Recantation
By 1981, Crowell Webb had become deeply religious. In 1982, Crowell married a high school classmate, David Webb, and they moved to New Hampshire, In 1985 she confessed what she had done to her pastor, but when she tried with his assistance to correct what she had done the prosecutors would not take action. Dotson sought post-judgment relief based on Crowell Webb’s recantation, but the trial court found her recantation to be unbelievable and refused to free him.
The lawyer next contacted the media (leading to the infamous "How about a hug?" moment on the CBS Morning Show). The resulting public sympathy caused the original trial judge to release Dotson on $100,000 bond pending a hearing one week later. At that hearing, the same judge rejected new evidence discrediting the forensic evidence given at the trial, called the recantation less credible than the original testimony and sent Dotson back to prison.
Dotson's attorney also petitioned the Governor of Illinois, James R. Thompson, for clemency on April 19. "Big Jim" Thompson, formerly a federal prosecutor, responded to the media attention by declaring that he personally would oversee three days of public hearings on Crowell Webb's recantation. The hearings lasted three days, from May 10 through May 12, 1985. Twenty-four witnesses were called to testify at the just-opened new State of Illinois Center in Chicago which Thompson had built, and which is now named after him. The sexually graphic proceedings were televised, creating a nationwide crime drama at a time when cameras in the courtroom were unheard of. Viewers were shocked when a "gigantic" projection of Crowell Webb's stained underwear was projected onto a massive screen on the wall, and when she and her boyfriend recited details of their sexual activity. Nearly a quarter-century later, the Thompson Dotson hearings were still described as "circuslike," a description widely used in 1985.
Governor Thompson denied clemency but accommodated the popular view that Dotson was innocent by commuting his sentence to time served. This tarnished the governor's image with the public; if Dotson was innocent, why was he not cleared? And if he were guilty, why was Thompson releasing him? Furthermore, this half-measure put Dotson on parole, which meant that he could be returned to prison without a trial.
On August 2, 1987, Dotson was arrested on a domestic violence charge against his wife after she told police that he had slapped her. He was ordered held without bond on August 27, and — even though his wife refused to cooperate and charges were dropped — Dotson's parole was revoked and his full remaining sentence of 16 years was reinstated. On Christmas Eve 1987, Governor Thompson gave Dotson one last parole. The next day Dotson went with friends to the Zig Zag Lounge in Calumet City. Dotson ordered a sandwich, but objected when it came topped with peppers, which he had not ordered; he refused to pay. The waitress called police and claimed he threw "an unknown object" at her and he was arrested and charged with theft, battery, and disorderly conduct.
The state Department of Corrections put a parole hold on him to prevent his release and scheduled an Illinois Prisoner Review Board hearing for February 17. A few days later, the criminal charges were voluntarily dropped by the State's Attorney's Office after witnesses cast doubt on the waitress's version and she refused to testify under oath. Although the criminal charges had been dropped, the scheduled February 17 Prisoner Review Board hearing went ahead and revoked the parole because, due to his arrest, Dotson had been 48 hours late calling his parole officer. He was released after his six-month technical parole violation had been served.
Read more about this topic: Gary Dotson