Harvey Windsor was convicted on the basis of
1.) An obviously dubious eyewitness identification placing him with Lavon Guthrie on the day of the murder.
a ) Sammy Osborn gave an in court Identification while looking at Harvey Windsor and yet 4 years prior to this
she could never give a Description of a person only of an article of
clothing,of the person she claimed to of been at her house..which was 5
miles from Rayford Howards store
( A witness Prior to a tainted Process Description Must Resemble the Accused In order to over come the Taint Process)
b)
While here she only Describes an Article of Clothing and at No point
Prior to seeing the Accused in the Court Room Ever Provide A
Description. She Admits this Fact In the Suppression Hearing ,Yet was
Allowed to Identify Harvey Windsor.
2
) ABI finger print expert , Ms. Carol Curlee, “made only one partial
fingerprint identification of Mr. Windsor, that on the cigarette butt.
Cigarette butts may be identified with respect to the brand, strength, flavor, length, packaging, and possibly manufacturer and time period of manufacture. Cigarettes may also bear fingerprints, saliva, lipstick and cosmetic residues, and other trace evidence. To ensure preservation of this additional trace evidence, the following steps should be taken in collecting and packaging cigarette evidence:
Collection
1. Document any cigarette butts and their locations using photographs.
2. Individual cigarette butts should be recovered and packaged separately from other ash and debris.
2. If damp, the recovered cigarette should be allowed to air-dry at room temperature prior to packaging.
3. Air-permeable paper envelopes (not plastic bags) should be used to contain recovered cigarette evidence, in order to preserve any residual saliva and/or fingerprints.
4. Label and seal the envelope properly, including your name, date, description, and exhibit number.
5. Collect any comparison standard you will need for testing.
(source)
a
) On cross-examination Ms. Curlee admitted that this was only a partial
print, and that she could not recall how many ‘points’ of similarity
there were between that print and Mr. Windsor’s file prints.” A defense expert could, in all likelihood, have explained to the jury the weaknesses in Ms. Curlee's identification.
(source)
3) Auto theft Investigator Tennessee Jimmy Ball processed the stolen Mustang Before Carol Curlee:
a) He recovered items from inside and a palm print from the hood of the vehicle and two prints from items unidentified.
b) He also stated " there is no way Curlee found anything"
He also stated " the only place he did not search was the trunk of the vehicle"
(source)
3) Auto theft Investigator Tennessee Jimmy Ball processed the stolen Mustang Before Carol Curlee:
a) He recovered items from inside and a palm print from the hood of the vehicle and two prints from items unidentified.
b) He also stated " there is no way Curlee found anything"
He also stated " the only place he did not search was the trunk of the vehicle"
Mr. Dandridge Case.
At trial, prosecutors relied on the ABI examiner's testimony (Carol Curlee) that the fingerprints definitely matched Mr. Dandridge.
The only other evidence presented was the testimony of a jailhouse informant who, in exchange for a reduced sentence in a pending case, said Mr. Dandridge told him he was involved in the crime.
On May 5, 1995, Beniah Dandridge was charged with capital murder in the killing of Riley Manning Sr. in Montgomery, Alabama, based exclusively on Alabama Bureau of Investigations assertion that bloody fingerprint found at the crime scene matched Mr. Dandridge
Carol Curlee, a latent print examiner with the ABI testified she compared two fingerprints from the crime scene and found 14 points of simularity in one print and nine points of
simularity in the other. Nine being the minimum standard required to make an identification.
In May 2014, two fingerprint experts who had been asked to re-examine the fingerprint evidence at the request of the Equal Justice Initiative reported that the prints at the crime scene was in fact left by Riley Manning Jr. and not by Dandridge.
Beniah Alton Dandridge spent 21 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit.
How many more in Alabama are innocent?
Beniah Alton Dandridge - National Registry of Exonerations
At trial, prosecutors relied on the ABI examiner's testimony (Carol Curlee) that the fingerprints definitely matched Mr. Dandridge.
The only other evidence presented was the testimony of a jailhouse informant who, in exchange for a reduced sentence in a pending case, said Mr. Dandridge told him he was involved in the crime.
On May 5, 1995, Beniah Dandridge was charged with capital murder in the killing of Riley Manning Sr. in Montgomery, Alabama, based exclusively on Alabama Bureau of Investigations assertion that bloody fingerprint found at the crime scene matched Mr. Dandridge
Carol Curlee, a latent print examiner with the ABI testified she compared two fingerprints from the crime scene and found 14 points of simularity in one print and nine points of
simularity in the other. Nine being the minimum standard required to make an identification.
In May 2014, two fingerprint experts who had been asked to re-examine the fingerprint evidence at the request of the Equal Justice Initiative reported that the prints at the crime scene was in fact left by Riley Manning Jr. and not by Dandridge.
Beniah Alton Dandridge spent 21 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit.
How many more in Alabama are innocent?
Beniah Alton Dandridge - National Registry of Exonerations
