Rhode Island Court Reverses Murder Conviction of Man Who Has Served 23 Years

07.13.15

Today a Rhode Island judge reversed the murder conviction of Raymond Tempest, Jr., who has served 23 years for the February 19, 1982 murder of a woman and the assault of another who lived in a Providence apartment building.   The Innocence Project assisted the lawyers on the case with DNA testing that excluded the Tempest as the source of evidence, including two hairs in the victim’s clinched hand, recovered from the crime scene.

Tempest always maintained his innocence of the crime.  Controversy about the investigation has followed the case for years.  The court ruled that the prosecution violated the defendant’s constitutional rights by refusing to turn over evidence that pointed to his innocence.  The judge adjourned the case to August 4

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for a hearing to determine whether to set bail that would allow the defendant to be released.  At the hearing today, the prosecution indicated that he intended to appeal the decision to the Rhode Island Supreme Court.   

Read more about the decision

here

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