- [Narrator] This is a production of WEDU PBS, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota.

(uplifting music) - Coming up.

For 37 years, Robert DuBoise spent time in prison for a crime he did not commit.

The Tampa resident was wrongfully accused of killing a teenaged woman in 1983.

But when the case was reopened years later, it also led investigators to a series of additional unsolved murders.

His story is told in the "Tampa Bay Time" series, "The Marked Man."

We'll talk to reporter Dan Sullivan and Robert DuBoise himself.

Coming up next on a special edition of "Florida This Week."

(upbeat music) Welcome back.

In 1983, 18-year-old Robert DuBoise lived in a red brick house in Tampa, Seminole Heights neighborhood with his family of seven.

They didn't have a lot of money.

He did odd jobs and worked in an auto upholstery shop, but the murder of a young woman that August changed his life forever.

19-year-old Barbara Grams was walking home from her job at the old Tampa Bay Center Mall at 9:00 PM.

She walked past the Hillsborough River and turned onto North Boulevard, where she lived.

Her body was found outside a dentist's office the next morning.

Police investigators focused on several of Grams' acquaintances, including Robert DuBoise.

The police took wax tooth impressions.

Police later convinced Robert his mother was in some kind of trouble and took him to the station.

There, he was arrested and was charged with first-degree murder.

After 16 months in jail, his trial began in February of 1985.

Then-state attorney Mark Ober was the prosecutor, and Judge Harry Lee Coe presided.

Much of the state's case revolved around a bite mark found on Grams' body and the wax impression given by DuBoise to police.

He was convicted of first-degree murder and attempted sexual battery.

Judge Harry Lee Coe overrode the jury and sentenced him to die in the electric chair.

After 502 days in the county jail, DuBoise found himself on death row at Florida State Prison.

Over the years, he wrote letters to try to convince others of his innocence.

He wrote to "The Tampa Tribune," "The St. Petersburg Times," journalists in Washington and New York, the mayor of Tampa, and the governor of Florida.

Three years later, his lawyer got his sentence reduced to life in prison.

He was moved to the general population area of the prison with 1000 other inmates.

And there, he saw about a dozen stabbings.

Over the years, he was visited by his mother and family members, including a young nephew.

By this time, DNA was being widely used, and it led to exonerations.

But his efforts to get DNA tests in his case were unsuccessful.

He was also denied parole several times, despite being a model prisoner.

Eventually, he received a letter from the Innocence Project, whom he had written 13 years before.

Lawyer Susan Friedman had represented people whose convictions rested on unreliable forensic science.

She took up his case and presented it to then-state attorney Andrew Warren's new Hillsborough County Conviction Review Unit.

Lawyer Theresa Hall ran that unit, looking into past cases and possible mistakes.

In their review, they stumbled onto Barbara Grams' rape kit stored in the morgue.

When it was tested, none of the DNA belonged to Robert DuBoise.

It belonged to another man.

Robert DuBoise got a call at the prison from his lawyers with a message, "You're going to be free, and they know who really did it."

Joining us now are Dan Sullivan, investigative reporter for "The Tampa Bay Times," who co-wrote "The Marked Man" series with fellow "Times" reporter, Christopher Spata, and Robert DuBoise, who was exonerated for a crime he did not commit.

And Robert and Dan, thank you for coming- - Thank you.

- to Florida this week.

Dan, did I get most of that right?

- Most of it, yes.

- Most, okay.

I know there's a couple details.

We'll go back and talk about 'em.

Tell us more about the victim, and what she was doing that night, and what happened to her.

- Well, Barbara Grams was a 19-year-old girl who lived in Tampa.

She lived with some male roommates in a house along North Boulevard.

She worked at the Tampa Bay Center Mall in Tampa, which was a popular location in 1983.

And she was walking home late one night after her shift, and a couple of her friends saw her walking along North Boulevard.

And that was the last she was seen alive.

And she was found the next morning behind a dental office, and she had been raped, and bludgeoned to death.

- It's pretty brutal.

- Yes.

- Yeah.

What was the evidence that was used to convict Robert?

What did police say the evidence was that connected Robert to this crime?

- Well, they didn't have a lot to go on initially.

And the one thing that they really focused on was a mark that was on Barbara Grams' cheek, which they believed was a bite mark.

And bite-mark evidence at that time was kind of a new thing.

And it was a very popular sort of investigative tool and it become popular because of the Ted Bundy case.

And so they kind of went around and asked a lot of different people that they talked to to give samples of their bite and asked them to bite into beeswax and use that to try to reproduce models of their teeth.

And Robert was one of the people that they spoke with.

And he had nothing to hide, gave them a sample of his bite.

And a dentist at the time examined that and compared it with the bite mark on Barbara Grams.

And he believed that Robert's teeth were a match.

And it was based on that that he was arrested.

- How does the judicial system view bite-mark evidence these days?

- Nowadays, bite-mark evidence has become widely regarded as unreliable.

There has been numerous scientific studies that have shown that it is not reliable.

While it's still admissible in court, the most that dentists can really say nowadays is that they can't exclude somebody as being the biter.

Whereas in 1983, they were allowed to say things like, "This is a definite match," and they can't do that anymore because the science just doesn't back that up.

- There were also a couple of witnesses that said that Robert was connected to this crime.

- Yeah, the other key evidence that prosecutors used at his trial was the words of a jailhouse informant who claimed that Robert had admitted involvement in the crime.

And jailhouse informants, we now know, are all common factor and wrongful convictions.

Robert always adamantly denied that he had anything to do with this crime.

But, you know, that was kind of the two key pieces, were the jailhouse informant and the bite mark.

- And the police also said that Robert committed this crime along with two other people, his brother and a friend of theirs.

- That's correct, - Yeah.

Were they ever charged?

- They were not charged.

And I think the reason for that is, you know, whereas they had this bite mark that they believed was good evidence against Robert, they didn't have anything like that against these two other guys.

So they were never charged with this crime.

- Robert, you were in jail a long time before you actually went on trial.

The trial happens, you're convicted.

How did you feel when the trial came back?

- Well, I felt like the nightmare was gonna be over once I sat through the trial, but, as you see, they came back with a guilty verdict, and that just baffled me.

- [Rob] What'd you think about the evidence against you?

- Well, I already knew it was all false, and I'm watching people just tell lies, and I had to sit there and just listen to it.

- Did you give up hope?

- Never.

- Yeah.

So how did you survive all those years in prison?

- Well, it's faith.

I kept my faith, and, you know, sometimes we go through struggles, but we have to adapt and persevere.

- Harry Lee Coe was the judge.

I think the jury came back, and what did the jury say about your sentence?

What did they say your sentence should be?

- Well, it was a 12-0 vote for life in prison.

- But Harry Lee Coe, the judge, said something different.

- Yes.

- What'd he say?

- He said, "He sentenced me to die by electrocution until I am dead."

- [Rob] How'd that affect your family?

- Well, I mean, it traumatized my family.

You know, they're watching their son go to death row.

- Yeah.

So you wrote a lot of letters to newspapers, to politicians saying that you were innocent.

- That's right.

Judges, everybody.

- [Rob] Did you ever hear back from anybody?

Nope.

Not one word.

- Yeah.

Things changed though, Dan, later, when the Innocence Project got involved, and also Hillsborough County, the state attorney there, set up this new unit to investigate old crimes.

Tell us what happened at that point.

- Well, I think once the Innocence Project agreed to accept Robert's case, they investigated it on their end.

And then, at almost around the same time, I believe, the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office created a new unit within their office called the Conviction Review Unit, which is designed to examine cases where people claim that they're innocent, and they have to be closed cases and they have to be from Hillsborough County.

And so the Innocence Project submitted a petition on Robert's behalf for the Conviction Review Unit to examine his case.

And in a way, it was very good timing for him.

- [Rob] Why was it good timing?

- Because they hadn't had this unit before, and, you know, they had a state attorney at the time who was willing to look at cases like this.

- Now I understand from your reporting that a lot of the physical evidence was thrown out.

How did they ever find DNA evidence that was found on Ms. Grams' body?

How did they ever find it, and was it luck that they found it?

- It was a very lucky thing, I think.

You know, a lot of the evidence in Robert's case had been destroyed in the early 1990s, just kind of as part of a routine purging of evidence that they did back in those days.

And it was kind of believed that there wasn't much left that they could really examine.

And it was the attorney for the Conviction Review Unit who ended up going to the Hillsborough Medical Examiner's office 'cause she had heard that they sometimes hold on to samples from rape kits from old homicides.

And it was kind of just by happenstance that, yeah, they had some samples from Barbara Grams' autopsy that were still in storage at the medical examiner's office.

- [Rob] Was it like a miracle?

- I think that's a good word to describe it.

- Yeah, and what happened next?

- Well, then they took the samples from the rape kit, and they arranged to send them to a private lab, a DNA testing lab in California.

And the lab tested the samples and compared them against DNA that was from Robert.

And they determined that the DNA that was on these samples from the rape kit did not match Robert DuBoise.

- And it was clear that Robert was not guilty of this crime.

- That's right.

- Yeah.

Robert, how'd you get the word that you were about to be set free?

- So I received a phone call on Monday morning, which was roughly 16th, I think.

August 16th, 2020.

And she told me that they tested the evidence, they know I didn't do it, and they put it in the CODIS and found out who really did it.

- How'd you feel?

- I felt really good, but I've had my hopes up before, so I wasn't free yet.

- How many years had it been?

- 37.

- 37 years, you got this word?

- Yeah.

So, I mean, I was grateful that it's finally almost over.

And she told me I would be free by Thursday.

- And you were?

- And I was.

- Yeah.

So at the same time of Barbara Grams' murder in 1983, there were a series of other murders taking place in Tampa.

Some people thought that there was a serial killer out there.

- Yeah, there were.

It was a year when there was a lot of homicides.

And we actually talked with Mark Ober, who later became the state attorney.

At that time, he was an assistant state attorney in charge of major crimes in the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office.

And his words were that it was, you know, they had more than they could handle at that time with regard to homicides.

And there was some thought at the time that maybe some of the homicides were related, and the police denied that at the time.

They did arrest suspects in some of the cases, and there wasn't really anything that was obvious to connect all of these crimes.

And it wasn't really until years later that they started to see some links between them.

- But they were in denial that there was maybe a serial killer afoot.

- Yeah, the police denied that at the time.

- Yeah.

So one of the details I got wrong in the setup piece was, I said DNA, I think, from one person, but there was actually DNA from two people discovered on Barbara Grams' body.

- That's right.

- Whose DNA did they discover?

- "DNA testing," they said, "showed a link to two men who were in prison."

Their names are Amos Robinson and Abron Scott.

And they are both serving life sentences for a murder that occurred in Pinellas County in October of 1983.

And incidentally, that murder happened on the same day that Robert was arrested.

- What kind of men are these?

Tell us a little bit about their background.

- Amos Robinson and Abron Scott, they both kind of had troubled backgrounds.

They both got in trouble as teenagers.

I believe they were 18 and 20 when these crimes occurred.

And just kind of troubled guys who, you know, went around to bars and would commit robberies of people.

And, you know, they robbed and killed one man and got sent to prison for the rest of their lives for that.

And they're now charged with the murder that Robert was wrongfully convicted of, as well as another murder of a woman that occurred that same summer.

- Have you talked to them, or have they said anything on the record about Barbara Grams' murder?

- They did not speak to us for our story.

Abron Scott did plead guilty earlier this year to the murder of Barbara Grams and the murder of the other woman from that summer, whose name was Linda Lanson.

And he gave a tearful apology in court to Linda Lanson's daughter.

And he has also agreed, you know, as part of the condition of his guilty plea was he agreed to testify against Amos Robinson in these cases.

- When does that case come up?

- It's still pending.

It hasn't been set for trial.

But, you know, Amos Robinson, the case against him is still pending in court.

- So I'm wondering about the police and prosecutors in this case.

Were they trying to just get a notch on their belt by convicting Robert?

Or do you have any sense of their motivation, and what have they said since?

I mean, what did the Tampa, what does the Tampa Police Department say about getting it wrong about Robert DuBoise?

And what does the former state attorney say about getting it wrong about Robert DuBoise?

- Well, I think the reaction to Robert's exoneration is kind of varied among different people.

The police that were involved in the investigation didn't really want to talk to us.

And there was some testimony.

Robert actually had filed a lawsuit over his wrongful conviction, and there was some testimony as part of the lawsuit where the police didn't really want to admit that they had done anything wrong.

Mark Ober, the former prosecutor who prosecuted the case, still also, you know, told us that he believes that, you know, he got the right person.

So it seems like- - He doesn't say that a mistake was made.

- That's right.

You know, there's definitely a reluctance among some people to acknowledge that Robert was innocent.

The Tampa Police Department, or the city of Tampa.

Jane Castor is the mayor of the city of Tampa, and she's a former police officer.

They eventually settled Robert's lawsuit for $14 million.

And they said at the time that they hoped that the settlement would help in Robert's healing.

So there is some acknowledgement of a wrongdoing.

- Robert, did that help in your healing?

I mean, tell us about, you know, what you thought about those 37 years and treated so wrongly.

- Money does not restore anything.

Money can only help you.

In my case, it can help me to help my family and friends and just live my life the best I can.

But it can't restore anything I lost.

- [Rob] What did you miss most in those 37 years?

- Having a wife and kids, which I'll never have now.

- It's too late.

- Yes.

- Yeah, and that was always your dream?

- That's correct.

- Yeah.

- Then there's no way to make you whole on that level.

- No.

Some money can't do it.

- What about an apology?

I mean, would you expect that either the prosecutors that were involved or the police officers who were involved, would you expect an apology from them?

- You know, I wouldn't, because their egos back then are the same as they are now.

They will not admit wrong, you know?

And that's my opinion is, their ego's in the way.

They just swear they can't get anything wrong.

Every other human can, but they can't, you know?

I spoke with Mayor Castor, and, you know, she apologized, and we had a nice talk, and she's a very nice lady, and she was a police chief, you know, before, and we talked about how Tampa used to be and stuff.

And, you know, she knows they got it wrong.

They won't admit it.

- Dan, what about the witnesses that testified against Robert?

I mean, they were key to getting Robert convicted and put on death row.

Have you talked to the witnesses since, and what do they say now about why they testified against Robert?

- Well, I think probably the most important witness against Robert was Richard Souviron, who was the dentist who said that it was his bite mark.

And Richard Souviron has actually, you know, I think, to his credit, has come out and admitted, he admitted to us that he got this wrong and he said that he feels terrible about it.

And the jailhouse informant who testified, later testified as part of the lawsuit that, you know, everything that he said was not true.

And he has said that, you know, all you would ever hear Robert saying when he was in jail was that he didn't do it.

- Why did he give false testimony?

- His explanation was that he felt "squeezed from both sides," I believe were his words, and that he felt like if he didn't say what he felt like was expected of him, that he might go to prison for a very long time.

So it was basically, I think he believes that, you know, things could have been worse for him, for the charges that he was facing at the time if he didn't testify the way he did.

You know, there were some other people involved in the case who, you know, have worked, I think, kind of were reluctant to believe that this was really a case of innocence.

But, you know, with everything that's come out now, they acknowledge, I think, that it was a terrible thing that happened.

- So one of the people that testified against you, Robert, was a woman you had a crush on.

- Yeah.

- And she testified you were guilty.

- Yep, that shows you the power of the policemen that worked on this case.

- [Rob] Why did she testify that way, Dan?

- It's not really clear.

I know the thing that she said was that she had seen scratches on him and claimed that he had bragged about, you know, participating in a crime.

It's not really clear what was going on with her.

But, you know, I think in the face of, you know, this DNA evidence and the face of the other evidence that contributed to Robert's exoneration, it's just sort of baffling.

- So we've had a change of state attorneys in Hillsborough County, but Andrew Warren had set up this Conviction Review Unit.

What's happened to that unit?

- From what we have gathered in our reporting, the unit still exists.

There is currently not an attorney in charge of it, but they're looking to hire someone, and it's still there, and they still accept the petitions.

They have had a few cases where people have been released from prison since Robert's exoneration, but in those cases, it wasn't quite the same because they didn't undo the conviction.

They just basically negotiated an agreement to let the person out with time served.

And so their conviction is still technically there.

It's just they let them out of prison.

- Dan, this is an amazing series that you and Christopher Spata did.

It involves a wrongful conviction, involves serial murders, it involves unsolved crimes.

It's pretty amazing.

How long did it take you to do the series?

And how many papers, how many documents did you have to review?

- I first started working on this about 18 months before it published.

And, you know, the writing, I think, began in September of last year.

And it was many different drafts of the story that we went through.

And, you know, there was a lot of editing and cutting of different things that we wrote and rewording of things.

And as far as the documents and the reporting, I believe we reviewed over 11,000 documents.

And that was a lot of police reports, and court records, and transcripts of different court hearings, and prison records, parole records, and that sort of thing.

It was a very big undertaking, to say the least.

- Tells us a lot about the criminal justice system.

- That's right.

- Robert, you were in prison.

You were in jail first and then in prison.

You were innocent.

You talked to other people in prison and jail.

Of those folks that you talked to, do you think anybody else in prison or jail that you met was also innocent?

- Sure, I do.

I mean, if you look at the statistics, there's probably 4% in there for something they didn't do.

Now, one in particular, in my opinion, was Jesse Tafero So Jesse Tafero was on death row with me.

Jesse Tafero was executed before he could be proven innocent.

- [Rob] Why do you think he was innocent?

- Because him and his wife were both on death row.

She was finally freed because the true killer came forward and told the truth.

But he had already been executed.

- Why do you think you were so lucky?

It took 37 years, but you were lucky.

You got out.

Why do you think you were so lucky, and maybe others- - I don't consider it luck.

I consider it, I'm blessed.

But I kept my faith, and I just, you know, it's like if you go into a strange situation or a strange neighborhood or whatever, you adapt, you know?

So I had to adapt to my surroundings, but not become my surroundings, you know?

So I had to keep my perspectives in the right order, and I worked, and I concentrated on writing letters, and trying to prove my innocence in any way I could.

- Did you ever give up hope?

- Never.

- And your faith got you through it?

- That's right.

- Yeah.

And you had some skills, too.

- Yes.

- Yeah, you were a fix-it guy.

- Well, I literally went from death row straight down the hallway into the worst prison in the state at that time and became the electrician, so.

- And you were honored by that.

I mean, the prison guards honored you for that.

- Well, yeah.

- They trusted you.

- Yes.

So, you know, I met a lot of good people on both sides of the fence while I was in there.

And yeah, they knew that just by my character, I wasn't a normal inmate that tried to con my way through my time, you know?

I worked, and if I said I was gonna do something, I did it.

- Well, it's an amazing story.

It's good to meet you.

Dan, thank you.

- Thank you.

- Robert DuBoise and Dan Sullivan have been our guests.

Thank you for telling us this amazing story.

You can read the series "The Marked Man" online at tampabay.com and click on the Features section.

If you have comments about this program, please send them to us at ftw@wedu.org.

The show is also available at wedu.org or on YouTube.

Our show is also available as a podcast.

And from all of us here at WEDU, have a great weekend.

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