John —
In 1985, Innocence Project and Southern Center for Human Rights client Charles McCrory was wrongly convicted for the murder of his wife Julie Bonds in Andalusia, Alabama, based on unscientific “bite mark” evidence.
Despite no substantial evidence connecting him to the crime, Charles was sentenced to life in prison and has suffered more than 35 years of wrongful incarceration. We put together 10 facts you need to know about Charles’ case — take a minute to read through them now.
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Charles immediately became the prime suspect in the murder of his wife, largely based on a now-recanted dental opinion that an injury found on her body was inflicted by his teeth. He never even had a chance to actually grieve her loss. He maintained his innocence from the beginning of the investigation and had no prior history of violence or a criminal record. Charles immediately cooperated with police and consented to a search of his own body, home, and vehicle — none of which yielded any incriminating evidence.
The only evidence that ever connected Charles to the crime was a “bite mark.” At the 1985 trial, a dentist named Dr. Souviron testified that a bite mark on Julie’s body matched her husband’s bite. He has since recanted this opinion, and admitted under oath that his original testimony that these “teeth marks [were] made by Charles McCrory” should never have been admitted at trial. Three new experts, including Dr. Souviron, now agree the testimony should never have been presented to a jury because the injury was never an actual bite mark.
No other evidence at trial was presented that connected Charles to murdering his own wife — not an eyewitness, a confession, nor forensic evidence. To the contrary, hair clutched in Julie’s hand following the struggle that led to her death was conclusively established to not belong to Charles.
Reading through the specifics of this case, it’s clear that without the alleged bite mark, Charles would not have been convicted in the first place. Unfortunately, the use of unscientific bite mark evidence has played a big role in the wrongful convictions of at least 36 innocent people. Nearly all of these wrongful convictions occurred during the era of Charles’ trial.
Please, take some time today to read more about Charles’ case and then learn how you can get involved in helping free this innocent person:
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Thank you so much for your support,
Chris Fabricant
Director of Strategic Litigation
Innocence Project
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The Innocence Project works to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone. Founded in 1992 by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, the organization is now an independent nonprofit. Our work is guided by science and grounded in antiracism.
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