Statement in response to Robert Duboise settlement approval by Tampa City Council

Thursday, February 15, 2024 Today, the Tampa City Council approved a $14 million settlement for our client Robert DuBoise, who was wrongly arrested at age 18 and eventually served three of his 37 years imprisonment on Florida’s death row for a crime he did not commit. Mr. DuBoise has maintained his innocence from the day of his arrest, more than 40 years ago. 

The tragedy of Robert DuBoise’s wrongful conviction is that it could and should have been prevented. “Junk science”—thoroughly discredited pseudoscience that was, and continues to be, relied upon by police to secure convictions—helped to put Mr. DuBoise behind bars for 37 years. In addition, Tampa police officers coerced and fabricated a jailhouse informant’s testimony in order to put Mr. DuBoise behind bars.

While no amount of money will ever compensate Mr. DuBoise for the decades of his life that he spent behind bars for a crime that he did not commit, this settlement is an acknowledgement of that harm and an opportunity to help Mr. DuBoise move forward with his life.

Mr. DuBoise looks forward to moving on from this 40+ year quest for justice, but he emphasized that these reparations can never make up for the time he lost in prison.

“I am grateful that with this settlement that this case is done and I can move on with my life,” said Mr. DuBoise after today’s vote. “Money, a house, nothing can make up for the time that I lost in prison.”

“We are glad that Tampa brought a bit of justice and closure to Robert today,” said Gayle Horn, one of Robert DuBoise’s attorneys at Loevy + Loevy. “This settlement acknowledges the immeasurable harm Robert endured, and will allow him to move forward with his life.”

Robert DuBoise is pictured here with his mother Myra DuBoise.

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