| Marcus Lyons | Incident Date: 12/31/69 Jurisdiction: IL Charge: 2 counts criminal sexual assault, 1 count unlawful restraint Conviction: 2 counts criminal sexual assault, 1 count unlawful restraint Sentence: 6 Years |
Year of Conviction: 1988 Exoneration Date: 9/19/07 Sentence Served: 2.5 Years Real perpetrator found? Yes Contributing Causes: Eyewitness Misidentification Compensation? Yes |
Marcus Lyons was wrongfully convicted of raping a woman in suburban Chicago in 1987. After nearly three years in prison and 16 years on parole as a registered sex offender, he was exonerated when DNA testing pointed to an unknown male as the actual perpetrator of the crime.
The Crime
At around 8:30 p.m. on the night of November 30, 1987, a 29-year-old Caucasian woman was watching TV in her suburban Chicago apartment when she heard a knock on the door. A man outside identified himself as “Mr. Williams, from downstairs.” He asked to use the bathroom, and the woman let him in. When he came out of the bathroom, the woman was sitting on her couch smoking a cigarette and the man came to stand by her. He pushed her down and she tried to burn him with her cigarette; she missed his face and burned his jacket collar. The man then forced the victim to remove her clothing and lay on the floor. He raped her orally and vaginally and ejaculated. He wiped semen from her body with a towel from the kitchen, and left silently with the towel.
The victim immediately put on her underwear and a robe and called a friend. She took a shower and her friend arrived at the apartment. Several hours later, the women called the police, who arrived before midnight.
The victim described her attacker as an African-American man between 25 and 30 years old, about 200 pounds, with a mustache and afro. He wore tight brown polyester pants and a blue ski parka with a fur collar that the victim had burned with her cigarette.
The Identification, Investigation and Trial
The victim created a composite sketch with police at the hospital. Two of the victim’s neighbors said the sketch looked like Marcus Lyons, who lived in the next building. Police obtained an employee ID photo from AT&T, where Lyons worked, and showed the victim a six-photo lineup. The other five photos in the lineup were police mugshots, and Lyons was the only lineup member in a shirt and tie. The victim identified Lyons, and police went to Lyons’ apartment.
Lyons allowed police to search his apartment, where they found a pair of brown polyester pants (which would be tight on Lyons’ 165-pound frame) and a blue jacket with no fur collar and no burn hole. Five days after the crime, police conducted a live lineup, in which Lyons was the only member repeated from the photo lineup. Again, she identified him as the attacker. Police interrogated Lyons for two days, during which he allegedly failed a polygraph test. He was charged with the crime 10 days later.
The victim again identified Marcus Lyons during a jury trial in October 1988. He was convicted of sexual assault and unlawful restraint and sentenced to six years in prison.
Post-Conviction Appeals
Although Lyons hired a private lawyer to file an appeal on his behalf, that appeal was never filed. The attorney’s law license was later suspended for neglecting his clients’ criminal appeals. Lyons was released on parole after three years in prison. Although he was a Navy veteran with no criminal record prior to his wrongful conviction in 1988, he was convicted of three misdemeanors after his release for protesting his wrongful conviction on the steps of the Wheaton, Illinois, courthouse. In 1991, Lyons, dressed in his Navy uniform, attempted to nail himself to a cross made of railroad ties on the courthouse steps.
In 2006, Lyons hired an appellate attorney, John Curnyn of Jed Stone & Associates, who filed for DNA testing in the case. The victim’s bra was the only piece of evidence that had been retained, and it was tested for semen. A full male profile was developed from semen on the bra, and it pointed to the identity of an unknown male. On the strength of this evidence, a judge vacated Lyons’ conviction and the District Attorney agreed to dismiss all charges.
Before his exoneration, Lyons served nearly three years in prison for this crime, plus 16 years as a registered sex offender. Lyons was granted clemency and his record was expunged. He also received a small amount of compensation from the state. Since Lyons’ exoneration, police have announced that the DNA evidence from the crime implicates another man, who worked near the crime scene in 1987. The statute of limitations has expired, however, and the man will apparently not be charged in connection with the crime.
The Crime
At around 8:30 p.m. on the night of November 30, 1987, a 29-year-old Caucasian woman was watching TV in her suburban Chicago apartment when she heard a knock on the door. A man outside identified himself as “Mr. Williams, from downstairs.” He asked to use the bathroom, and the woman let him in. When he came out of the bathroom, the woman was sitting on her couch smoking a cigarette and the man came to stand by her. He pushed her down and she tried to burn him with her cigarette; she missed his face and burned his jacket collar. The man then forced the victim to remove her clothing and lay on the floor. He raped her orally and vaginally and ejaculated. He wiped semen from her body with a towel from the kitchen, and left silently with the towel.
The victim immediately put on her underwear and a robe and called a friend. She took a shower and her friend arrived at the apartment. Several hours later, the women called the police, who arrived before midnight.
The victim described her attacker as an African-American man between 25 and 30 years old, about 200 pounds, with a mustache and afro. He wore tight brown polyester pants and a blue ski parka with a fur collar that the victim had burned with her cigarette.
The Identification, Investigation and Trial
The victim created a composite sketch with police at the hospital. Two of the victim’s neighbors said the sketch looked like Marcus Lyons, who lived in the next building. Police obtained an employee ID photo from AT&T, where Lyons worked, and showed the victim a six-photo lineup. The other five photos in the lineup were police mugshots, and Lyons was the only lineup member in a shirt and tie. The victim identified Lyons, and police went to Lyons’ apartment.
Lyons allowed police to search his apartment, where they found a pair of brown polyester pants (which would be tight on Lyons’ 165-pound frame) and a blue jacket with no fur collar and no burn hole. Five days after the crime, police conducted a live lineup, in which Lyons was the only member repeated from the photo lineup. Again, she identified him as the attacker. Police interrogated Lyons for two days, during which he allegedly failed a polygraph test. He was charged with the crime 10 days later.
The victim again identified Marcus Lyons during a jury trial in October 1988. He was convicted of sexual assault and unlawful restraint and sentenced to six years in prison.
Post-Conviction Appeals
Although Lyons hired a private lawyer to file an appeal on his behalf, that appeal was never filed. The attorney’s law license was later suspended for neglecting his clients’ criminal appeals. Lyons was released on parole after three years in prison. Although he was a Navy veteran with no criminal record prior to his wrongful conviction in 1988, he was convicted of three misdemeanors after his release for protesting his wrongful conviction on the steps of the Wheaton, Illinois, courthouse. In 1991, Lyons, dressed in his Navy uniform, attempted to nail himself to a cross made of railroad ties on the courthouse steps.
In 2006, Lyons hired an appellate attorney, John Curnyn of Jed Stone & Associates, who filed for DNA testing in the case. The victim’s bra was the only piece of evidence that had been retained, and it was tested for semen. A full male profile was developed from semen on the bra, and it pointed to the identity of an unknown male. On the strength of this evidence, a judge vacated Lyons’ conviction and the District Attorney agreed to dismiss all charges.
Before his exoneration, Lyons served nearly three years in prison for this crime, plus 16 years as a registered sex offender. Lyons was granted clemency and his record was expunged. He also received a small amount of compensation from the state. Since Lyons’ exoneration, police have announced that the DNA evidence from the crime implicates another man, who worked near the crime scene in 1987. The statute of limitations has expired, however, and the man will apparently not be charged in connection with the crime.
| Marcus Lyons | Incident Date: 12/31/69 Jurisdiction: IL Charge: 2 counts criminal sexual assault, 1 count unlawful restraint Conviction: 2 counts criminal sexual assault, 1 count unlawful restraint Sentence: 6 Years |
Year of Conviction: 1988 Exoneration Date: 9/19/07 Sentence Served: 2.5 Years Real perpetrator found? Yes Contributing Causes: Eyewitness Misidentification Compensation? Yes |