| First Name | Douglas |
| Last Name | Warney |
| Year of Conviction | 1997 |
| Year of Exoneration | 2006 |
| Testing inculpated culprit | Cold Hit |
| State of Conviction | New York |
| Trial, Bench Trial, or Guilty Plea | Trial |
| Type of Crime | Rape and Murder |
| Death Sentence | No |
| Gender of Exoneree | Male |
| Race of exoneree | White |
| Juvenile | No |
| Mentally Ill or Intellectually Disabled | Mentally Ill |
| Type of Innocence Defense |
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| Description / Quotes from Testimony Concerning Defense | ● Two witnesses testified that defendant was at home the night when the crime occurred. |
| Did the defendant testify at trial? | Yes |
| Quotes from Exoneree Testimony | Defendant described his alibi and recanted his confession. He said he was “being threatened” during the interrogation and that he signed the confession statement “Because I was being forced by threats to submit this statement…” |
| Types of evidence at trial |
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| Were non-public facts alleged? | Yes |
| Type of Forensic Evidence |
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| Types of Flawed Forensics |
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| Brief Quote / Description of Testimony | The analyst testified that “the blood deposited on the blue tissue could not have come from either the Defendant Mr. Warney or the victim Mr. Beason.” As a blue towel, “The blood could not have been deposited by the victim nor the suspect.” |
| Unreliable Identification? | description – location of |
| Examples of Non-Public or Corroborated Facts and Inconsistencies | ● Victim was wearing a nightshirt ● Victim was cooking chicken ● Victim was missing money from his wallet ● The murder weapon was a knife that was kept in the kitchen, about 12 inches with serrated blade ● The victim was stabbed multiple times ● The victim owned a pink ring and gold cross ● The timeframe of the killing ● There was tissue used as a bandage covered with blood ● There was a pornographic tape in the victim’s television BUT inconsistencies included that there was no evidence of the stabbing or struggle in the kitchen. Defendant had a history of mental illness. |
| Quotes from law enforcement testimony | Detective was emphatic when asked “did you suggest any answers to him,” that he did not. |
| Quotes from prosecution arguments | “Now, who could possibly know these things if you hadn’t been inside that house, inside the kitchen? You heard the Defendant say that he took money . . . You know the wallet was found upstairs, empty, near the closet. . . You will see photographs of it. . . You heard the Defendant say that he stabbed [the victim] with a knife taken from the kitchen. . . . Where did they keep it? They kept it in a drawer under the crockpot where the chicken was cooking. Now, who would know the chicken was cooking? A person who got that knife and used it against [the victim], the killer.” |
| Interrogation Recorded | Written and signed confession statement |
| Highest level reached | FederalHabeas |
| Claims Raised During All Appeals and Postconviction |
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| Citations to judicial opinions | People v. Warney, 299 A.D.2d 956 (N.Y. App. Div. 4 Dept. 2002) |