Steve Titus
Encyclopedia
Steve Titus was an American businessman who was wrongly convicted of rape
. An investigation and reporting of the events later became an entry in the Pulitzer prize
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On October 12, 1980, an unnamed female hitchhiker was raped. Police described the rapist as 25 to 30 years old, driving a royal blue car with temporary license plates and cloth seats, and having a beard. The rape was reported to have taken place at 6:45 p.m. The victim walked to a nearby house, and after approximately 10 minutes of conversation, called the police at 7:22 p.m. There were tire prints found near the scene which matched that of a Michelin
XYZ tire, which was standard on 1981 Honda Accord
LX cars, a model that was first sold in September, 1980. The victim reported that there was a large brown folder in the car and that the rapist wore a three piece suit.
Steve Titus was arrested. Like the rapist, he had a beard. He had a new car, a royal blue Chevrolet Chevette. However, the car had neither Michelin tires nor cloth seats. The car had a large brown folder which Titus later claimed was planted in the car by the police. He did not have any suits.
At trial prosecution testimony was changed and clear evidence of innocence was explained away by prosecution experts and law enforcement officers. As a direct result,Mr. Titus was wrongly convicted of Rape in the First Degree, a crime that carried with it a mandatory prison sentence. Working with investigative reporter Paul Henderson of the Seattle Times, Mr. Titus' new attorney, Jeff Jones, whom Mr. Titus had hired to pursue an appeal of his conviction, was able to convince the trial judge to grant a new trial based upon evidence developed by Mr. Henderson, arguing that Mr. Titus' trial attorney had been ambushed by surprise testimony which directly contradicted evidence contained in the Port of Seattle Police investigative reports. Subsequently, as a result of good police work by a local municipal police officer who had been following the new articles about the case, a lead was developed as to a new suspect. That lead was followed up by the King County Police Department whose investigation led to the arrest of an individual who eventually confessed to the crime.
After charges against him were dismissed, Mr. Titus sued the Port of Seattle and its Police Department, based upon evidence that their officers had changed and planted evidence, as well as convinced the victim to alter her testimony. Just before the trial, Titus died of a heart attack. His parents settled and got $2M to be paid over 20 years. The policeman who is accused of making up evidence died six years later of a heart attack, just like Titus. Paul Henderson was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for investigative journalism for his reporting on this case and later became a private investigator specializing in freeing innocent people who have been wrongfully convicted.
Jack Olsen
wrote a book (Predator)detailing the life of a convicted rapist who later confessed to this rape, and who is thought to have committed more than 50 rapes. Titus was fired from his job after the rape and was long term unemployed.
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
. An investigation and reporting of the events later became an entry in the Pulitzer prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
archives.
Crime
Michelin
Michelin is a tyre manufacturer based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France. It is one of the two largest tyre manufacturers in the world along with Bridgestone. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the BFGoodrich, Kleber, Riken, Kormoran and Uniroyal tyre brands...
XYZ tire, which was standard on 1981 Honda Accord
Honda Accord
The Honda Accord is a series of compact, mid-size and full-size automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1976, and sold in a majority of automotive markets throughout the world....
LX cars, a model that was first sold in September, 1980. The victim reported that there was a large brown folder in the car and that the rapist wore a three piece suit.
Steve Titus was arrested. Like the rapist, he had a beard. He had a new car, a royal blue Chevrolet Chevette. However, the car had neither Michelin tires nor cloth seats. The car had a large brown folder which Titus later claimed was planted in the car by the police. He did not have any suits.
Exculpatory evidence
The timeline was an important factor in the case. Titus left his parents home at 6:10 p.m on October 12, 1980 after attending his father's birthday party where there were other guests. He was seen by a coffee shop waitress at 6:20 p.m. on the day of the rape. The waitress at different times thought she had seen him at 6:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Titus made a long distance telephone call from his apartment at 7:00 p.m. on the day of the rape. The distance between the rape scene and Titus' apartment is 19 1/2 minutes according to a Seattle Times reporter. These times would not have allowed Titus to be at the location where the victim was raped at the time she indicated the crime had occurred.After charges against him were dismissed, Mr. Titus sued the Port of Seattle and its Police Department, based upon evidence that their officers had changed and planted evidence, as well as convinced the victim to alter her testimony. Just before the trial, Titus died of a heart attack. His parents settled and got $2M to be paid over 20 years. The policeman who is accused of making up evidence died six years later of a heart attack, just like Titus. Paul Henderson was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for investigative journalism for his reporting on this case and later became a private investigator specializing in freeing innocent people who have been wrongfully convicted.
Jack Olsen
Jack Olsen
Jack Olsen was an American journalist and author known for his thorough, scholarly approach to crime reporting. Olsen was Senior Editor and Chief for the Sun-Times in Chicago Illinois in 1954...
wrote a book (Predator)detailing the life of a convicted rapist who later confessed to this rape, and who is thought to have committed more than 50 rapes. Titus was fired from his job after the rape and was long term unemployed.
Further reading
- Predator: Rape, Madness, and Injustice in Seattle, ISBN 0385299354, Jack Olsen, 1991