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- A 2001 Florida statute made it possible for certain cases to be reopened for DNA testing
- Upon hearing this, Bain presented four handwritten motions for the DNA evidence in his case to be tested. In all, the case came before the court five times and was denied all five times
- With the aid of the Innocence Project of Florida and Tenth Judicial Circuit Public Defender Bob Young, Bain was finally granted access to post-conviction DNA testing
- This testing excluded Bain as the source of the DNA
- On December 17, 2009, a judge signed the order releasing Bain from prison after 35 years
- Bain was offered 1.75 million dollars for his time served in prison
- Bain's exoneration is legally justified. Not only was he convicted falsely, and irresponsibly as his blood samples by today's standards would have cleared him, his DNA also clears him completely of the crime
- Morally, the amount offered is regarded as low, but his freedom is fully justified under the law.

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James Bain spent more time in prison for a crime he did not commit than any other American exonerated through DNA evidence. In 1974, at the age of 19, Bain was convicted of rape and kidnapping. He was released in 2009 at the age of 54.

On the evening of March 4, 1974, a nine-year-old boy sleeping at his home in Lake Wales, Florida, was dragged to a baseball field and raped.
Investigation and Trial
The victim told police that his assailant appeared to have been 17 or 18 years old and had a mustache and bushy sideburns. According to the victim, the man had said his name was "Jim" or "Jimmy." The victim's uncle thought this description sounded a lot like Jimmy Bain. Police showed the victim five or six photographs of potential suspects and he chose the one of Bain. However, of the photographs in the lineup, only Bain and one other man had sideburns.

The police questioned Bain at his home at around midnight on March 5, 1974. Bain claimed that he had been at home watching television at the time of the attack, an alibi that was supported by Bain's sister. Nevertheless, the police arrested him.

According to FBI analysis presented at the trial, the rapist did leave semen on the victim's underwear. The trial occurred, however, before DNA testing was available, so Bain could not be definitively tied to the semen; he could, however, match its blood group. A FBI analyst testified that the semen on the underwear (from three separate stains) was of blood group B. Bain was an AB secretor, which should have excluded him. Instead, the analyst claimed Bain's blood group had a weak A and thus he could not be excluded from having deposited the semen. This wasn't supported by testing, when an expert for the defense testified that Bain's group actually had a strong A, and therefore he could be definitively excluded.

In spite of this conflicting serological evidence and Bain's alibi, Bain was convicted of rape, kidnapping, and burglary and sentenced to life in prison. The prosecution's case rested largely on the victim's identification of Bain in the photo lineup.

Post-Conviction Investigation
A 2001 Florida statute made it possible for certain cases to be reopened for DNA testing. Upon hearing this, Bain presented four handwritten motions for the DNA evidence in his case to be tested. In all, the case came before the court five times and was denied all five times.

With the aid of the Innocence Project of Florida and Tenth Judicial Circuit Public Defender Bob Young, Bain was finally granted access to post-conviction DNA testing. The state sent the DNA found on the victim's underwear to the DNA Diagnostics Center. This testing excluded Bain as the source of the DNA.

The Polk County State Attorney, Jerry Hill, then joined the defense in a motion to declare Bain innocent. On December 17, 2009, a judge signed the order releasing Bain from prison after 35 years. As soon as Bain was released, he used a cell phone for the first time to call his mother.
Life after Exoneration
Bain received $1.7 million from the state of Florida for his wrongful conviction - $50,000 for every year he spent in prison. His mother also put her house and her car in her son's name, stating, "I want him to have something by himself. He's suffered enough."

Bain is a leading advocate for the innocence movement, sharing his wrongful conviction experience from middle schools to colleges across the country. During an event at Florida Southern College, a student asked him what he thought about all the technology he's seen since his release. Bain said that cars and telephones were the most surprising to him. Even though there had been cars before he was incarcerated, he explained that there were "none that talked back to me."

He is married, has a young son, and is now in the process of writing a book.

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On the evening of March 4, 1974, a nine-year-old boy sleeping at his home in Lake Wales, Florida, was dragged to a baseball field and raped. Investigation and Trial The victim told police that his assailant appeared to have been 17 or 18 years old and had a mustache and bushy sideburns.

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- On the evening of March 4, 1974, a nine-year-old boy sleeping at his home in Lake Wales, Florida, was dragged to a baseball field and raped
- The victim told police that his assailant appeared to have been 17 or 18 years old and had a mustache and bushy sideburns
- According to the victim, the man had said his name was “Jim” or “Jimmy”
- The police questioned Bain at his home at around midnight on March 5, 1974. Bain claimed that he had been at home watching television at the time of the attack, an alibi that was supported by Bain’s sister
- Police still arrested him
- In spite of this conflicting serological evidence and Bain’s alibi, Bain was convicted of rape, kidnapping, and burglary and sentenced to life in prison
- The prosecution’s case rested largely on the victim’s identification of Bain in the photo lineup

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- Earle Nelson originally admitted to his murders and rape, bluntly telling reporters: "I only do my lady killings on Saturday nights"
- However, nearing his trial, Nelson would repeatedly claim his innocence, and his defendants would try insanity plea
- Summation of evidence was far too great
- 60+ witnesses, as well as clothing, and a psychiatrist deemed him legally sane
- The "Gorilla Killer" posed great danger and harm to hundreds of people as well as terrorized thousands more
- Found guilty of multiple accounts of grotesque first degree murder
- His death sentence penalty is legally justified

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The Gorilla Killer - Earle Nelson | SERIAL KILLER FILES #15

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Germania Harpin and her infant son, murdered on December 27, 1926

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Germania Harpin and her infant son, murdered on December 27, 1926

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- In February, 1926, Nelson began an eighteen-month rampage. Would be the deadliest in American history for another half a century

- Started from San Francisco, then up along the West Coast, to other side of the country on the east, finally ending up in Canada

- At least 21 victims, most likely more, varied throughout different regions
- His targets were mainly middle-aged or elderly landladies who had placed "Rooms to Let" ads in the paper, Nelson (who could be charmer when he needed to be) would show up and ask to see a room. Once alone with his prey, however, he would undergo a classic Jekyll/Hyde transformation
- Led many of his earliest descriptions to be dual personality of sorts
- Typically, he would choke the women to death, commit postmortem rape, then stash the corpses in strange hiding places
- Papers eventually dubbed him "The Gorilla Killer," for the pure savagery and brutality of his slayings.
- Captured in Manitoba, Canada. Tried in Winnipeg (capital of Manitoba)
- Appeal was denied, and jury found him guilty. Sentenced to death by hanging on  January 13, 1928 at the Vaughan Street Jail