Exoneration Definition

Exoneration, by definition, is the action of officially absolving someone from blame; vindication. Exoneration happens because people can be accused of a crime due to witness error and not having enough DNA evidence. It happens a lot more than what people think.
On July 21st, 1982 at 3:00 am, a woman in Jacksonville, North Carolina was awoken by a strange man standing at the foot of her bed; he had broken into her house. She was home alone with her three children while her husband was working. The man then forced her to perform sexual acts and oral intercourse for an hour and fifteen minutes. After her attack, she contacted the Jacksonville police to report it. When she talked to the police she described the person to be an African American male about 5’8 in height, weighing between 160 to 165 pounds, wearing dark colored shorts, white socks and high top shoes.
Jacksonville police officer Jim Shingleton, noticed a man who was walking on a nearby road who fit the description of the man described, not too long after the police were notified. Shingleton caught up to the man and began to question him. After several questions, the man took off running towards the woods.
The victim could not identify anyone out of the line-up at the time but then she came back the next day and stated that the fifth photograph “is the one who makes me feel sick” (State v. Jean pg. 161 #14). She was shown the line-up again and asked to pick the one that made her feel sick and she selected Jean’s photo. Although Jean’s photo made her feel sick, she was unable to identify the clothing taken from his locker. The victim then listened to a voice exemplar tape which included Jean’s voice along with others. Jean spoke with a Creole accent and the others on the tape had a northern U.S accent, a Guamanian and Puerto Rican. The victim said that Jean’s voice sounded like the voice of her