donald edward sweat
Alleged Crime(s)
Donald Edward Sweat was arrested in Lee County for the 2007 assault on John Hunter. Hunter was assaulted in front of his mailbox on the evening of February 23rd, 2007. The assailant struck Hunter in the face several times, breaking both a cheekbone and jawbone. The assailant then slashed Hunter’s arm with a knife. The victim’s brother, Joe Hunter, was also present during the crime yet was threatened by the assailant and thus unable to intervene. Arrest & Trial Unable to post his $75,000 bail, Sweat remained in jail between his arrest in February 2007 and his trial in April 2008. The defense asked for a directed verdict of acquittal due to insufficient evidence, but were denied. Sweat was found guilty and sentenced to 93-121 months. Post-Conviction & Exoneration Sweat appealed his conviction to the NC Court of Appeals. There was no evidence that Sweat was ever at the crime scene and neither of the Hunter brothers could identify him as the assailant. The Hunters’ only description of the assailant was that he was “a man or a boy”. The NC Court of Appeals agreed with Sweat’s defense and reversed his conviction due to insufficient evidence. Sweat was released in 2009 after 27 months of incarceration. |
County: Lee
Crime: Assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury Victim(s): John Hunter Date of Crime: 2007 Date of Conviction: 2008 Date of Exoneration: Conviction reversed in 2009 Sentence: 93-121 months Race: White Gender: Male Age at Arrest: 32 Contributing Factors: Insufficient evidence, overturned by Supreme Court DNA Exoneration: No |