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Man who spent 37 years in prison admits using technology after getting out was 'overwhelming'

Home> News> Crime

Published 18:58 12 Jun 2024 GMT+1

Man who spent 37 years in prison admits using technology after getting out was 'overwhelming'

Robert DuBoise spent almost four decades behind bars for a crime he didn't commit

Anish Vij

Anish Vij

A man who was wrongly imprisoned for nearly four decades has confessed that using technology after getting out was 'overwhelming'.

Robert DuBoise was put behind bars for almost 37 years for a crime in Florida, US, that he did not commit.

In October 1983, DuBoise was just 18 when he was arrested for the rape and murder of a 19-year-old.

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Robert DuBoise. (Innocence Project of Florida)
Robert DuBoise. (Innocence Project of Florida)

As there were no eyewitnesses, the prosecutor built a case on words and an apparent bite mark on the victim's cheek - a dentist then claimed the mark matched Robert's teeth.

Two years later, he was convicted by a jury of capital murder and attempted sexual battery, and was subsequently sentenced to death.

Having served three years on death row, the Florida Supreme Court adjusted his death sentence to life in prison.

However, justice was eventually served after a DNA sample was looked into by a forensic odontologist under re-investigation, and it was concluded that the profile matched up to an individual who had no connection to Robert.

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In September 2020, Robert finally walked out of prison as a free man.

He was exonerated in September 2020. (Innocence Project of Florida)
He was exonerated in September 2020. (Innocence Project of Florida)

For the past couple of weeks, members of the public have been able to ask Robert questions about his life after Tampa Bay journalists Christopher Spata and Dan Sullivan took to Reddit to start a thread.

One user asked him: "What has been the hardest adjustment to make now that you're on the outside?"

And Robert said it was the idea of using a smartphone that baffled him the most.

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"Before I went in, if you wanted to go somewhere you used paper maps," he revealed.

"No Google Maps or a cell phone. Not to mention things you can look up on the internet now that you would have had to drive, who knows how many miles to find what you were looking for. A part, a piece of furniture, you can browse without going anywhere...

Imagine getting your hands on this after only ever using 'paper maps'. (Getty Stock Image)
Imagine getting your hands on this after only ever using 'paper maps'. (Getty Stock Image)

"I stayed up all night with the phone the first few nights. At first I couldn't answer it when my lawyer Susan called me. I was tapping it, because I didn't know how to slide it.

"It was overwhelming at first. I'd seen cell phones in prison, that people would get once in a while, but I would never use them."

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Another question read: "This is a sillier question compared to the others, but what was the first thing you wanted to eat or go do for fun (aside from visit family members and the like) once you got out?"

The now 59-year-old exoneree replied: "I focused so many years on proving my innocence that I never thought about it.

"My dream had always been to have a wife and kids, but when I got older, I recalculated."

Featured Image Credit: Innocence Project of Florida / Getty Stock Image

Topics: Crime, US News

Anish Vij
Anish Vij

Anish is a Journalist at LADbible Group and is a GG2 Young Journalist of the Year 2025. He has a Master's degree in Multimedia Journalism and a Bachelor's degree in International Business Management. Apart from that, his life revolves around the ‘Four F’s’ - family, friends, football and food. Email: [email protected]

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@Anish_Vij

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