| First Name | Antonio |
| Last Name | Beaver |
| Year of Conviction | 1997 |
| Year of Exoneration | 2007 |
| Testing inculpated culprit | Cold Hit |
| State of Conviction | Michigan |
| Trial, Bench Trial, or Guilty Plea | Trial |
| Type of Crime | Robbery |
| Death Sentence | No |
| Gender of Exoneree | Male |
| Race of exoneree | Black |
| Juvenile | No |
| Description / Quotes from Testimony Concerning Defense | ● Fingerprint of defendant did not match murderer’s |
| Did the defendant testify at trial? | No |
| Types of evidence at trial |
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| Type of Forensic Evidence |
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| Types of Flawed Forensics |
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| Brief Quote / Description of Testimony | The defendant was excluded based on analysis of latent fingerprints. No prosecution analyst testified; the defense called the analyst. |
| Identity of eyewitness |
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| Lineup Procedures |
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| Suggestive Procedures | Yes ● Suggestive line-up – only person in lineup with problem with teeth that victim described ● Victim not told attacker might not be in line-up |
| Quotes from testimony #1 | Officer’s testimony: Q. And when you contacted [the victim], what, if anything, did you tell her with regards to viewing the lineup? A. Just that we had a suspect and we wanted her to look at the suspect in a lineup and see if she can identify him and if he was the same guy that robbed her. Q. Okay. Now there’s also — two people in this lineup have on baseball hats; right? A. I don’t know; let me see it . . . A. In the photo, they do, yes. Q. Well, does this photo reflect the lineup? A. Yes. Q. And the two people that have on baseball hats just so happen to be the two people that aren’t police officers; right? A. Right. Q. And the description that you had of the robber was of a person wearing a baseball hat; right? A. Right. Q. Yeah. Only one person in that lineup has anything wrong with their teeth; correct? A. Correct. |
| Unreliable Identification? | No ●Discrepancies in description – gap in teeth, facial hair, height, weight, age |
| Quotes from testimony #2 | Victim – “I was about 90 percent sure but I wanted to be a hundred percent so I was a hundred percent positive after I looked –” . . . “I was a hundred percent certain.” Defense closings: “She told the police that the person that robbed her was 21 years old. We know that Mr. Beaver is 31 years old.” “She told the police the person that robbed her was five ten. We know that Mr. Beaver is four inches taller than that. He is six two. “She told the police that the person that robbed her had medium skin. Mr. Beaver has dark skin tone.” “She told the police that the person that robbed her had a gap in his teeth similar to David Letterman’s. Mr. Beaver’s front teeth are broken. That is not the same as having a gap.” |
| Highest level reached | State Post Conviction |
| Claims Raised During All Appeals and Postconviction |
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| Citations to judicial opinions | State v. Beaver, 963 S.W.2d 474 (Mo. App. E.D.,1998) |