Tommie Brown Grand Canyon University The History of Criminal Investigations DNA Overturned June 29, 2016

Many cases have been solved with good investigation work and the technology of DNA. As a result of this technology many convicted criminals have been released due to DNA overturned in their cases. This was true in the case of Anthony Capozzi who spent 22 years in prison for a crime he did not commit (innocenceproject.org). In the mid-1980s Capozzi was wrongfully convicted of committing two sexual assaults in Buffalo, New York. It was DNA testing that proved his innocence (innocenceproject.org). The true perpetrator’s identity was revealed and DNA testing also revealed that this criminal committed multiple rapes and murders.
The crimes itself consist of several women being raped along the bike path in Delaware Park. The crimes took place around December of 1983 and July of 1984. The attacker had it all planned out as he would wait for the right moment then move in for the attack. The attacker apparently surprised his victims from behind by threatening them with a gun. Once the victim was at his mercy he went on to rape them and when finished he gave them instructions to remain on the ground for up to 20 minutes before they move (innocenceproject.org). This was done so that the attacker could get a good head start to his own get away.
During the identification process at least three of the victims told police that their attacker weighed about 150-160 pounds (innocenceproject.org). The fact is Capozzi weighed around 220 at the time of the attacks and had a visible scar above his left eye. The victims never mentioned anything about it during their description of the attacker. The police mentioned Capozzi’s schizophrenia which caused him to have some very strange behavioral problems (innocenceproject.org). It was after a police officer noticed these behavioral patterns at a coffee shop about a mile from Delaware Park, influenced investigators to look at Capozzi as a possible suspect. A year after the actual crimes police put Capozzi in a lineup where the victims identified him as their rapist despite absolutely no physical evidence that linked him to the crimes (innocenceproject.org).
Capozzi was charged with a total of three rapes during the early 1980s. He was convicted of the three rapes and acquitted of the third. The charges included two counts of sexual abuse, two counts of sodomy and two counts of first-degree rape in which he was convicted and sentenced to11-35 years in prison (innocenceproject.org). Even after Capozzi was incarcerated, the murders continued along the Delaware bike path. Capozzi maintained his innocence throughout the years even being denied parole 5 times (innocenceproject.org). The parole board wanted Capozzi to admit to the crimes so that he could be considered for parole. He would also have to show remorse for the crime to the parole board and complete a mandatory sex offender program (innocenceproject.org).
Yet another woman was killed in the same bike path in a Buffalo suburb in 2006. This rape resembled other rapes in that are area over the previous 20 years. Police can to the conclusion that these murders and rapes were committed by the same person. Due to DNA testing on the evidence it led police to Altemio Sanchez. He later plead guilty to the 2006 murders. Sanchez was also linked to eight other crimes because of DNA testing. DNA evidence “is by far the most powerful and precise crime-solving tool since the advent of fingerprint identification a century ago (Aronson, 2007).
The path to Capozzi’s vindication began as detectives on the Bike Path Rapist Task Force, who helped catch Sanchez, came across Capozzi’s case as they pored over paperwork from old rape investigations (Becker, 2007). Altemio Sanchez was also linked in two murders in the same Delaware Park. While reviewing case files a detective came across a victim’s testimony in the Capozzi case that testified she saw her attacker driving away from a local shopping center just a few days after the attack. The victim took the time to copy the license plate number. The police went on to investigate that information and cleared the owner of that car because his alibi checked out. As a result her claim was therefore dismissed. This individual was tracked down nearly 25 years later in 2006 when investigators re-questioned the owner of that car. The owner told investigators that on the day in question he was not in possession of his car. He apparently loaned the car to his nephew, Altemio Sanchez. This opened the door for Capozzi’s lawyer to renew the search for DNA collection in his conviction case. Once the glass slides from the rape kits were finally located that was the evidence that would exonerate Anthony Capozzi which had been stored in a drawer at the local hospital for over 20 years.
Finally Capozzi was exonerated after the results of the test came back in April of 2007. The evidence while excluding Capozzi implicated Sanchez (Becker, 2007). Just days after results were back Capozzi conviction was vacated and all charges were dismissed. This was a very slow process but in the end investigators finally got the right man. It was unfortunate for Capozzi that he spent nearly 22 years in prison for a crime he did not commit (Becker, 2007).
In my opinion this case wasn’t done properly because an innocent man spent two decades in prison. There were so many things investigators missed and they convicted this man based on testimony and no physical evidence. It was said that Sanchez and Capozzi resembled each other was one of the key factors why the conviction took place. Despite the known scar on his face, no victim mentioned it during the identification process. Just because someone resembles an individual shouldn’t be enough for someone to lose 22 years of their life. In this case that was basically enough and I personally fault law enforcement for their mistakes. Just think the evidence was at the hospital in a drawer all that time while Capozzi sat in a cell. I trust police investigations and I believe they do their best to solve each case. However cases like Capozzi are happening way too often. The most important fact is that they got it right finally.

References

Innocence Project: Anthony Capozzi: Retrieved from: http://www.innocenceproject.org/cases/anthony-capozzi/ Becker, M. (2007). The Buffalo News: Newfound evidence that exonerates Capozzi stored at ECMC all along: Retrieved from: http://truthinjustice.org/capozzi.htm Lazer, D. (2004). Basic Bioethics: DNA and the Criminal Justice System: The Technology of Justice. Cambridge, US: The MIT Press. Retrieved from http://www.ebrary.com.lopes.idm.oclc.org

Aronson, J. D. (2007). Genetic Witness: Science, Law, and Controversy in the Making of DNA Profiling. New Brunswick, US: Rutgers University Press. Retrieved from http://www.ebrary.com.lopes.idm.oclc.org