I Didn’t Do It TV - Innocence Project online -
A woman brutally murdered. A city desperate to catch a killer. The police locked up a suspect but similar crimes continued to strike the area. But the story was far from over. I Didn’t Do It s1e5: Dewey Bozella, Blaze 2012
A serial killer terrorising the Big Apple just down the river. ibid.
Emma Crapser had been suffocated by five different pieces of fabric ... Emma Capster was ninety-two years old. ibid.
Bozella was held without charge. ibid.
He and his lawyer were confident. ibid.
The composition of the jury was flawed. ibid.
Dewey received a second trial. ibid.
A killer was still on the loose. ibid.
The Innocence Project believed in Dewey’s case. ibid.
The fingerprint matched Donald Wise. ibid.
Dewey Bozella’s conviction was overturned. ibid.
Something went terribly wrong. ibid.
Bozella was initially arrested for the 1977 burglary and murder of a 92-year-old woman shortly after her attack, but the charges were dropped because there was no evidence linking him to the crime. He was rearrested for the crime 6 years later after 2 inmates, who were released from prison for their cooperation, told prosecutors that Bozella committed the murder. Even though a fingerprint was found at the crime scene that matched another individual who committed a nearly identical crime around the same time, the state went forward with the prosecution. Based solely on the strength of the informants’ testimony, Bozella was convicted. Bozella was given a new trial in 1990, but he was convicted again.
Bozella eventually sought the help of the Innocence Project, which uses DNA testing to exonerate people who have been wrongfully convicted of crimes. Unfortunately, the physical evidence in the case had been destroyed, so DNA testing wouldn’t be possible. Convinced of his Innocence, the Innocence Project persuaded lawyers at Wilmer-Hale to take up his case, and they were able to prove that Dewey was innocent of the crime by uncovering additional evidence that was never turned over to Bozella. Innocence Project online article