Michael Anthony Green (Photo/San Antonion Express-News) In April, 1983, four African American men abducted a white woman from a coin-operated telephone in north Houston and took her to a remote location where three of the men raped her.
Police managed to spot the car as the rapists fled and gave chase, but they escaped on foot after abandoning the vehicle.
Police canvassed the area and spotted 18-year-old Michael Anthony Green, who was African American, walking with another African American man. The victim of the assault viewed Green and the other man, but did not identify either one and they were released.
A week later, on April 25, 1983, Houston police attempted to pull over a stolen car in the vicinity of where the woman was abducted, but the driver sped off. The chase ended when the car crashed. Police pursued the driver and arrested him nearby. The driver was Green.
Green was put into a lineup and this time the victim identified him as one of her attackers.
On June 30, 1983, Green was identified at trial by the victim and he was convicted by a jury. He was sentenced to 75 years in prison.
By 2008, years after Green’s appeals had been rejected, Pat Lykos had been elected District Attorney of Harris County and formed a Post Conviction Review Unit. Green had written to the District Attorney’s office and others contending he was innocent and his case was one of the first to be reviewed.
The clothing from the rape victim was sent for DNA testing and the results excluded Green.
Green was released from prison on July 30, 2010 and the charges were dismissed on November 22, 2010.
Authorities were able to identify the four men who were involved in the abduction and assault, but no charges were filed because the statute of limitations had expired.
Green received $2,186,000 in state compensation plus a monthly annuity of $11,300.
– Maurice Possley
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