Innocent Man Released from Prison After 22 Years

Anthony Capozzi is a free man, and spent Easter Sunday with his ecstatic family in their Buffalo, NY home. Despite having served 22 years in a New York Correctional Facility for rapes he did not commit, he is not resentful, he is optimistic, and grateful to be free. 'I'm just grateful for the chance to live again' he tells reporters. Neighbors and family tied blue ribbons around trees to show their support, and welcome him home.

In 1985 Anthony was arrested after being picked out of a police lineup, by two victims, who were raped by what the media labeled "The Bike Path Rapist". The police lineup was arranged a year after the actual rapes were committed. It was later determined that Capozzi's blood type matched the rapists'. In the 1987 trial a police officer testified that he saw Capozzi in the area where the rapes were occurred. He lacked the scar on his face that the original victims stated the rapist had, but he did reportedly resemble the rapist.

Recently glass slides were found which contained DNA, which proved without a doubt that Capozzi was not the rapist. Capozzi had been in prison since he was first arrested in 1985, and in 1987 he was sentenced to a term of 11-35 years. He was eligible for parole starting in 1997, but due to unwillingness to admit to the rapes, he was denied parole. His denial of the rapes made it impossible for rehabilitation through the mandatory sex offender program. So he remained imprisoned, and would not admit to crimes he did not commit, even if it meant his 'freedom'.

On Tuesday, April 3rd, 2007, Anthony Capozzi was released from Marcy Central New York Psychiatric Center near Utica, New York. He was being treated for schizophrenia, which he was diagnosed with in the 1970's. In interviews he appears to be truly grateful for his freedom. He shows no resentment, or sadness over the years he has lost due to his false convictions. His energies are focused on re-establishing relationships with his family once again.

Ironically, the actual rapist, Altemio Sanchez, who was linked by DNA to three murders, and numerous rapes in the 1980's, has plead not guilty to these crimes as well as other murders in the 1990's. He has not been charged in any of the rapes because the five-year statute of limitations has expired.