Innocence made official for Idaho man wrongfully convicted of 1982 murder in Nampa
Nearly 20 years after he was freed from Idaho’s death row, a man wrongfully convicted of a 1982 murder in Nampa took another step toward justice.
On Tuesday, the Idaho Innocence Project at Boise State University announced that a certificate of innocence was signed for Charles Fain, a man who served 18 years in prison in the killing of 9-year-old Daralyn Johnson in 1982. The Idaho Innocence Project announced that a stipulated agreement was reached with the Idaho Attorney General’s Office.
The agreement means that Fain is officially declared innocent and is entitled to financial compensation for the wrongful conviction.
“Charles Fain is a decent man who began a terrible nightmare almost 40 years ago. The people of Idaho have declared him innocent today,” said Greg Hampikian, Innocence Project director, in a news release.
The IIP worked with Stoel Rives attorneys Wendy Olson, a former Idaho U.S. attorney, and Andrea Carone to secure the certificate of innocence.
Fain was convicted in the sexual assault and murder of Johnson, and then he spent nearly two decades on death row. He was released from prison in 2001 after a DNA test of hair evidence excluded him as a suspect in the killing. Fain entered prison at age 34 and left at age 52.
In 2019, Hampikian suggested the use of a new technique involving old DNA samples, which provided genealogical data and helped police identify a new suspect. On May 4, 2020, Canyon County Sheriff Kieran Donahue announced murder charges against David Dalrymple in Johnson’s killing.
Earlier this year, Senate Bill 1027, also known as the Idaho Wrongful Conviction Act, was signed into law by Gov. Brad Little. The bill included a fixed sum amount for every year someone wrongfully spent in prison. An exoneree could receive $75,000 per year for every year behind bars on death row.
Idaho was the 36th state to pass such legislation, according to the Innocence Project.
This story was originally published June 8, 2021 at 1:56 PM.
