On the morning of Oct. 19, Robert DuBoise woke up early to get to his polling place in Hillsborough County, Florida, and cast the first-ever vote of his life.
In 1983, when Robert turned 18, he was arrested for rape and murder. He was convicted and sentenced to death based solely on an unreliable jailhouse informant’s testimony and the pseudo-science of bite mark evidence. After spending nearly 37 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, Robert was officially exonerated last month.
He said his priorities after getting out were to “get my driver’s license and register to vote.”
Robert DuBoise, 59, was officially exonerated from all charges in the 1983 rape and murder of a young woman after serving nearly 37 years in prison on Sept. 14, 2020, in Tampa, Florida. (Image: Casey Brooke Lawson/The Innocence Project)
Robert’s experience of navigating the legal system and fighting to prove his innocence has given him a unique perspective on just how much voting — particularly in local elections — can have a huge impact on people’s lives.
Prosecutors, for instance, have the power to both convict people and prevent wrongful convictions. They decide who will be prosecuted, what charges they’ll face, and what kinds of evidence they’ll offer in court. A prosecutor even has the power to state in court that a wrongful conviction has occurred, which all but ensures that conviction is overturned — and that’s exactly what happened in Robert’s case.
Despite the importance of this role, many people don’t realize that in 45 states, prosecutors are elected officials.
But so few people show up to vote for prosecutors, even though that is the office that often has the most day-to-day impact on a community.
As Robert said, “Having had firsthand experience in the system, I know how important it is for people to vote… People who can vote should vote to represent those who can’t vote, like those who are incarcerated… It’s our duty to vote to try to make the system better.”
The Innocence Project exonerates the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and reforms the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. www.innocenceproject.org
