George Whitmore Case Data
Compiled by Rob Warden
Copyright — 2006, Center on Wrongful Convictions
Bluhm Legal Clinic, Northwestern University School of Law
Crime date: April 23, 1964
Jurisdiction: Kings County, New York
Crime: Attempted Rape
Related crimes: Murder on August 28, 1963, of Janice Wylie and Emily Hoffert in New York County and murder on April 14, 1964, of Minnie Edmonds in Kings County.
Age at time of crime: 19
Gender: Male
Race: Black
Arrest date: April 24, 1964
Victim: Elba Borrero
Victim’s occupation: Practical nurse
Victim’s gender: Female
Victim’s ethnicity: Puerto Rican
Victim’s age: 21
How defendant became a suspect: Found loitering near the crime scene
Principal evidence of defendant’s guilt: Confession
Principal defense: Confession extracted by force
Type of trial: Jury (tried four times by juries; one trial ended with a hung jury, the others with convictions).
Conviction date: November 18, 1964 (first conviction), March 25, 1966 (second conviction), May 17, 1967 (third conviction).
Convicted of: Attempted rape
Sentence: Not sentenced following first conviction. (The judge delayed sentencing pending Whitmore’s New York County trial for the potential capital offense of killing Wylie and Hoffert.) Sentenced to five to ten years in prison following both the second and third convictions.
Appellate record: People v. Whitmore, 45 Misc. 2d 506 (1965), People v. Whitmore, 45 Misc. 2d 506 (1965), People v. Whitmore, 278 N.Y.S.2d 706 (1967).
Basis for exoneration: Affidavit obtained by journalist Selwyn Raab discrediting the Borrero’s identification of Whitmore.
Legal form of exoneration: Conviction vacated
Causes of wrongful conviction: False confession, erroneous eyewitness identification.
Release date: April 10, 1973
Days of incarceration: 1,216 (from his arrest on April 24, 1964, until his release on bond on July 13, 1966, and from the revocation of his bond on February 28, 1972, until his exoneration on April 10, 1973).
Prior record: None
Compensation: None — see Whitmore v. New York, 541 F. Supp. 564 (1982).
