John,

Anthony Dixon’s case was marred by eyewitness misidentification — the leading cause of wrongful convictions proven through post-conviction DNA testing.

On June 9, 1995, Anthony was convicted of a rape and robbery in Missouri despite no physical evidence tying him to the crime. His conviction was based entirely on the photo and voice identification of two survivors of the attack. Throughout the investigation, pre-trial hearings, and at trial, Anthony consistently maintained his innocence — and he has continued to for close to three decades.

In December 2021, Anthony was finally released on parole, but a Missouri court ruled that he would not be exonerated, making him ineligible to receive compensation from the state.

While Anthony is now free and finally able to make up for the time that was stolen from him — trying to rebuild your life after nearly 30 years of wrongful incarceration is unimaginable. Will you consider supporting Anthony’s personal fundraising page today?

The Innocence Project and Midwest Innocence Project started working on Anthony’s case in 2012 and I joined them in 2016 when I started working at the Innocence Project. The legal team was able to secure DNA testing on items from crime scene evidence. The following year, Anthony was excluded as a possible contributor to the sperm found on the rope used to tie up the victims during the crime. The only explanation for the presence of sperm on this rope is that it belonged to the person who committed the crime, and post-conviction DNA testing proved that Anthony was not that person.

If these DNA testing results were available back when Anthony was wrongly convicted, the jury would have found him innocent.

John, I’m so glad that Anthony is now able to get back to his life, but the State stole 28 years from him that he’ll never get back, and he deserves to be fairly compensated for that time.

But until then, he needs our help. Will you make a donation to his personal fundraising page right now and then share his story with your friends and family online and encourage them to donate as well?

Adnan Sultan
Staff Attorney
Innocence Project