| Calvin Washington | Incident Date: 3/1/86 Jurisdiction: TX Charge: Murder, Rape Conviction: Capital Murder Sentence: Life |
Year of Conviction: 1987 Exoneration Date: 10/10/01 Sentence Served: 13 Years Real perpetrator found? Yes Contributing Causes: Informants/Snitches Compensation? Yes |
Calvin E. Washington was convicted of capital murder in 1987.
On the night of March 1, 1986, the victim, who resided in Waco, Texas, returned home from work. The next morning her body was discovered—she had been beaten, raped, and murdered. It was alleged that Washington, either acting alone or with Joe Sidney Williams, intentionally murdered the victim in the course of committing burglary and sexually assaulting the victim.
The state determined the cause of death to be from blunt force injuries and asphyxia by smothering or strangulation. The prosecution also produced evidence that the defendants were in possession of the victim's car on the morning of March 2, 1986 and had sold items belonging to the victim on the night of the crime. Witnesses testified that Washington had admitted to the burglary and that bite marks found on the body were left as a "trace mark." A jury convicted him of capital murder and sentenced him to life in prison.
After serving more than 13 years of this sentence, Calvin E. Washington was exonerated after post-conviction DNA testing showed that blood on a shirt found in Washington's home did not come from the victim, as previously asserted. Testing also showed that fluids taken from the victim did not come from Washington, but rather from another man, Bennie Carrol, now deceased. Bennie Carrol committed suicide three years after admitting that he had raped an elderly woman who happened to be a neighbor of victim.
On the night of March 1, 1986, the victim, who resided in Waco, Texas, returned home from work. The next morning her body was discovered—she had been beaten, raped, and murdered. It was alleged that Washington, either acting alone or with Joe Sidney Williams, intentionally murdered the victim in the course of committing burglary and sexually assaulting the victim.
The state determined the cause of death to be from blunt force injuries and asphyxia by smothering or strangulation. The prosecution also produced evidence that the defendants were in possession of the victim's car on the morning of March 2, 1986 and had sold items belonging to the victim on the night of the crime. Witnesses testified that Washington had admitted to the burglary and that bite marks found on the body were left as a "trace mark." A jury convicted him of capital murder and sentenced him to life in prison.
After serving more than 13 years of this sentence, Calvin E. Washington was exonerated after post-conviction DNA testing showed that blood on a shirt found in Washington's home did not come from the victim, as previously asserted. Testing also showed that fluids taken from the victim did not come from Washington, but rather from another man, Bennie Carrol, now deceased. Bennie Carrol committed suicide three years after admitting that he had raped an elderly woman who happened to be a neighbor of victim.
| Calvin Washington | Incident Date: 3/1/86 Jurisdiction: TX Charge: Murder, Rape Conviction: Capital Murder Sentence: Life |
Year of Conviction: 1987 Exoneration Date: 10/10/01 Sentence Served: 13 Years Real perpetrator found? Yes Contributing Causes: Informants/Snitches Compensation? Yes |