Profiles

Years from initial arrest to exoneration - 11
Cause of Wrongful Conviction - Eyewitness Misidentification
Exoneration Date - October 12, 2006

On October 12, 2006, Allen Coco walked out of a Lake Charles jail after being convicted of a rape he did not commit eleven years previously. DNA testing conducted by a private laboratory had excluded him as the perpetrator in March of that year; however, the State of Louisiana resisted his release for seven months, despite the fact that subsequent testing by a State crime laboratory arrived at the same conclusion in July. Mr. Coco was arrested in 1995 for aggravated rape, two counts of aggravated burglary, and one count of simple burglary for a May 25, 1995 attack.

The victim testified at trial that she had been raped by a man who broke into her home after she fell asleep watching television. The attacker held a knife to her throat during the rape. At some point, the victim was able to take the knife from the attacker, who then attempted to flee through a broken window. He became tangled in the blinds, at which point the victim stabbed him in the buttocks. The attacker escaped.

Police assisted the victim in constructing a composite sketch of the attacker, which she found unsatisfactory, yet continued to view it. Nearly a month after the rape, the victim was shown two photo arrays containing both another suspect and Mr. Coco. Using the faulty composite for reference, she identified Mr. Coco as her attacker.

The victim described the attacker as having worn a short-sleeved shirt but never mentioned any tattoos. Mr. Coco has tattoos covering both arms, as well as his chest and back. Mr. Coco also did not have a stab wound on his buttocks or anywhere else on his body. State experts testified that blood found at the scene, including that found on the blinds, was of the same type as that of Mr. Coco (as well as nearly six percent of the black population). Apparently, no testing was performed on the rape kit or the victim's clothing.

Based on the eyewitness misidentification and serology evidence Mr. Coco was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

IPNO investigated Mr. Coco's case because of the questionable evidence used against him, and filed an Application for DNA Testing and Post Conviction Relief on October 14, 2004. Nearly two years later, after being proved innocent of this crime, Mr. Coco exited the State's correctional system to little fanfare, but to the immense delight of his family and friends.

Tragically, after a long battle with cancer that had started in Angola prison, Mr. Coco died on August 6, 2008 after only two years of freedom.