Joseph Otoo

Joseph Otoo was charged with armed robbery of a car hire depot in Manchester. Eyewitnesses identified Otoo as one of the robbers. The prosecution also relied upon the print of a trainer found near the supermarket in which the robbers had been hiding. This print was shown to match his trainers. Otoo claimed he was innocent and was being intimidated by the real robber who he had been made to swap shoes with. On appeal, the court concluded that DNA profiling of a trainer show gave powerful support to Otoo’s explanation that he had been forced to change shoes with another man. The profiling technique had not been available at the time of the trial.

View Press (innocent.org.uk)