Man convicted in Colorado freed by DNA evidence

Robert Dewey was 33 when he went to prison for the 1994 rape and murder of a Colorado woman. The 51-year-old walked away free Monday, after new testing of DNA evidence pointed to someone else as the suspect.



"Contrary to popular belief, the world doesn't stop when you go to prison," said Dewey, wearing glasses and with his hair in two long braids. "There's a lot for me to catch up on."

Dewey was sentenced in 1996 to life in prison without parole after he was convicted of killing 19-year-old Jacie Taylor, who was found dead in her bathtub in Palisade on June 4, 1994.


The Colorado Attorney General's Office's Justice Review Project, which reviews cases where post-conviction DNA testing could exonerate a person, took up Dewey's case last year. The advanced DNA tests that cleared Dewey have led to an arrest warrant being issued for Douglas Thames, who is accused of first-degree murder and first-degree sexual assault.

Thames had lived near Taylor, and his DNA profile is linked to evidence found in Taylor's apartment, according to an affidavit.

Thames told investigators in a prison interview that he didn't know Taylor but that his girlfriend at the time had gone to classes with Taylor at Palisade High School, The Daily Sentinel reported (



"Who else is out there?" Dewey said.

Dewey said he tried to stay positive while behind bars. "It threw me into a dark tunnel," he said of his conviction. His first two years in prison, he didn't make his bed.


"There's going to be trials and tribulations out here too," Dewey said.

Dewey added he wants to ride his motorcycle but has no specific plans for where. "As long as it's in the wind, I'm happy," he said.