•Exonerated by DNA Which led to
Identifying Rapist and Killer
•DNA Existed All Along to Exonerate  
•In 2014 Dixmoor
5 Were Awarded $40M in the Largest Wrongful Conviction Settlement in Illinois
History
•In 2016 Known and Incarcerated Criminal
Willie Randolph Convicted of the Crime, 25 Years After It Occurred

•Primary Issue – Coerced Confessions From
Minors
•DNA Tested Which Identified A Sole Male
Not One of Defendants
•Despite Forensics Exonerating Defendants,
DA Pushes on to Conviction Based on the Confessions
•20 Years Later the DNA is Tied to Known
and Convicted Criminal
•Defendants Exonerated After Spending Over
16 Years in Prison
•Thanks to Innocence Project and Other
Programs Like It, Defendants Were Heard and Exonerated by Science

With help from many injustice reformers and law students, I had the DNA that was needed to exonerate me from this case. After serving 16 years in prison, I was released and exonerated of all crimes, given a civil suit  and was given a private compensation bill along with state statute legally exonerating through a legislative bill. Later on, DNA testing was used to find the real offender of this crime. After DNA testing the CODIS database picked up on a violent serial offender “Willie Randolph.” who lived close by to the highway path during the time of the incident.

Without DNA testing, I was forced to serve a 120 year prison sentence for a rape-homicide I never had done. I asked the judge for 3 appeals was given none. My prayers were answered after 16 years by the 'University of Chicago Law School Exoneration Project' and 'The Innocence Project' They proclaimed that I had been arrested on false accusations and was entitled to a DNA test. It took a long 8 months for the DNA evidence from the incident to be found.

The evidence used to imprison Myself and the other teenagers had been from false accusations in perjury. 3 testimonies all contradicted themselves however they continued to try all of us for the gang rape-homicide. Veal and Shainne Sharp were given 20 years with parole for testifying against Harden, Taylor and Barr. I again was given 120 years, all subsequent appeals were denied including Post DNA testing.

Cateresa Matthews left her house in Dixmoor, IL , went missing Nov 19, 1991 and was not seen again until Dec 8, 1991. She was found on a path running along the I-57 highway. She had been sexually assaulted and shit in the mouth with a 45. mm handgun. Semen was found in the victim which was an important piece of evidence. Police had made no arrests or had no leads for over 10 months until on  Oct 20, 1992 a witness says that Cateresa was last seen getting in Robert Lee and Robert Taylor's car. Later that day Robert Taylor signed a handwritten statement implicating himself and 4 other teenagers in the crime. Later that week Robert Veal and Shainne Sharp signed a statement all contradicting themselves. The court carried on with the case and trialed all 5 teenagers. For the confessions and joined testimony Robert Lee and Robert Taylor were given 20 years in prison with parole. They also tested the other 3 boys on the same crimes. James Harden was given a 120 year prison sentence.