4 – Jimmy Ray Bromgard (Convicted in 1987)
DNA testing ultimately proved Jimmy Ray Bromgard’s innocence, but he had to wait 14 long years for it to happen. Linda Glantz was raped in her home in Billings, Montana by an intruder in 1987. He had broken into the house by smashing a window and left the scene of the crime with a jacket and purse. The police found semen on the victim’s underwear, and several hairs were also found on the bed sheets.
The police used the description given by the traumatized 8-year old to create a sketch. An officer knew 18-year old Bromgard and was convinced that the teenager was the culprit. Bromgard agreed to appear in a police line-up and also in videotaped questioning. In the live proceedings, the young girl picked Bromgard but admitted that she was no more than 65% sure. Despite this severe level of doubt, she was still allowed to pick Bromgard out as her assailant in court. Even Bromgard’s defense counsel did not object to the identification in court.
The prosecution’s case was mainly based on dubious testimony from the state’s forensics expert and the uncertain identification from Glantz. Even the forensic case against Bromgard boiled down to nothing more than the hairs found on Glantz’s bed sheets. According to the expert, there was a less than 0.01% chance that the hairs belonged to someone other than the defendant. It turned out that the expert was lying because there had never been a standard to match hairs via microscopic inspection.
Aside from fake forensics, Bromgard had to contend with a woefully inept defense counsel. Barring the so-called forensics and the shaky line-up identification, the only other piece of physical evidence was a checkbook from the stolen purse. It was found on the street where Bromgard lived. In summary, his defense counsel did not file to strike the identification from the evidence, hired no expert to counter the state’s forensic expert and did no investigation of any kind. Also, Bromgard’s attorney didn’t bother with an opening or closing statement nor did he file an appeal after the conviction. In other words, Bromgard would have been better off defending himself.
Bromgard said he was at home asleep at the time of the attack. His fingerprints were not found at the scene of the crime nor were they on the checkbook. Nonetheless, he was found guilty in December 1987 and sentenced to three 40-year jail terms to be served concurrently. In 2002, the Innocence Project called for a DNA test, and when it conclusively proved his innocence, Bromgard was released after serving over 14 and a half years in prison. He settled a civil suit against the state of Montana in 2008 and was awarded $3.5 million. In December 2015, Ronald Dwight Tipton was charged with the crime after his DNA matched what was found at the scene. 12 months previously, Tipton had to provide a sample of his DNA after being found guilty of marijuana possession. He has since pleaded not guilty to the charges.