Douglas Echols - Exoneration

Exoneration

In 1996, after having served 5 years in prison for a rape conviction, Douglas Echols read about the Innocence Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to freeing the wrongfully convicted. Although Echols had been released from prison, his charges had not been cleared. The Innocence Project agreed to take on his case and, in February 2001, finally got permission to do DNA testing on the rape kit evidence. In July 2001, extensive DNA testing of Echols and co-defendant Samuel Scott showed that they could not have contributed the spermatozoa from the vaginal swabs. After revealing this evidence, prosecutors changed their theory of the case. They said perhaps the rape victim, Donna Givens, had consensual sex around the same time. The Innocence Project investigated the claim and found it to be untrue. Finally, in October 2002, Echols and Scott became the second and third Georgia prisoners to be exonerated and the charges of rape were lifted.