Exoneree Stephan Cowans found dead in his home

Stephan Cowans, who served more than five years in prison for an armed assault he didn’t commit, was found dead this morning in his Randolph, Massachusetts, home. He was apparently shot by someone he let into his house, according to a media report.

The New England Innocence Project represented Cowans during the appeals that led to his exoneration, with the assistance of the Innocence Project. Cowans had been convicted in 1998 of the May 1997 shooting of a Boston police officer.  A Boston Police Department crime lab fingerprint analyst testified that Cowans’ fingerprint was found at the crime scene.  Once DNA testing proved Cowans did not commit the crime, the fingerprint was re-analyzed – and it was not Cowans’.  As a result of Cowans’ exoneration, the fingerprint unit of the crime lab was closed and analysts were investigated.

Read more about his case here

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We are deeply saddened by the loss of Stephan Cowans, who had been free just three years and was rebuilding his life after clearing his name.  Our thoughts are with his friends and family. We will post information about memorial arrangements here when they are available.

News coverage:

Boston Globe:

Man wrongly convicted in Boston police shooting found dead