‘Forensic Fraud’: Black Man Wrongfully Convicted Despite Blood Test Proving His Innocence Files Lawsuit Against Suburban New York Police Department for Fabricating Evidence

Leonard Mack was a 23-year-old decorated Vietnam veteran when he was pulled over by a cop in New York in 1975 and accused of rape. Despite alibis and a blood test from the victim that proved his innocence, the Black man was falsely convicted, spending almost eight years in prison before he was released on parole in 1982. He then spent more than 40 years living under the stigma of being a convicted rapist, resulting in a reduced pension from the military in addition to missed job opportunities. But he never gave up hope on proving his innocence. Leonard Mack was 23 years old when he was wrongfully convicted of rape and was 72 when he was finally exonerated. Photo on left is from prison in 1978. Photo on right is him leaving the courthouse in 2023 after he was exonerated. (Photos: Innocence Project) In 2023, DNA evidence proved the actual rapist was another Black man named Robert Goods – who has been convicted twice on rape charges, including a rape that took place weeks after the initial rape. A judge then vacated Mack’s conviction that same year, ending his 47-year nightmare, believed to be the longest conviction overturned by...