DNA tests show imprisoned Indiana man didn't commit '92 rape
MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) - A central Indiana man who's spent nearly 25 years in prison is seeking to have his rape conviction vacated after DNA tests found that body fluids collected in the 1992 attack are from another man.
A joint motion filed Wednesday by Delaware County prosecutors and attorneys with the Innocence Project who represent William E. Barnhouse asks a county judge to set aside his convictions.
Barnhouse, 60, was accused of attacking a woman in April 1992 behind a vacant Muncie building. He was found guilty but mentally ill of rape and criminal deviate conduct. He was sentenced to 80 years.
But DNA tests performed last year determined that semen found on the victim's pants and body belong to another man, The Star Press reported (http://tspne.ws/2mGT77h ).
The joint motion notes that the testing had excluded Barnhouse as the source of the DNA evidence, and that "there is a reasonable probability that Mr. Barnhouse would not have been convicted if the results had been available at trial."
The motion notes that attorneys "believe it is in the best interest of justice" that Barnhouse's convictions be vacated and for the court to order to a new trial. But that doesn't necessarily mean Barnhouse will stand trial again, said Delaware County's chief deputy prosecutor, Eric Hoffman.
Hoffman said he and county Prosecutor Jeffrey Arnold must first review the evidence.
"We hope to have a decision whether to retry or dismiss within a month or so," Hoffman said.
He said that at an upcoming hearing, a judge will likely decide where Barnhouse will stay pending a final resolution of the case. Barnhouse remains at the New Castle Correctional Facility and is currently scheduled for release in September 2032.
According to court records, the Innocence Project - a nonprofit that has exonerated more than 300 convicted felons through DNA results - first inquired about evidence in Barnhouse's case in 2009.
Negotiations with prosecutors led to a January 2016 agreement allowing the DNA testing.
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Information from: The Star Press, http://www.thestarpress.com