Results. Investigators have two new persons of interest in the case. The only physical evidence implicating Mr. DuBoise was fabricated bite mark evidence that supposedly matched Mr. DuBoise to an injury on the victims body. This court has failed you for 37 years, Nash said during the remote hearing. Robert S Dubois, 93. STAFF LOGIN. The dentist was Dr. Richard Souviron, who gained notoriety as an expert after testifying in the murder trial of serial killer Ted Bundy that one of his Florida victims had a bite mark that matched his teeth. In 2019, the Innocence Project reached out to the Conviction Review Unit (CRU) at the Office of the State Attorney for the 13th Judicial Circuit in Tampa to begin a joint re-investigation based on new evidence on the jailhouse informant and concerns about the discredited bite mark evidence. Robert DuBoise, 56, was freed in August last year after long-shelved untested DNA evidence from a rape kit proved he was innocent of the rape and murder of 19-year-old Barbara Grams in Tampa . There are really true-hearted people in these offices now, he said. 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. Activity Our building permit records indicate that Robert E Dubois has worked on at least 35 projects over the past 3 years. 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. Emailus. Yet this was six months before Grams was slain. DuBoise never confessed and maintained his innocence throughout, his lawyers said. In March 1985, a jury convicted DuBoise of capital murder and attempted sexual battery and recommended a life sentence, but the judge overrode the recommendation and sentenced DuBoise to death. DNA evidence proved his innocense in the rape and murder of Barbara Grams. DuBoise was released from the Hardee Correctional Institution in Bowling Green, Florida, August 27, 2020, one day after Hillsborough prosecutors and lawyers from the national Innocence Project and the Innocence Project of Florida presented Circuit Judge Christopher Nash with evidence of his innocence. DuBoise was found guilty and initially sentenced to death, according to the documents. Based on the junk science of bite mark evidence and the unreliable testimony of a jailhouse informant, DuBoise was convicted and sentenced to death. Robert A. Dubois Obituary. Very little pointed to 18-year-old Robert DuBoise as the man responsible for the vicious rape and murder of 19-year-old Barbara Grams, who wasfound bludgeoned to deathin August 1983. 0:00. Help us advocate for the innocent by sharing the latest news from the Innocence Project. After 37 years behind bars, a Florida man was formally cleared on Monday of a 1983 rape and murder which DNA evidence proved he did not commit. 2023 Innocence Project. The only physical evidence implicating Mr. DuBoise was fabricated bitemark evidence that supposedly matched Mr. DuBoise to an injury on the victims body. Finally, the Conviction Review Unit discoveredthat Gramsrape kit hadnt been destroyed after all. DuBoise, who had never been convicted of a violent crime, fully cooperated with police and allowed them to take a mold of his teeth. Very little pointed to 18-year-old Robert DuBoise as the man responsible for the vicious rape and murder of 19-year-old Barbara Grams, who was found bludgeoned to death in August 1983. Please avoid sharing any personal information in the comments below and join us in making this a hate-speech free and safe space for everyone. 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. Join to connect PR. The American Board of Forensic Odontology (ABFO) has revised its standards and guidelines, and now explicitly states that an ABFO Diplomate shall not express conclusions unconditionally linking a bite mark to a dentition.. 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. 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