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The cime
On the night of the crime, Lowery had had a party and had gone out in the early morning hours and had crashed into a parked Cadillac. Just a few blocks away, a 74 year old woman had been held a knifepoint and raped in her home. She could not provide a description of her attacker. 

The interrogation
The next afternoon, Lowery was called in for questioning by the Riley Co unty police, he thought for questioning about the accident but it was about the rape. He kept telling them he was not involved, but one of the officers was convinced he was the rapist and told him he had 10 years on the force and it if took him 10 more he would prove Lowery committed the crime. He signed a waiver to search his car and home and was then questioned most of the next day as well. "I finally told them what they wanted to hear. I just repeated everything they said. They acted like they weren't going to let me go until they got something out of me," said Lowery.

Court
Lowery stood trial twice in Riley County District Court. The first ended November 1981 with a hung jury. In the second he was convicted. He was sentenced to 11 years to life in prison.

Parole 
Paroled in October 1991, his past followed him to his new home in Kansas City where he now lives with his wife and children. A registered sex offender, he had to drive to the sheriff's department four times a year to have his photo taken. A local newspaper published his name and address along with other area sex offenders. He put a large plant in his yard to hide his address.

The exoneration
After he was released from prison, he began to read about DNA technology advances, seeking a way to prove his innocence. Lowery found an advocate, who was able to obtain the "rape kit" from his case in the back of an evidence vault. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation still had cloth cuttings from the victim's clothing and bedding. Tests showed that Lowery wasn't the one who left his DNA at the scene of the crime. In April 2002, Lowery was absolved of all charges in the 1981 crime.

The damages
The incarceration wrecked Lowery's relationship with his 3-year old daughter. He was dishonorably discharged from the military. After his arrest, he was only able to see his mother only twice before she died. His father died not knowing he had been exonerated for the crime. It destroyed much of his personal life. 

The civil lawsuit
Lowery filed a lawsuit for lost income, humiliation, indignity, embarrassment, degradation and injury to reputation. The Innocence Project lawyers filed the case and it was settled 6 years later through mediation. Riley County Law Enforcement acknowledged that if DNA technology had been available in 1981 he might not have served a single day in prison. Now al Riley County police interrogations are videotaped. Lowery's satisfaction came when he proved his innocence. "Lowery said, "I guess my satisfaction also comes in doing my part to see that it's not happening to somebody else."