According to the New York Times on February 15, a man who spent 37 years in prison for being wrongfully convicted in Tampa, Florida in 1983 and a woman will receive $14 million in settlement damages from the city of Tampa.
Robert Duboise, 59, was charged with the alleged murder of 19-year-old Barbara Grahms** when he was 18 years old. On August 19, 1983, Grahms' body was found behind a dental clinic in the north of the city.
In 1985, after a week-long trial, Duboise was convicted of first-degree ** crimes and attempted sexual violence, and at the trial, a prison informant claimed that he was guilty, and prosecutors said that Diboise's teeth matched the bite marks on the victim's cheek. He was initially sentenced to death, but three years later, the Florida Supreme Court commuted his sentence to life in prison.
In August 2020, after new DNA evidence**, Tabouise was acquitted and released, and two other men were later charged with committing the crime**. The following year, Diboise filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Tampa, four former police officers, and the forensic doctor who testified against him.
On the 15th, the Tampa City Council unanimously approved the settlement agreement, and the compensation will be paid in three installments over three years. (Compiled by Wang Diqing).