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| Second DNA Test Prompts Inmate's Release |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 12/09/2002 |
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After serving 16 years of a life sentence for rape, Gene Bibbins will likely be released from a Louisiana prison Friday after a second DNA test showed he didn't commit the crime he was convicted of. A hearing at 9:30 a.m. before state District Judge Mike Erwin could determine whether and when Bibbins will be set free. Results of a second DNA test indicate that Bibbins is not the man who climbed through the bedroom window of a 13-year-old girl in 1986 and raped her while holding a knife to the girl's throat. Another DNA test performed in November also showed Bibbens was not the girl's rapist. Bibbens received a life sentence after being convicted of aggravated rape in 1987 and has spent the last 16 years in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. The victim's testimony and Bibbins' possession of a radio from her room were key pieces of evidence used to convict him. Assistant District Attorney Sue Bernie, who prosecuted the case, said her office will not oppose a motion by Bibbins seeking his release. Vanessa Potkin, staff attorney for the Innocence Project in New York, said Thursday that Bibbins will bring his belongings with him to the hearing. She expects him to leave the hearing with family members. 'He has now been vindicated by tests by two laboratories,' Potkin said. The Innocence Project has assisted Bibbins in getting DNA testing. Bibbins' family members were overjoyed by the news about the second DNA test results. 'Hallelujah,' sister Carolyn Bibbins said. Gene Bibbins' daughter, Esclamonda White, said the prospect of her father's release is the second bit of good news she's received recently. White, 29, learned recently that she is pregnant with her third child. 'He'll be able to help you raise this one,' Carolyn Bibbins told her niece. If allowed to go free, Bibbins will be the first person set free via a new Louisiana law that gives prisoners greater access to DNA testing to prove their innocence. Inmates have a four-year window to request the testing. The four years expires on Aug. 31, 2005. |
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There is a lot of information on this website about inmates and prison guards. I didn’t realize what was going on in our prison system until I discovered this website. Similarly, I didn’t understand litigation finance until I read more from Hamilton Lindley who is a litigation finance expert based in Texas.