After serving 17 years in prison, Roosevelt Glenn walked out of prison a free man, just in time to see his three daughters reach adulthood. But he was haunted by the bad science that unjustly locked him up—he was still wrongly marked as a rapist.
In 1989, Roosevelt Glenn was enjoying a night out with two coworkers when their car broke down. The men left to find help, and upon their returning they discovered that they had been robbed of money and clothing, leaving the men without their work attire—a pair of green coveralls.
Later that night, an innocent motorist rushed home to her husband in tears after being attacked by a gang of serial rapists. The gang lured in their victim by bumping into her car, forcing her to stop and check for damage. As the woman exited her car, a gang of five men grabbed her, stripped her, and then took turns raping her in the back seat of her own vehicle. The whole time the victim’s face was covered—by a pair of green coveralls.
The rape victim, who could not identify her attackers, provided the police with two pieces of evidence: the coveralls that were used to obstruct her vision, and the DNA-tainted clothing she was wearing.
Flawed reasoning connected Glenn and his coworker, Darryl Pinkins, to the crime scene. The investigation began with an identification of Glenn’s green coveralls, and prosecutors ran with the story from there. Bad science matched Glenn’s hair to the scene, a mistake that the FBI later apologized for. The victim allegedly recognized Pinkins despite earlier claims that she could identify her attackers. But both Glenn and Pinkins thought an upcoming DNA test would exonerate them from a crime they did not commit.
The DNA analysis that was—and still is—being used by crime labs failed the two men. A 1990 analysis found a mixture of five people's DNA on the semen stains from the victim's clothing. Glenn, Pinkins, and their co-defendants were excluded. However, the DNA results were dismissed as inconclusive. In separate trials, both Glenn and Pinkins were wrongly convicted, and sentenced to spend the majority of their lives in prison.
Justice was only served 25 years after the crime was committed, when an Indiana wrongful conviction clinic decided to retest the DNA evidence using modern techniques. Cybergenetics used their innovative TrueAllele® technology to separate the DNA mixture into its five contributors and to find the truth. Neither Pinkins or Glenn had DNA matching the five contributors from the crime scene.
Today both Glenn and Pinkins enjoy their freedom because of TrueAllele technology. Their story was told in CBS News 48 Hours episode “Guilty Until Proven Innocent.” Glenn advocates for a better justice system, that proves guilt using real science.
“My desire is to bring light and focus to the forgotten victims of legal system errors in hopes of improving what we call the ‘greatest legal system in the world,’” Glenn says in his autobiography, Innocent Nightmare.
Justice Through Science seeks to help Glenn achieve this goal.
In 1989, Roosevelt Glenn was enjoying a night out with two coworkers when their car broke down. The men left to find help, and upon their returning they discovered that they had been robbed of money and clothing, leaving the men without their work attire—a pair of green coveralls.
Later that night, an innocent motorist rushed home to her husband in tears after being attacked by a gang of serial rapists. The gang lured in their victim by bumping into her car, forcing her to stop and check for damage. As the woman exited her car, a gang of five men grabbed her, stripped her, and then took turns raping her in the back seat of her own vehicle. The whole time the victim’s face was covered—by a pair of green coveralls.
The rape victim, who could not identify her attackers, provided the police with two pieces of evidence: the coveralls that were used to obstruct her vision, and the DNA-tainted clothing she was wearing.
Flawed reasoning connected Glenn and his coworker, Darryl Pinkins, to the crime scene. The investigation began with an identification of Glenn’s green coveralls, and prosecutors ran with the story from there. Bad science matched Glenn’s hair to the scene, a mistake that the FBI later apologized for. The victim allegedly recognized Pinkins despite earlier claims that she could identify her attackers. But both Glenn and Pinkins thought an upcoming DNA test would exonerate them from a crime they did not commit.
The DNA analysis that was—and still is—being used by crime labs failed the two men. A 1990 analysis found a mixture of five people's DNA on the semen stains from the victim's clothing. Glenn, Pinkins, and their co-defendants were excluded. However, the DNA results were dismissed as inconclusive. In separate trials, both Glenn and Pinkins were wrongly convicted, and sentenced to spend the majority of their lives in prison.
Justice was only served 25 years after the crime was committed, when an Indiana wrongful conviction clinic decided to retest the DNA evidence using modern techniques. Cybergenetics used their innovative TrueAllele® technology to separate the DNA mixture into its five contributors and to find the truth. Neither Pinkins or Glenn had DNA matching the five contributors from the crime scene.
Today both Glenn and Pinkins enjoy their freedom because of TrueAllele technology. Their story was told in CBS News 48 Hours episode “Guilty Until Proven Innocent.” Glenn advocates for a better justice system, that proves guilt using real science.
“My desire is to bring light and focus to the forgotten victims of legal system errors in hopes of improving what we call the ‘greatest legal system in the world,’” Glenn says in his autobiography, Innocent Nightmare.
Justice Through Science seeks to help Glenn achieve this goal.
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