| First Name | Brandon |
| Last Name | Moon |
| Year of Conviction | 1988 |
| Year of Exoneration | 2005 |
| State of Conviction | Texas |
| Trial, Bench Trial, or Guilty Plea | Trial |
| Type of Crime | Rape |
| Death Sentence | No |
| Gender of Exoneree | Male |
| Race of exoneree | White |
| Juvenile | No |
| Type of Innocence Defense |
|
| Description / Quotes from Testimony Concerning Defense | ● Defendant’s girlfriend testified as an alibi witness |
| Did the defendant testify at trial? | Yes |
| Quotes from Exoneree Testimony | “Q. When is the first time you have ever seen the lady? A. Here. Q. Today? A. Yes, sir.” |
| Types of evidence at trial |
|
| Type of Forensic Evidence |
|
| Types of Flawed Forensics |
|
| Reason why invalid | (1) Degradation |
| Brief Quote / Description of Testimony | The analyst claimed that there was enough semen observed to conclude that the donor was a non-secretor. The victim was an A secretor and Moon was an O nonsecretor. However, the finding of no blood group substances could have been due to degradation. Analyst who conducted hair comparison stated that the hair at the crime scene was “similar” with the defendant. |
| Identity of eyewitness |
|
| Multiple eyewitnesses | 2 |
| Lineup Procedures |
|
| Suggestive Procedures | Yes ● Suggestive remarks ● Defendant was only person repeated in two procedures |
| Quotes from testimony #1 | “Q. Now, you didn’t actually tell the police that it was Mr. Moon at that time, did you? [of photo array] A. No, sir. Q. As a matter of fact, you’told the police that you just weren’t sure about it, is that right? A. I said that it looked like the man that I “X’d”.Q. All right. In other words, it looked like a man that you “X’d” but you didn’t tell the policeman that it was the man? A. Not at that time.” “Q. Did any other participants of either lineup appear twice? A. Not that I remember.” Second victim who testified in state’s rebuttal case was told, that the police “got a phone call that they had found someone that might fit the description would I come down to identify someone in a lineup.” |
| Unreliable Identification? | Yes ● Initially uncertain |
| Quotes from testimony #2 | Victim asked to see live-line-up because she was not certain of identification – and asked that all participants wear a cap like that the attacker wore – she said, “I asked to please see him with the cap.” In addition, could not describe whether attacker had facial hair or color of his eyes. “Q. Why couldn’t you tell the police whether the man had a mustache or not? A. I really don’t know.” |
| Highest level reached | NR |