Other Convicted Innocents
Walter Snyder
Year of Incident: 1985
Jurisdiction: Virginia
Charge: Rape, Sodomy, Burglary
Conviction: Rape, Sodomy, Burglary
Sentence: 45 years
Year of Conviction: 1986
Year of Exoneration: 1993
Sentence Served: 7 years
Real perpetrator found? Not yet
Compensation? Not yet
Walter Snyder was convicted and sentenced to forty-five years in prison
for rape, sodomy, and burglary. In 1985, the victim was attacked in her
home by an assailant that broke in her door. She identified Snyder, who
lived across the street, in a show up. In the course of investigation,
the police found red shorts that were similar to the assailant's. There
were also police claims that Snyder confessed. Only Snyder's mother
could confirm his whereabouts at the time and conventional serology
failed to exclude him as the perpetrator.
Working with the Innocence Project, Snyder's evidence was sent to the
Center for Blood Research in 1992, after prosecutors agreed to testing.
The DNA report excluded Snyder as a possible depositor of the
spermatozoa found on the vaginal swab. The laboratory repeated the test
at the prosecution's request, with the Innocence Project's agreement.
The results were the same. Afterward, the FBI looked at the results and
confirmed the methods used.
The prosecution joined with the Innocence Project in seeking a
gubernatorial pardon for Snyder. An absolute pardon was granted in
April 1993. The court subsequently expunged his record.