Mon, Feb 14, 2005
On February 19, 1982, two women were found brutally beaten in the basement of their apartment building in the city of Woonsocket, Rhode Island. A young woman named Doreen Picard, a third floor resident, died at the scene. A second woman, Susan Laferte, who lived on the first floor had also been severely beaten, but survived.
After a lengthy investigation, on April 22, 1992, Raymond "Beaver" Tempest was found guilty of second degree murder after a three-week trial in Providence County Superior Court. On June 15, 1992, he was sentenced to eighty-five years in prison.
In 1995, the Supreme Court of Rhode Island affirmed Beaver's conviction.
The New England Innocence Project has taken up the case of Raymond "Beaver" Tempest. In their investigation, they found other strong suspects had not been fully investigated. Under hypnosis, Susan Laferte gave a description of her attacker which didn't match Beaver Tempest. Beaver Tempest's prints were not found on a pipe used in the murder. Beaver Tempest also passed a polygraph test.
In late 2004, the NEIP, a prisoner's advocacy group, petitioned the court to test some of the evidence used in Tempest's trial, contending he was unjustly convicted. In June, 2007, the DNA results are finally in the hands of state prosecutors and defense lawyers more than 15 years after Beaver Tempest was convicted.
After a lengthy investigation, on April 22, 1992, Raymond "Beaver" Tempest was found guilty of second degree murder after a three-week trial in Providence County Superior Court. On June 15, 1992, he was sentenced to eighty-five years in prison.
In 1995, the Supreme Court of Rhode Island affirmed Beaver's conviction.
The New England Innocence Project has taken up the case of Raymond "Beaver" Tempest. In their investigation, they found other strong suspects had not been fully investigated. Under hypnosis, Susan Laferte gave a description of her attacker which didn't match Beaver Tempest. Beaver Tempest's prints were not found on a pipe used in the murder. Beaver Tempest also passed a polygraph test.
In late 2004, the NEIP, a prisoner's advocacy group, petitioned the court to test some of the evidence used in Tempest's trial, contending he was unjustly convicted. In June, 2007, the DNA results are finally in the hands of state prosecutors and defense lawyers more than 15 years after Beaver Tempest was convicted.