Convicting the Innocent
DNA Exonerations Database

Anthony Green

First NameAnthony
Last NameGreen
Year of Conviction1988
Year of Exoneration2001
Testing inculpated culpritNon-Cold Hit
State of ConvictionOhio
Trial, Bench Trial, or Guilty PleaTrial
Type of CrimeRape
Death SentenceNo
Gender of ExonereeMale
Race of exonereeBlack
JuvenileNo
Type of Innocence Defense
  • Alibi
Description / Quotes from Testimony Concerning Defense

● The defendant was the only witness to discuss his alibi.

Did the defendant testify at trial?Yes
Quotes from Exoneree Testimony

Defendant made general assertions of innocence and denied committing the rape.

Types of evidence at trial
  • Eyewitness
  • Forensic Evidence
Type of Forensic Evidence
  • Hair
  • Serology
Types of Flawed Forensics
  • Invalid
Reason why invalid(1) Masking, (5) invalid non-numerical probability statement
Brief Quote / Description of Testimony

The analyst testified that the hair characteristics “eliminated a large percentage of the population.” As described in Part II.B, there is no statistical basis for hair comparison. The victim and Green were both B secretors and the stain tested exhibited B and H antigens. The analyst concluded that the donor was a secretor and the “ABO type of the donor of this seminal fluid was type B,” and that B secretors are approximately 16% of population. “Q. So if we understand you correctly, sir, that 84 percent of the population, male population would be unable to deposit that seminal fluid on State’s Exhibit 1? A. That is correct.” However, those substances could entirely have originated from the victim and the donor could have been any type. See Part II.A.1 for a description of the problem of masking and non-quantification and discussion of similar cases.

Identity of eyewitness
  • Cross Racial Identification
  • Victim
Suggestive Procedures

Yes ● Suggestive line-up – only photo with identifying information ● Suggestive remarks – told victim that they had a suspect and that his name was Tony ● Repetition of only the defendant’s photo ● Victim not told attacker might not be in line-up

Quotes from testimony #1

Victim testified that the Officer “told me his name was Tony.” The assailant had said his name was Tony. Officer recalled “we told her we had some photographs that we had possibly the suspect in this situation.”

Unreliable Identification?

Yes ● Initially uncertain of identification

Quotes from testimony #2

No identification was made when first viewing the photo array; “I wasn’t sure and I didn’t want to be sure either.”

Highest level reachedAppeal
Claims Raised During All Appeals and Postconviction
  • Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
  • Jury Instructions
  • Prosecutorial Misconduct
  • State Law Evidence Claim
  • Suggestive Eyewitness Identification
Harmless Error Rulings
  • NP
Citations to judicial opinions

Ohio v. Green, 585 N.E.2d 990 (Ohio App. 8 Dist. 1990)

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