Dewey Bozella

Dewey Bozella
Nationality	American
Known for	Serving 26 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit

Dewey Bozella (born 1959) is a former amateur boxer who is best known for being falsely imprisoned for a murder he did not commit. Convicted in 1983 for the murder of an elderly woman, Bozella served 26 years in prison before having his conviction overturned in 2009.^[1]

Alleged offence and conviction

In 1977, 92-year-old Emma Crapser was murdered in her Poughkeepsie, New York apartment. Police alleged that Crapser walked in on a burglary that was being committed by a then 18 year old Bozella, who then killed her. In 1983, Bozella was convicted of murder and sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. He continued to claim he was innocent and refused to admit to the crimes he was alleged to have committed, even when in front of the parole board, who denied him parole on four occasions. Bozella contacted the Innocence Project who agreed to examine his case. When the IP discovered that there was no DNA evidence remaining to be tested they referred the case to WilmerHale. Lawyers at WilmerHale discovered new evidence that had been suppressed by prosecutors showing Bozella was innocent. Supreme Court Justice James Rooney of Putnam County agreed that the Dutchess County district attorney had failed to disclose crucial evidence which would have proved Bozella’s innocence.^[1][2][3] In October 2009, Bozella was released from prison after serving 26 years.^[4]

Prison life

Bozella was imprisoned at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York. While incarcerated at Sing Sing, he became the prison's light heavyweight boxing champion.^[3]

While in prison Dewey took the advice of a fellow Sing Sing prison resident, who told him to better himself. He went on to get his Bachelor's degree, Master's degree, and 52 certificates, some in trades.^[5]

Life after prison

In October 2009, after being released from Sing Sing, Bozella began working with youths at a local gym in Newburgh, New York. At the gym, which is now closed, he worked with teenagers teaching them about boxing and about the dangers of joining a gang. He frequently visits various organizations to deliver speeches about his life experiences.

Bozella currently lives in Fishkill, New York with his wife, Trena. While accepting an award in 2011, he told an ESPN reporter that he still dreamed of having at least one professional fight one day.^[3]

His application for compensation from the State of California was turned down.^[6]

2011 ESPY Awards

On July 13, 2011, Bozella's life was chronicled in ESPN's annual ESPY Award show in the Nokia Theatre at L.A. Live in Los Angeles, where he was honored as the recipient of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award.^[7]

Professional debut

On October 15, 2011, Bozella won his professional boxing debut^[8] on the undercard of the Bernard Hopkins vs Chad Dawson match-up at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, against Larry Hopkins by a 4-round unanimous decision.^[9][10] Bozella had been training with Bernard Hopkins in Philadelphia.^[11] President Barack Obama reportedly telephoned Bozella to wish him luck in the upcoming fight.^[12]

Professional boxing record

1 Wins (0 knockouts), 0 Losses, 0 Draws,0 No Contest
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Win	1-0	Larry Hopkins	UD	4 (4)	2011-10-15	Staples Center, Los Angeles, California	Bozella's professional debut.

See also

• Hurricane Carter

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Former boxer wrongly imprisoned for 26 years to speak Monday". 4-2-2010. http://www.union.edu/N/DS/s.php?s=8837. Retrieved 7-13-2011. 
2. ^ For the text of the judgment see http://www.nysacdl.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Bozella-opinion.pdf
3. ^ ^{a b c} "Bozella to accept ESPY award years after wrongful murder conviction". 7-12-2011. http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20110713/NEWS01/107130335/Bozella-accept-ESPY-award-years-after-wrongful-murder-conviction. Retrieved 7-17-2011. 
4. ^ Free man Bozella wins boxing debut at 52 - Australian Broadcasting Corporation - Retrieved 16 Oct 2011.
5. ^ Live from his own mouth on The Early Show on CBS (10/19/2011 7:30AM EST)
6. ^ "Little Known Black History Fact: Dewey Bozella". Blackamericaweb.com. 2007-02-20. http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/news/moving_america_news/33420. Retrieved 2011-10-16. 
7. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
8. ^ Greg Beacham. 2011 Oct 15. AP Sports Writer. 52-year-oldex-con Bozella wins pro boxing debut. [2]
9. ^ Following long injustice, Dewey Bozella will get his fight
10. ^ BoxRec Schedule
11. ^ Satterfield, Lem (2011-09-29). "Breaking news: Wrongfully-accused Bozella approved for Hopkins-Dawson undercard | RingTV". Ringtv.craveonline.com. http://ringtv.craveonline.com/blog/169384-wrongfully-accused-boxer-bozalla-is-approved-to-fight-on-hopkins-dawson-undercard. Retrieved 2011-10-16. 
12. ^ Man wrongly convicted of murder makes boxing debut

Persondata
Name
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1959
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death