| First Name | Paul D |
| Last Name | Kordonowy |
| Year of Conviction | 1990 |
| Year of Exoneration | 2003 |
| State of Conviction | Montana |
| 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 |
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| Description / Quotes from Testimony Concerning Defense | ● Witnesses described that at the time the crime occurred, defendant was miles away and his car was disabled. |
| Did the defendant testify at trial? | Yes |
| Quotes from Exoneree Testimony | Missing transcript for defense case |
| 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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| Reason why invalid | (2), (4) Invalid hair probability; failure to exclude based on unsupported selective degradation theory |
| Brief Quote / Description of Testimony | The analyst testified that unknown hairs “match” Kordonowy’s, that for each there is a 1 in 100 probability of a match. The analyst then multiplied that made-up number, claiming that hairs from different parts of the body are “independent events,” and multiplied that figure to arrive at a 1 in 10,000 probability of a match. Kordonowy and the victim were both O secretors but A secretions found on swabs. Kordonowy should thus have been excluded. However, the analyst testified when asked “Q. Is there anything else that could be responsible for the presence of the A secretion?” that, “A. Yes, in this case there was a large amount of bacteria, which I noted, and it has been reported that a large amount of bacteria can give you an A Substance reading in your analysis because your ABO substances are sugars, and bacteria also produce sugars.” No such phenomenon regarding selective degradation exists. See Part I.A.2 for a discussion of this case. |
| Identity of eyewitness |
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| 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. Kordonowy, 823 P.2d 854 (Mont. 1991) |