Robert DuBoise spent 37 years in a Florida prison for a 1983 rape and murder he did not commit. Now, he’s set to receive $14 million from the city of Tampa as compensation for all those lost years.
DuBoise, who was 18 when the crime occurred, was initially sentenced to death for the killing of 19-year-old Barbara Grams. Although his sentence was later reduced to life in prison, it wasn’t until 2018 — with help from the Innocence Project organization — that prosecutors agreed to give the case another look.
DNA testing that was not available in the early 1980s pointed toward two other men in the slaying, leading to DuBoise’s release from prison in 2020. Not long after that, DuBoise sued the city of Tampa, police officers who investigated the case and a forensic dentist who had testified that his teeth matched a purported bite mark on the victim.
The lawsuit was settled Jan. 11 but the Tampa City Council voted unanimously Thursday to approve it and officially award the $14 million to DuBoise, now 59. Council members said the money is the least the city could do for him.