Chicago: Forgiving a False Accusation

Forgiving a False Accusation

Gary Dotson was a young landscape worker in a Chicago suburb when Cathleen Crowell, then 16, told police in 1977 that she had been abducted, beaten and raped. Based on her testimony, Dotson was convicted and sentenced to 25 to 50 years in jail. He has spent the past six years in an Illinois state penitentiary. But last week Crowell confessed that she had made up the story. Awaiting a hearing that could result in his release this week, Dotson, now 28, found reason to praise his false accuser. Said he: "I just want to thank her for showing that some...

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