Accused of rape by a fellow student, Brian Banks accepted a plea deal and went to prison on his 18th birthday. Years later he was exonerated with the help of the California Innocence Project. He’s joined on Megyn Kelly TODAY by Project director Justin Brooks and former prosecutor Loni Coombs, with whom he now examines other potentially wrongful convictions on the series “Final Appeal.”
Brian Banks was a high school football star in California who was wrongly convicted of rape in 2002 at the age of 17. He was sentenced to five years in prison and five years of probation, and he was required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
The key points of his wrongful conviction are:
Banks was accused of rape by a fellow student, who claimed that he had dragged her into a stairwell and assaulted her.
Despite maintaining his innocence, Banks was advised by his attorney to take a plea deal that would result in a reduced sentence of 18 months in prison and five years of probation.
After serving five years in prison and five years on probation, Banks was finally exonerated in 2012 when his accuser admitted that she had fabricated the story.
Banks’ case highlights the flaws in the criminal justice system, including the pressure to accept plea deals and the difficulty of proving innocence after a conviction.
Following his exoneration, Banks has become a prominent advocate for criminal justice reform and has worked to help others who have been wrongly convicted.
1 Falsely Accused of Rape, Former High School Football Star Finally Cleared
24 mei 2012
RippDemUpTV
LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) — After a decade, it was the judgment that Brian Banks and his lawyers from the California Innocence Project fought for: Case dismissed.
“My only dream in the world was to just be free and to have the same opportunity as everybody here,” said Banks following Thursday’s hearing.
At age 16, Brian Banks had been a popular student at Polytechnic High in Long Beach, an athlete being scouted by eight colleges.
He verbally accepted an offer to attend the University of Southern California on a four-year scholarship when a serious accusation came from a fellow classmate and childhood friend.
Wanetta Gibson, then 15 years old, claimed Banks had raped her at school. With a case of he said she said, Banks did as his lawyers urged — to plead no contest and accept a short prison term rather than risk a long one.
Gibson collected $1.5 million after suing the school. Banks spent five years in prison and five years on parole, finally reaching out to California Project Innocence. But the case turned when the alleged victim contacted him through Facebook asking to be his friend.
LINK: http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?sec…
2 Wrongfully Jailed For Rape As A Teen, He Now Helps Others Falsely Convicted | Megyn Kelly TODAY
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4 Football Star Exonerated After 10-Year Wrongful Conviction | NowThis
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6 Brian Banks: A Family Re-United
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8 Falsely Accused: How Former High School Athlete Got His Life Back
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