An American woman and her deceased partner have been cleared in the United States of the rape and murder of a 4-year-old girl.
They were convicted after the testimony of a doctor. After 27 years in prison Joyce Watkins and her companion Charlie Dunn have been cleared. The now 74-year-old woman was convicted of the 1987 rape and murder of her 4-year-old niece. On the morning of June 27, Joyce Watkins drove the unconscious little girl to a Nashville hospital, after having come to pick her up at the homes of other relatives. The girl died the next day. At the time, doctors discovered serious wounds to the vagina as well as traces of head injuries, reports “People” magazine. During the inquest, a medical examiner testified, saying the injuries occurred within the nine hours the little victim was with the couple. An expertise which has earned the couple to be condemned, while they have never ceased to deny the facts. They were convicted in 1988 and each received a life sentence for murder, as well as a 60-year sentence for aggravated rape.
If Charlie Dunn died in prison in 2015, Joyce Watkins for her part obtained her parole the same year. But the American never gave up her fight for her innocence, refusing to always be considered a murderer and a sex offender. Last year, she then appealed to the Tennessee Innocence Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to investigating in order to repair miscarriages of justice. “From the start, the case made no sense,” commented to “People” Jason Gichner, the project’s lead lawyer. “Joyce and Charlie were in their 40s, had full-time jobs, never had any problems before. And then once you meet Joyce, you definitely understand there’s no way she did that.” He continued by recalling that none of their family members ever believed in their guilt. The little girl’s mother ‘always thought Joyce was innocent’. The girl had been living with relatives for two months, before the couple came to pick her up. “The jurors had their hands tied. They heard from an expert doctor that the injuries dated back to when she was with Joyce and Charlie. And just that, it was nonsense, “said Jason Gichner again. During its investigation, the Tennessee Innocence Project discovered that the house where the girl was staying before she ended up with the couple had been subject to allegations of abuse. A social services worker had, however, accepted the explanation that the physical injuries were “playground” injuries and closed the investigation.
“My office always strives to do justice”
The association also learned that evidence favorable to the couple had been concealed. She also determined that the medical examiner’s analysis, on which the entire case was based, “was bad science.” “And it was erroneous testimony from a later discredited medical examiner.” Judge Angelita Blackshear Dalton, who overturned the couple’s convictions on January 6, herself noted in her decision that the medical examiner, Dr Gretel Harlan, ultimately acknowledged errors in her methodology. “The inaccurate medical opinions, presented in the context of faulty circumstantial evidence, led the jury and the court to rely on inaccurate and misleading information,” the judge wrote. “In short, the evidence in this case supports the contention that Joyce Watkins and Charlie Dunn are innocent and have been convicted of crimes they did not commit.”
“I’m just happy to get out of this, because it cost me half my life, for nothing. But I will overcome this. I thank God for allowing me to do it, ”reacted Joyce Watkins. Dunn’s daughter, Jackie Dunn, said after her father’s exoneration, “I wish my dad had been here to witness this day,” Jackie Dunn, Charlie’s daughter, was quoted as saying by WTVF. “He knew he was innocent, he knew he hadn’t committed these crimes.” District Attorney General Glenn Funk commented in a statement, “My office is always striving to deliver justice. It means acknowledging that wrongful convictions, while rare, have occurred and need to be corrected. We cannot restore Mrs. Watkins or Mr. Dunn to their lost years, but we can restore their dignity. Their innocence demands it”. If they are now both cleared, the investigation remains unresolved. Jason Gichner explained to “People” that “Joyce and Charlie weren’t with the child, so we don’t know what happened, tragically.”
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