NCJ Number
108019
Journal
Emory Law Journal Volume: 35 Issue: 4 Dated: (Fall 1986) Pages: 969-1009
Date Published
1986
Length
41 pages
Annotation
The Gary Dotson case and other cases in which witnesses have recanted their testimony demonstrate the need for a change in the judicial approach to recantations, which is currently based on the presumption that the recantation is false.
Abstract
Gary Dotson was convicted in 1979 of the rape and aggravated kidnapping of Cathy Crowell Webb. In 1985, Webb recanted her testimony, claiming that she had not been raped at all. She stated that she made up her story, fearing that she had become pregnant after having sex with her boyfriend. She picked Dotson's picture from police mug books because it fit the description she had made up and given the police. The judge denied Dotson's petition to vacate the conviction and grant a new trial, and Gary Dotson returned to prison. This decision and others show that courts strongly disfavor recantations and rarely grant motions for new trials. In addition, appellate courts rarely reverse these denials. The presumption of incredibility is inappropriate, however. Currently, the burden of proving that the original testimony was false rests on the defendant. An approach more consistent with the principles of our criminal justice system would be to permit the granting of new trials unless the judge is satisfied that the recantation is false. A substantial inquiry should examine the circumstances and possible motives in each case without preconceived notions as to whether the recantation is true or false. 203 footnotes.