The cost of false accusations: A story that needs to be told and one that sends spouses to prison far to often.12-6-2009 Alabama:
MONTGOMERY -- A Birmingham woman says her husband died from the stress of being wrongfully imprisoned for the sexual abuse of two young girls, and she wants nearly $2 million in compensation from the state.
The state has already agreed to pay Donna Doyle $129,000, and it has never awarded more than $1 million for a wrongful imprisonment.
But in her view, $129,000 doesn't begin to cover the pain and financial loss that her husband, Robert "Bob" Doyle, endured before his death.
"It's been a long battle. But my faith is still strong," she said.
A legislative committee will soon recommend how much, if any, to add to what the state has already agreed to pay Doyle.
Alabama law provides for $50,000 a year for wrongful incarceration. The Legislature can go above that in special circumstances, but it never has.
"Whatever we do now will be a precedent for the future," said Democratic Sen. Roger Bedford of Russellville, chairman of the Legislative's Wrongful Incarceration Committee.
Robert Doyle was making about $49,000 a year as a salesman for an insurance company in Montgomery before his ex-wife accused him of sexually abusing the two girls. In 1992, a Montgomery jury convicted him of abusing the two, ages 7 and 9, and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
He served about two years and seven months before a state appeals court threw out his convictions because the prosecutor had not disclosed to the defense that the girls had accused another man of sexually abusing them. ¶
The appeals court also pointed out that the prosecutor in the case, former Alabama Attorney General Charlie Graddick, had also represented Doyle's ex-wife in their bitter divorce prior to her accusations against him.
Graddick, now a judge in Mobile, said state judicial rules limit public comments by judges, and he would need to consult with state's Judicial Inquiry Commission before making any comment.
Bob Doyle got a Montgomery judge to rule in 2005 that he had been wrongfully incarcerated, but Doyle died of congestive heart failure in 2007 without seeing a dime of compensation from the Legislature.
The Legislature voted in May to give his widow the $50,000 a year authorized by law. It came to $129,041.
She and her legal team told a legislative committee Wednesday that they are requesting an additional $1.86 million to cover legal fees, medical bills, lost wages, and costs for pursuing compensation for wrongful incarceration. ..Source.. al.com
Birmingham widow seeks $2 million for husband's wrongful conviction on abuse charges
MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- A Birmingham widow says her husband died from the stress of being wrongfully imprisoned for the sexual abuse of his two young daughters, and she wants nearly $2 million in compensation from the state.
The state has already agreed to pay Donna Doyle $129,000, and it has never awarded more than $1 million for a wrongful imprisonment.
But in her view, $129,000 doesn't begin to cover the pain and financial loss that her husband, Robert "Bob" Doyle, endured before his death.
"It's been a long battle. But my faith is still strong," she said.
A legislative committee will soon recommend how much, if any, to add to what the state has already agreed to pay Doyle.
Alabama law provides for $50,000 a year for wrongful incarceration. The Legislature can go above that in special circumstances, but it never has.
"Whatever we do now will be a precedent for the future," said Democratic Sen. Roger Bedford of Russellville, chairman of the Legislative's Wrongful Incarceration Committee.
Robert Doyle was making about $49,000 a year as a salesman for an insurance company in Montgomery before his ex-wife accused him of sexually abusing their daughters. In 1992, a Montgomery jury convicted him of abusing his daughters, ages 7 and 9, and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
He served about two years and seven months before a state appeals court threw out his convictions because the prosecutor had not disclosed to the defense that the girls had accused another man of sexually abusing them.
"In the present case, the new evidence casts fundamental doubt on the accuracy and reliability of the proceedings to such as extent that it undermines the entire prosecution and it points unerringly to R.D.'s innocence," the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals ruled.
The appeals court also pointed out that the prosecutor in the case, former Alabama Attorney General Charlie Graddick, had also represented Doyle's ex-wife in their bitter divorce prior to her accusations against him.
Graddick, now a judge in Mobile, said state judicial rules limit public comments by judges, and he would need to consult with state's Judicial Inquiry Commission before making any comment.
Bob Doyle got a Montgomery judge to rule in 2005 that he had been wrongfully incarcerated, but Doyle died of congestive heart failure in 2007 without seeing a dime of compensation from the Legislature.
The Legislature voted in May to give his widow the $50,000 a year authorized by law. It came to $129,041.
She and her legal team told a legislative committee Wednesday that they are requesting an additional $1.86 million to cover legal fees, medical bills, lost wages, and costs for pursuing compensation for wrongful incarceration.
"There is no dispute he was wrongfully incarcerated," Bedford, the committee chairman, said.
"I wish my husband was here to hear that," Donna Doyle said.
Montgomery's district attorney, Ellen Brooks, said Doyle's widow may be due an additional $107,000 to cover her husband's legal bills from his appeal, but the widow is trying to recover for many expenses that are not allowed by state law.
The district attorney said Robert Doyle had heart problems before entering prison and he worsened the problem behind bars because receipts from the prison canteen show he made almost daily purchases of cigarettes and foods high in sugar and salt -- "items that a man in his condition should have avoided."
The committee plans to take a few weeks to consider the case and will make a recommendation to the Legislature in January.
Donna Doyle married her husband after his conviction but before he began his prison sentence. She recalled dropping him off to begin his sentence with nothing more than his Bible. An hour later, he contacted her, asking her to send Bibles to two men he had met in his holding cell.
When he got out of prison, he couldn't return to the insurance business. No one wanted to hire a convicted sex offender -- even one who had been cleared. Instead, he started a ministry program in Birmingham helping ex-felons get schooling and jobs.
His widow continues that ministry today.
"Bob was never bitter, but it has been a struggle for me, knowing what he went through and his untimely death," she said. ..Source.. al.com
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