In the early hours of February 1, 1986, a young woman leaving a nightclub in Savannah, Georgia, was accosted by three men. They forced her into a car and drove her to a house. Two of the men forced her out of the car and into the house. One of the assailants held her down while the other raped her. The two men then began arguing and the victim was able to escape. She ran a few blocks, stopped at another house, and called the police.
After the women was taken to a hospital and a rape kit was taken, she led the police to the house where she said the attack took place. She identified the house of 30-year-old Samuel Scott as the place where she was raped. Police found Scott and 25-year-old Douglas Echols there. The victim identified Echols as the man who held her down while the second assailant raped her. She later identified Scott as her rapist from a photographic lineup.
Echols and Scott were arrested on Feb. 2, 1986, and charged with rape, robbery and kidnapping. The third man was never identified or arrested.
In March 1987, Scott and Echols went to trial in Chatham County Superior Court. The victim identified both men. She said Scott raped her and that Echols held her down.
The prosecution presented evidence that forensic testing revealed motile spermatozoa on the vaginal smears from the rape kit, signifying a recent ejaculation.
Scott and Echols presented evidence that they were together with another woman that night. The woman testified on their behalf, as did another witness who saw Scott and Echols at a restaurant around the time of the crime.
On March 26, 1987, the jury convicted both men of rape, robbery and kidnapping. Scott was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years. Echols was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Echols was released on parole in 1992.
In 1996, Scott contacted the Innocence Project. After the rape kit and other physical evidence was located and with the agreement of the prosecution, the evidence was released for DNA testing in February 2001.
In July 2001, the tests excluded Scott as the source of the spermatozoa found on the vaginal swabs from the rape kit. A reference sample was then requested from Echols, and subsequent testing excluded him as the source of spermatozoa. Further testing by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime laboratory corroborated the results.
Prosecutors then took the position that because a condom wrapper was found in the house, the rapist had worn a condom and the spermatozoa could have originated from a consensual sex partner.
The victim was interviewed, and she said that she had not had consensual sex with anyone at that time. A reference sample was obtained from the victim’s then-boyfriend. Testing excluded him as the source of spermatozoa.
On July 3, 2002, Judge Michael Karpf of Chatham County Superior Court vacated the convictions of both men and ordered a new trial.
In September 2002, Scott was released on parole, although he was briefly jailed for failing to register as a sex offender. Echols had been re-incarcerated seven months earlier for a parole violation.
On Monday, October 7, 2002, the prosecution dismissed the case.
Both men were denied compensation by the state.
– Maurice Possley
Posting Date: 08-29-2011
Last Update Date: 03-05-2026
