68:, although both the victim and her fiancé continued to insist that Alexander was the perpetrator. Not all of the investigators were convinced of his guilt, particularly as three similar rapes occurred while Alexander was in police custody. In the case of one of the rapes that took place while he was in custody, Alexander's picture was accidentally placed in a photo-lineup shown to the victim. She selected his photograph as that of her assailant, despite his incarceration at the time of the offense.
140:, its police department and 14 of its officers, including Sgt. Cindy Eastman, an officer instrumental in securing Alexander's release. His lawyer, Roseann P. Ivanovich, said she expected to ask for about $ 55 million in damages ($ 10 million for every year spent in prison). Among the allegations in the 48-page lawsuit:
87:, with eleven jurors voting for conviction; nine in favor of conviction for the charges brought and two for conviction of lesser charges. He was re-tried for the crimes in 1998. At the second trial one of the victims, though identifying Alexander as her assailant, asserted that he had a hairless chest without
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Because of this new development, Indiana prosecutors came to believe that
Alexander was in fact not responsible for any of the rapes. In the remaining rape for which he was incarcerated, the evidence against him consisted of the victim's tentative identification of his voice and an eyewitness's
103:
named
Michael Murphy confessed to one of the two rapes of which Alexander had been convicted, knowing details only the true assailant would know. With this revelation, a judge ordered a new round of DNA testing in Alexander's case. Hairs found at the scene of the rape were submitted to
188:
On
September 17, 2020, he was charged in the stabbing death of his ex-girlfriend following a pattern of domestic violence. Midway through his trial Alexander took a plea deal for a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.
38:. Years later, on September 17, 2020, Alexander was charged with the murder of Catherine Minix, who was found stabbed to death. Minix had previously filed a protective order against Alexander for domestic violence.
123:
The courts granted the motion, and
Alexander was exonerated of all charges and released from prison on December 12, 2001. It is now believed that the River Park Rapist was actually two separate perpetrators.
91:. When it was demonstrated that Alexander had a hairy, heavily tattooed chest he was acquitted of that rape. Nevertheless, he was convicted of the other two and was sentenced to 70 years in prison.
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upheld the district court's dismissal of
Alexander's lawsuit. The court stated that Alexander had not proven his rights were violated during the trial which yielded his wrongful conviction.
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58:. Police arrested Richard Alexander (then 30 years old) in August 1996 for four of the rapes, largely on the basis of the statements of the victims.
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Police showed photos of
Alexander to rape victims who said they had not seen enough of their attackers' faces for a positive identification.
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75:, two counts of criminal deviate conduct, two counts of attempted rape, confinement, attempted robbery, rape,
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visual identification of
Alexander. The Indiana prosecutor and Alexander's defense attorney filed a joint
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108:. At the time of Alexander's original conviction, such testing was not available in the state of
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Nevertheless, Alexander was prosecuted for the three rapes, with charges totaling two counts of
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On June 14, 2007, Alexander was sentenced to eight years in prison, with two years suspended.
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Police coerced or constructed the identifications of
Alexander that were used at his trial.
112:. The tests proved that the DNA did not match Alexander's profile, but did match Murphy's.
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In 2001, with
Alexander already having served five years in prison, an alleged burglar and
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257:"South Bend man, cleared of 1996 River Park rapes, now charged with murder in stabbing"
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for having beaten a former girlfriend with a lead pipe in 2005. As part of his
390:"South Bend man wrongfully imprisoned for five years pleads guilty to battery"
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dubbed by local media the "River Park Rapist" preyed on female residents of
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470:"South Bend murder case ends with plea deal taken midway through trial"
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Coyne, T. (2002) "Man Freed by DNA Sues South Bend, Indiana Police".
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162:, a decision which Alexander appealed. But on January 3, 2006, the
226:) in a floor statement in support of the Innocence Protection Act.
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345:"Who Dunnit?: DNA Testing Exporter Helps Make the Case (or Not)"
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517:"The Innocence Protection Act and Another Death Row Milestone"
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evidence definitively excluded him as a suspect in one of the
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On May 22, 2007, Alexander pleaded guilty to one count of
379:. Docket #04-2535. Citation 433 F3d 550. January 3, 2006.
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The civil rights lawsuit was eventually dismissed by the
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132:On June 4, 2002, Richard Alexander filed a federal
150:Police destroyed evidence and ignored Alexander's
237:List of wrongful convictions in the United States
198:Alexander's case was made into an episode of the
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451:"Charges filed in murder of Catherine Minix"
120:to have Alexander's convictions overturned.
554:Overturned convictions in the United States
182:, a second count of battery was dismissed.
569:American people convicted of manslaughter
164:Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
16:Indiana man wrongfully convicted of rape
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449:Hudson, Melissa (September 17, 2020).
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26:man who was wrongfully convicted of
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211:Alexander's name was invoked by
549:People from South Bend, Indiana
468:Mazurek, Marek (May 11, 2022).
418:"Alexander Goes Back to Prison"
377:Alexander v. City of South Bend
351:. Retrieved December 27, 2006.
309:. Retrieved December 27, 2006.
1:
347:. United States Government,
160:United States district court
83:. His 1997 trial ended in a
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499:December 9, 2006, at the
170:Subsequent legal troubles
106:mitochondrial DNA testing
298:August 12, 2010, at the
426:. 2007. Archived from
527:on December 27, 2006.
430:on September 28, 2007
255:Sheckler, Christian.
42:Arrest and conviction
365:The Associated Press
136:against the city of
46:In 1996 a suspected
333:Facts on File, Inc.
293:"Richard Alexander"
474:South Bend Tribune
395:South Bend Tribune
323:Newton, M. (2004)
261:South Bend Tribune
306:Innocence Project
20:Richard Alexander
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243:References
138:South Bend
81:auto theft
52:South Bend
32:exonerated
30:and later
85:hung jury
515:(2005).
497:Archived
296:Archived
231:See also
200:Court TV
77:burglary
434:July 1,
402:May 23,
224:Vermont
213:Senator
202:series
176:battery
128:Lawsuit
110:Indiana
89:tattoos
73:robbery
56:Indiana
24:Indiana
479:4 July
398:. 2007
193:Trivia
152:alibis
118:motion
22:is an
455:ABC57
66:rapes
481:2022
436:2007
423:WSJV
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304:The
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28:rape
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