Abstract
Bennie Starks was wrongfully convicted of aggravated criminal sexual assault among other charges in 1986. He spent 27 years in state prison before his exoneration (The Innocence Project, 2026). On the evening of January 18, 1986, a 69-year-old Hispanic woman went for a walk when she was accosted by an assailant. According to her, she was grabbed from behind, beaten and dragged into a ravine located nearby where she was bitten and raped. Her description was described as an 18-year-old, clean-shaven black male. Bennie Starks was placed at the scene despite being 26 years old and having facial hair because his jacket was at the scene with a dry cleaning slip that had his name on it. On trial, the primary source of evidence was the bite marks to which a forensic odontologist confirmed without a doubt it was Bennie Stark’s teeth pattern (Knauer, 2013, 78). After 27 years, Starks was later exonerated in 2013, and the real assailant was never identified (The Innocence Project, 2026)
Faculty Advisor
Morgan Steele
Department/Program
Criminal Justice
Submission Type
in-person poster
Date
4-10-2026
Rights
Copyright the Author(s)
Recommended Citation
Bayless, Logan D.
(2026)
"The Wrongful Conviction of Bennie Starks,"
SACAD: Scholarly Activities: Vol. 2026, Article 50.
Available at:
https://scholars.fhsu.edu/sacad/vol2026/iss2026/50
