Samuel Scott

The Crime

In the early hours of Feb. 1, 1986, a young woman exiting a Savannah, Georgia, nightclub was accosted by three men. They forced her into a car and drove her to a house. Two of the men forced her out of the car and into the house, where one of them held her down while the other sexually assaulted her. The two men then began arguing and the victim was able to escape from the house. She ran for a few blocks, stopped at a home, and summoned the police.

The Investigation

After the woman was taken to a hospital and a rape kit was collected, she attempted to lead the police to the house where the attack took place. She identified the house of 30-year-old Samuel Scott, where police found Mr. Scott and 25-year-old Douglas Echols. The victim identified Mr. Echols as the man who held her down while the second assailant assaulted her. She later identified Mr. Scott as the rapist from a photographic lineup.

The men were arrested on Feb. 2, 1986. They were charged with rape, robbery, and kidnapping.

The Trial

In March 1987, Mr. Scott and Mr. Echols went to trial in Chatham County Superior Court. The victim identified Mr. Scott as the man who raped her and Mr. Echols as the other assailant.

Mr. Scott and Mr. Echols explained that they were together with another woman that night. The woman testified on their behalf, as did another witness who saw them both at a restaurant around the time of the crime. 

On March 26, 1987, the jury convicted both men of rape, robbery, and kidnapping. Mr. Scott was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years. Mr. Echols was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

The Exoneration

Mr. Echols was released on parole in 1992. 

In 1996, Mr. Scott contacted the Innocence Project. After the rape kit and other physical evidence were located, with the agreement of the prosecution, the evidence was released for DNA testing in February 2001.

In July 2001, the tests excluded Mr. Scott as the source of the spermatozoa found on the vaginal swabs in the rape kit. Subsequent testing revealed that Mr. Echols also was excluded as the source of spermatozoa. Further testing by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime laboratory corroborated the results.

Prosecutors then took the position that because a condom wrapper was found in the house, the perpetrator had been wearing a condom and the spermatozoa could have originated from a consensual sex partner.

The victim was interviewed and stated that she had not had consensual sex with anyone at that time. A reference sample was obtained from the victim’s then-boyfriend. Testing excluded him as the source of spermatozoa.

On July 3, 2002, Chatham County Superior Court Judge Michael Karpf vacated the convictions of both men and ordered a new trial.

In September 2002, Mr. Scott was released on parole, though he was briefly jailed for failing to register as a sex offender. Mr. Echols had been re-incarcerated seven months earlier for a parole violation.

On Oct. 7, 2002, the prosecution dismissed the case.

Both men were denied compensation by the state.