Gary Dotson
Gary Dotson | |
---|---|
Born | 3 August 1957 |
Nationality | American |
Children | 1 |
Gary E. Dotson
Personal background
Gary E. Dotson was a high-school dropout who, at the time of his arrest, was living in Country Club Hills, a modest Chicago suburb, with his mother Barbara and his sisters Debbie, Gail and Laura.[4][5] After conviction in 1979, the next eight years of his life were spent in prison; another four were spent on legal proceedings which led to charges being dropped in 1988 and a full pardon in 2002.
After his first release from prison in 1985, Dotson married Camille Dardanes, a woman who had come to know him during the hearings following his conviction. In March 1986, under difficult financial circumstances, the couple moved in with Dotson's mother. In January, 1987, they had a daughter, Ashley. Near the end of 1987, Dardanes requested a divorce.[6] She filed the formal paperwork in April 1989.[7]
Dotson's first wife, Camille Dorothy Dardanes, was reported missing in Las Vegas in 1994, but the report was destroyed three months later. A new report was made in 2003. Dardandes was last seen in the vicinity of the 300 block of south Casino Center Boulevard in Las Vegas during May 1994. She had told friends that she was afraid, but did not give the reason for her fears.[8]
Alleged crime
At the time, sixteen-year-old
The hoax began the night of July 9, 1977, when a police officer happened upon her standing beside a road not far from the shopping mall in the Chicago suburb of Homewood, where she lived[10] and where she worked in a Long John Silver's seafood restaurant. Her clothing was dirt-stained and in disarray.
Crowell tearfully told the officer that, as she walked across the mall parking lot after work, a car with three young men in it ran towards her. Two of the men jumped out, grabbed her, and threw her into the backseat. One of them climbed in beside her, and the other joined the driver in the front. The man in the back tore her clothes, raped her, and scratched several letters onto her stomach with a broken beer bottle.
Crowell was taken to South Suburban Hospital, where a rape examination was performed. She identified Gary Dotson, according to her, under pressure from police based on the resemblance of his
Recantation
By 1981, Crowell Webb had become deeply religious.[10] In 1982, Crowell married a high school classmate, David Webb, and they moved to New Hampshire.[4] In 1985 she confessed to her pastor what she had done, but when she tried with his assistance to correct what she had done the prosecutors would not take action. Dotson sought post-judgment relief based on Crowell Webb's recantation, but the trial court found her recantation to be unbelievable and refused to free him.
The lawyer next contacted the media (leading to the infamous "How about a hug?" moment during the CBS Morning News from anchor Phyllis George).[12] The resulting public sympathy caused the original trial judge Richard L. Samuels to release Dotson on $100,000 bond pending a hearing one week later. At that hearing, Judge Samuels rejected new evidence discrediting the forensic evidence given at the trial, called the recantation less credible than the original testimony and sent Dotson back to prison.
Dotson's attorney also petitioned the
Exoneration
On August 15, 1988, Governor Thompson and the prosecutors were notified that
Dotson was officially pardoned by Illinois Governor George Ryan in 2002.[15]
Aftermath
In 1985 Crowell co-wrote a book about the incident called Forgive Me and gave Dotson more than $17,000 in proceeds from its sale, keeping nothing for herself except the taxes due on that payment.[4][10] In return, Dotson promised not to sue her over her false accusation.[10] Dotson used the money to finance the start of his post-prison life, including a trip to Las Vegas to marry Dardanes.[4] In 1985, Dotson had planned to write his own book with New York City author Jeannie Ralston.[10] If written, the book was not published. By April 1989, Dardanes filed for separation. By fall of 1989, Dotson was working part-time as a construction worker in Illinois and was hoping to register for college classes to become a counselor.[7] Dotson underwent treatment for alcoholism after his release.[16]
After their 1989 divorce, Dardanes and their daughter moved to Las Vegas, near Dardanes' mother, Barbara Kritzalis.[13][14]
By the time Dotson was cleared in 1989, Dotson's accuser Cathleen Crowell Webb had four children and had permanently made her home in New Hampshire, where her husband then worked as a welder and ironworker.[7][10] Crowell died of breast cancer on May 15, 2008, six years after diagnosis. She had been working part-time as a receptionist at a religious grammar school and as a helper at a local golf course.[15][17] After her death, her husband David told the press how she felt about recanting:
Once she got saved [in 1981][10] and came to terms with what she had done to Gary's life, she made the decision to come forward. She had two young children, and she had no idea of how intense an experience it was going to be, but she fully expected to pay more of a price than she actually did. There was a good chance that she might have had to go to jail. She couldn't give Gary back his years, but at that point she did everything she could to make it right.[18]
At the time of Crowell Webb's death in 2008, Dotson was reported to be "living quietly in the far south suburbs of Chicago" and "wanting to stay under the radar now, wanting to put this behind him."[19]
References
- ^ a b Litke, James. Gary Dotson trying to adjust to life outside prison[permanent dead link], May 9, 1986 Associated Press report. The Ledger of Lakeland, Florida. Accessed October 23, 2009.
- ^ "First DNA Exoneration, Center on Wrongful Convictions: Bluhm Legal Clinic, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law".
- ^ The DNA 200 Archived 2008-05-11 at the Wayback Machine, May 26, 2007. Accessed October 23, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e Dotson Summary, Northwestern University School of Law. Accessed October 23, 2009.
- ^ Released prisoner gets big welcome, Associated Press report, April 5, 1985 Spokane Chronicle. Accessed October 23, 2009.
- ^ Dotson's woes tied to wife's divorce bid, December 28, 1987. Chicago Sun-Times. Accessed October 23, 2009.
- ^ a b c Jailed for a Rape That Never Happened, Gary Dotson Has His Name Cleared at Last, August 28, 1989. PEOPLE Magazine. Accessed October 23, 2009.
- ^ "Camille Dorothy Dardanes". Charley Project. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- PMID 28213722.
- ^ Shipp, E.R. "Forgive," asks woman in rape disavowal, November 28, 1985, New York Times. Paid archive accessed October 23, 2009. Free version available online at The Ledgerof Lakeland, Florida, December 2, 1985.
- ISBN 1-55166-831-9
- ^ Serrill, Michael S.; Lopez, Laura; Winbush, Don (May 27, 1985). "Law: Cathy and Gary in Medialand". Time. Archived from the original on May 3, 2009.
- ^ a b Roeper, Richard. The sad story of Gary Dotson's ex-wife. August 11, 2003, Chicago Sun-Times. Accessed via NewsBank paid archive October 23, 2009.
- ^ a b The Gary Dotson Rape Case: In The Name Of Justice Archived 2010-02-03 at the Wayback Machine, May 23, 2008. CBS News. Accessed October 12, 2009.
- ^ a b Quintanilla, Ray. CATHLEEN CROWELL WEBB: Figure in rape case helped free inmate. May 21, 2008, Chicago Tribune. Accessed via NewsBank Archives October 23, 2009.
- ^ O'Connor, Matt (15 August 1989). "State Dismisses Dotson Rape Case".
- ^ Cathleen Crowell Webb dies at 46 Chicago Tribune May 20, 2008
- ^ Golab, Art. Recanted rape allegation in '85 - She made up story at 16, sending Gary Dotson to prison for 8 years. May 20, 2008, Chicago Sun-Times. Accessed via NewsBank Archives October 23, 2009.
- ^ Woman who lied about rape dies Archived 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine, May 20, 2008. ABC Local News, WLS-TV, Chicago. Accessed October 23, 2009.
External links
- CrimeTrac DNA History archived site from August 20, 2006
- Northwestern University School of Law: The rape that wasn't — the first DNA exoneration in Illinois: Summary
- Opposing verdicts in the Webb/Dotson rape case: Legal vs. news constructions contemporary news bibliography
- Post-Conviction Serological Report (1985) Archived 2010-07-04 at the Wayback Machine and other forensic reports related to Dotson case
- The Innocence Project: Gary Dotson including photograph
- Webb, Cathleen Crowell. Forgive Me. ISBN 0-8007-1462-8