DNA tests prompt review of '92 Ill. rape

Nov 24, 10:04 PM EST

CHICAGO (AP) -- A man imprisoned for a 1992 rape was one step closer to freedom Friday after DNA tests appeared to clear him in the attack, his attorney said.

A judge agreed to release Marlon Pendleton, 49, on personal recognizance bond pending a hearing Thursday on his attorneys' request to vacate the rape conviction. He had been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Pendleton, who is nearing the end of a 12-year sentence for a separate sexual assault conviction, will remain in Dixon Correctional Center while officials work out details of his release, his attorney Karen Daniel said.
Because Pendleton is a convicted sex offender, he is required to make living arrangements, Daniel said.

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Pendleton claims that he's innocent in both cases, "and I believe him," Daniel said.

Pendleton demanded DNA testing after his arrest for the 1992 case, but police lab analyst Pamela Fish said there wasn't enough genetic material to test the evidence. Pendleton was convicted based on the victim's identification.

The expert who conducted the new tests, Brian Wraxall of Serological Research Institute, said Wednesday there was "a reasonable amount of DNA."

The Cook County State's Attorney's office was reviewing the 1992 rape case as well as the separate sexual assault conviction. Spokesman John Gorman said prosecutors would review the lab report before making a recommendation on whether to vacate the rape conviction.

Fish's work has been challenged in the past, most notably in the cases of four men later cleared by DNA evidence of the 1986 rape and murder of a medical student.

An attempt Friday by The Associated Press to reach her was unsuccessful, when a telephone number for a Pamela Fish in the Chicago area was blocked.

"It was no surprise to me," Pendleton told the Chicago Tribune on Thursday in an interview at the jail. "I always knew I was innocent."

Pendleton said he holds no ill will toward the rape victim, who identified him in a police lineup. "Somebody did that to her and that was wrong," he said. "She believed it was me and she was wrong."


© 2006 The Associated Press.
Link.

Pendleton demanded DNA testing after his arrest for the 1992 case, but police lab analyst Pamela Fish said there wasn't enough genetic material to test the evidence. Pendleton was convicted based on the victim's identification.

The expert who conducted the new tests, Brian Wraxall of Serological Research Institute, said Wednesday there was "a reasonable amount of DNA."
Pamela Fish was lying because there was enough amount of DNA for such a test. So consequently the innocent Marlon Pendleton was locked in jail for many years.