DNA Tests Could Clear Ohio Man

New DNA test results could clear Ohio inmate Raymond Towler, who has served 27 years in prison for a sexual assault he has always said he didn’t commit.

Towler’s lawyers at the Ohio Innocence Project say that DNA testing on semen from the underwear of the child victim in the case proves Towler’s innocence. But questions about the test results and evidence handling in the case remain to be resolved, and Towler remains in prison.

"They've always said, 'Do you have more evidence?'  " Towler said in an interview at the Grafton Correctional Institution. "Now, I have it."

Towler, 51, smiled and gave a thumbs-up as he was led back to his cell after hearing the news.

"It confirms what I've been saying for 27 years."

Read the full story here

. (Columbus Dispatch, 11/22/08)

DNA testing in Towler’s case was conducted as part of a joint project between the Dispatch and the Ohio Innocence Project. Robert McClendon, another defendant granted testing as a result of the project, was exonerated in August.

Read the full series – “Test of Convictions” – here

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