| First Name | Josiah |
| Last Name | Sutton |
| Year of Conviction | 1999 |
| Year of Exoneration | 2004 |
| Testing inculpated culprit | Cold Hit |
| 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 | Black |
| Juvenile | Yes |
| Type of Innocence Defense |
|
| Description / Quotes from Testimony Concerning Defense | ● The defendant’s testimony supported the alibi. |
| Did the defendant testify at trial? | Yes |
| Quotes from Exoneree Testimony | No transcript of defendant’s testimony. |
| Types of evidence at trial |
|
| Type of Forensic Evidence |
|
| Types of Flawed Forensics |
|
| Reason why invalid | (2), (3) Invalid DNA testimony, failure to describe exculpatory test results |
| Brief Quote / Description of Testimony | The analyst testified that “No other two persons will have same DNA except in the case of — of identical twins” without mentioning any random match probability. Evidentiary samples were mixed and findings on one test in combination with the second test excluded Sutton as a contributor; see description of the case at Part II.C. |
| Identity of eyewitness |
|
| Lineup Procedures |
|
| Suggestive Procedures | Yes ● Show-up |
| Quotes from testimony #1 | Victim shown Sutton sitting in a police cruiser, five days after the crime. |
| Unreliable Identification? | No ● Discrepancies in description – height, weight |
| Quotes from testimony #2 | Victim described attacker later identified as Sutton as 135 pounds and 5’ 7” and certainly shorter than the victim who was 5’ 10.” Sutton was 6 feet tall and 200 pounds at the time. In addition, victim could “not clearly” see his face, as there was only a moment before that attacker pulled a wool cap over his face. |
| Highest level reached | Appeal |
| Claims Raised During All Appeals and Postconviction |
|
| Harmless Error Rulings |
|
| Citations to judicial opinions | Sutton v. State, 2001 WL 40349 (Tex. App.‐Hous. 14 Dist. 2001) |