Other Convicted Innocents
Charles Irvin Fain
Year of Incident: 1982
Jurisdiction: Idaho
Charge: Murder, Rape, Kidnapping
Conviction: Murder, Rape, Kidnapping
Sentence: Death
Year of Conviction: 1983
Year of Exoneration: 2001
Sentence Served: 18 years
Real perpetrator found? Not yet
Compensation? Not yet
Charles Irvin Fain was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder,
rape, and kidnaping of a young girl. The crime occurred in Nampa,
Idaho, in 1982. Fain has always maintained his innocence and DNA
testing in 2001 revealed the truth of his claim.
The victim had been abducted while walking to school. Her body was
discovered days later near a river. Police began questioning Fain, who
had recently moved into the area. Along with dozens of others, Fain was
asked to provide hair samples for comparison to the hairs found on the
victim. After performing microscopic hair comparison, the FBI
determined that the suspect hairs were similar to Fain's. At trial, the
prosecution relied on the testimony of two jailhouse snitches who had
been in a cell with Fain. They claimed that Fain had told them of his
involvement in the crime and provided graphic details.
Mitochondrial DNA testing revealed that the hairs - pubic hairs found
on the victim's socks and underwear - were not Fain's. Based on this
new evidence, a judge ordered his release in August 2001. The
prosecution decided not to try him again. Fain became the eleventh
person in the United States to be freed from death row due to
postconviction DNA testing.