| First Name | Chaunte |
| Last Name | Ott |
| Year of Conviction | 1996 |
| Year of Exoneration | 2009 |
| Testing inculpated culprit | Cold Hit |
| State of Conviction | Wisconsin |
| Trial, Bench Trial, or Guilty Plea | Trial |
| Type of Crime | Rape and Murder |
| Death Sentence | No |
| Life / LWOP sentence | Life |
| Gender of Exoneree | Male |
| Race of exoneree | Black |
| Juvenile | No |
| Type of Innocence Defense |
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| Description / Quotes from Testimony Concerning Defense | ● No alibi witnesses. |
| Did the defendant testify at trial? | No |
| Types of evidence at trial |
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| Jailhouse informant, Co-defendant, Incentivized Witness | CD |
| Examples of Non-Public or Corroborated Facts and Inconsistencies | ● One man falsely confessed, pleaded guilty to lesser charges, and testified that Ott and another man (was not charged) had all committed the murder together ● Non-public details allegedly included in the accounts of those two men included the type murder weapon and that the victim’s throat was cut, the victim was stabbed in upper torso, location of crime scene, on mattress in back yard of abandoned house |
| Quotes from testimony #3 | First codefendant, who falsely confessed, described defendant taking victim behind a house, that he saw the victim “tussling and stuff” on a mattress on the ground. When they left, he heard “gagging” sounds and “her throat was all cut.” Second man described riding in a car with the other two and with the victim, that they stopped in front of a house, and when they returned, the first codefendant told him that “She didn’t have no money so Chaunte cut her throat.” |
| Quotes regarding any deal or leniency with informant, or prior use of informant | First codefendant pleaded guilty to one charge of attempted robbery as part of an agreement in the case. Second witness was not charged. |
| Highest level reached | Appeal |
| Claims Raised During All Appeals and Postconviction |
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| Harmless Error Rulings |
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| Citations to judicial opinions | State v. Ott, 577 N.W.2d 387 (Wis. App. 1998) |