In 1981, Donald Gates was convicted of the rape and murder of a Georgetown student. His conviction relied on a paid informant's lie and discredited FBI hair analysis. He served 27 years before DNA evidence proved his innocence in 2009.
The case against Donald Gates was built on two pillars of corruption: junk science and bought testimony.
Gerald Smith, a jailhouse informant, testified that Gates confessed to the murder. In exchange, prosecutors helped Smith shorten his own sentence and paid him $1,300. Smith later recanted, admitting he made it all up.
FBI analyst Michael P. Malone testified that hairs found on the victim's body were "microscopically indistinguishable" from Gates'. Malone was later exposed as an unethical examiner who systematically exaggerated evidence.
Prosecutors withheld evidence that the hair samples were not a definitive match and that the informant had a history of lying. This Brady violation kept an innocent man in prison for nearly three decades.
Catherine Schilling is murdered in Rock Creek Park. Donald Gates is arrested despite a lack of physical evidence linking him to the crime.
Based on Malone's hair analysis and Smith's perjured testimony, Gates is convicted and sentenced to 20 years to life.
The Public Defender Service pushes for DNA testing on the evidence. The results prove that the semen and hair found on the victim did not come from Gates. They matched a different man, a serial offender who had been working in the area.
Judge Fred B. Ugast, who had presided over the original trial, orders Gates' release.
"I am sorry that the system failed you. I am sorry that you lost 27 years of your life."
— Judge Fred B. Ugast