Cornelius Dupree

{{Infobox person | name = Cornelius Dupree Jr. | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1959|9|22}} | birth_place = | death_place = | death_date = | height = | citizenship = United States | other_names = | criminal_charge = Robbery – 1979 | criminal_penalty = 75 years imprisonment | criminal_status = Paroled – Summer 2010<br/>Exonerated – January 2011 | education = | alma_mater = | occupation = | employer = | parents = | spouse = Selma Perkins Dupree | known_for = Miscarriage of justice }}

'''Cornelius Dupree Jr.''' (born September 22, 1959) is an American man who was declared innocent of a 1980 conviction for aggravated robbery, which was alleged to have been committed during a rape in 1979.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} He was paroled in July 2010 after serving 30 years of a 75-year prison sentence in Texas. Prosecutors cleared him of the crime after a test of his DNA profile did not match traces of semen evidence from the case.<ref name="NYTimes-20110103">{{cite news|last=McKinley Jr.|first=James C.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/04/us/04brfs-DNAEVIDENCEC_BRF.html|title=Texas: DNA Evidence Clears Man After 30 Years|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 3, 2011|access-date=January 4, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201095442/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/04/us/04brfs-DNAEVIDENCEC_BRF.html|archive-date=February 1, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Dupree, who was represented by the Innocence Project, spent more time in prison in Texas than any other inmate who was eventually exonerated by DNA evidence.<ref name="DallasNews-20110103">{{cite news |last=Emily |first=Jennifer |url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/crime/stories/010411dnmetexoneree.7aafe8f9.html |title=Dallas County man cleared in 1979 robbery, rape will be Texas' longest-serving exoneree |newspaper=The Dallas Morning News |date=January 3, 2011 |access-date=January 4, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110106033554/http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/crime/stories/010411dnmetexoneree.7aafe8f9.html |archive-date=January 6, 2011}}</ref>

==Rape and robbery case== On November 23, 1979, a 26-year-old woman and a male companion were the victims of a carjacking after visiting a liquor store in Dallas, Texas.<ref name="WP-20110107">{{cite news|last=Robinson|first=Eugene|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/06/AR2011010606056.html|title=A test of DNA and courage|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=January 7, 2011|access-date=January 7, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111191035/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/06/AR2011010606056.html|archive-date=November 11, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> The abductors drove the woman to a park nearby, where they raped her. The perpetrators decided not to kill her, but kept her rabbit fur coat. About two days later, two men were seen trying to sell the coat at a grocery store two miles away. The victims' car was found in the parking lot. Dupree and Anthony Massingill were arrested the following month because they resembled suspects from a different sexual assault and robbery case. However, Dupree did not match the description of the perpetrators of the November carjacking.<ref name="NPR-20110103">{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=132633150 |title=DNA Clears Texas Man Who Spent 30 Years In Prison |publisher=National Public Radio |agency=Associated Press |date=January 3, 2011 |access-date=January 4, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110105073247/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=132633150 |archive-date=January 5, 2011}}</ref>

===Trial and appeals=== The 26-year-old victim picked out Dupree and Massingill from a police lineup, but her male companion did not. Dupree was charged with armed robbery and rape, but was never tried on the rape charge. In 1980, he was convicted and sentenced to 75 years in prison for aggravated robbery. Three of Dupree's appeals were rejected by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Two of the appeals were denied because he refused to admit to being a sex offender.<ref name="MSNBC-20110104">{{cite news|last=Gardner|first=David|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/40909822|title=Texan declared innocent after 30 years in prison|work=NBC News|date=January 4, 2011|access-date=January 6, 2011|archive-date=April 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422083946/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna40909822|url-status=dead}}</ref> He declined early release in 2004 in exchange for attending a treatment program for offenders because he felt it would have amounted to admitting guilt.<ref name="WP-20110107" /> Dupree later said, "Whatever your truth is, you have to stick with it."<ref name="MSNBC-20110104" />

Dupree continued to write letters to people and organizations around the state in his bid to prove his innocence.<ref name="WMBF-20110105">{{cite news|url=http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/13787289/dna-restores-man-freedom|title=DNA restores man's freedom|publisher=WMBF News|location=Dallas|date=January 5, 2011|access-date=January 7, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721045158/http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/13787289/dna-restores-man-freedom|archive-date=July 21, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Exoneration=== In 2006, the Innocence Project took Dupree's case and carried out a forensic examination of the case evidence in 2010. He was represented by a legal team that included project co-founder Barry Scheck.<ref name="NPR-20110105">{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=132642963 |title=Texan Declared Innocent After 30 Years In Prison |newspaper=National Public Radio |agency=Associated Press |date=January 4, 2011 |access-date=January 5, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110108021147/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=132642963 |archive-date=January 8, 2011}}</ref> Dupree was paroled in July 2010 and married his longtime fiancée Selma Perkins the day after his release.<ref name="MSNBC-20110104"/> Soon afterwards, test results indicated that the evidence contained DNA from two men, neither of whom were Dupree or Massingill.<ref name="WP-20110107" /> Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins stated, "Our Conviction Integrity Unit thoroughly reinvestigated this case, tested the biological evidence and based on the results, concluded Cornelius Dupree did not commit this crime."<ref name="AOL-20110103">{{cite news|last=Carlton |first=Jeff |url=http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/03/dna-clears-cornelius-dupree-jr-after-30-years-in-texas-prison/ |title=Man who spent 30 years in jail for armed robbery is finally proved innocent after DNA test |publisher=AOL News |agency=Associated Press |date=January 3, 2011 |access-date=January 4, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110106231556/http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/03/dna-clears-cornelius-dupree-jr-after-30-years-in-texas-prison/ |archive-date=January 6, 2011}}</ref> Under the Tim Cole Compensation Act of Texas, the strongest compensation legislation in the United States, Dupree is entitled to $80,000 for every year in prison, which amounts to $2.4 million, plus a lifetime annuity. The money can be received in a lump sum and is not subject to federal income tax.<ref name="NPR-20110105" /> Massingill was also absolved of the 1979 crime, but remains in prison on a different sexual assault conviction that is also being contested.<ref name="HeraldSun-20110104">{{cite news|last=Emily|first=Jennifer|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/dna-clears-us-man-cornelius-dupree-jr-after-30-years-in-jail/story-e6frf7kx-1225981529258|title=DNA clears US man Cornelius Dupree Jr after 30 years in jail|newspaper=Herald Sun|agency=Associated Press|location=Melbourne|date=January 4, 2011|access-date=January 4, 2011}}</ref>

Between 2001 and 2011, 41 wrongly convicted prisoners were freed in the state of Texas through DNA testing, more than in any other state.<ref name="MSNBC-20110104" />

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20160322115536/http://www.imdb.com/video/cbs/vi379099929/ Man Declared Innocent After 30 Years in Jail] at the Internet Movie Database *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110107105837/http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Houston_Man_To_Be_Declared_Innocent_After_Serving_30_Years_For_a_Dallas_Rape_and_Robbery_He_Didnt_Commit.php Houston Man To Be Declared Innocent After Serving 30 Years For a Dallas Rape and Robbery He Didn’t Commit] at the Innocence Project {{portal bar|Law|Texas}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dupree, Cornelius}} Category:Living people Category:1959 births Category:Overturned convictions in the United States Category:People from Houston Category:Prisoners and detainees of Texas