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Man Wrongly Convicted Of Rape, Sent Back To Prison For Gun, Drug Charges

January 2, 2014 / 12:18 PM EST / CBS Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – A man who spent nearly two decades in prison on a wrongly convicted rape charge is going back to jail.

Thomas Doswell was released from jail in 2005 after DNA proved he was innocent of the rape charge that sent him to prison.

Thursday, Judge Anthony Mariani sentenced Doswell to 11 ½ to 23 months in the Allegheny County Jail for gun and drug charges. Doswell had previously pleaded guilty to those charges.

Last August, a Pittsburgh Police officer stopped Doswell and after a search found a stun-gun, hand gun, marijuana and crack cocaine.

Doswell is not allowed to possess a firearm due to a prior robbery conviction, that pre-dates the rape charge, that sent him to jail for 19 years.

Doswell's attorney, James DePasquale, had hoped today for house arrest for his client but a judge denied that.

"Mr. Doswell had been told by me not once, not twice, not five times, not ten times, probably 100 times since he had been released from prison that he was to be nowhere near a gun and he should not be anywhere near drugs," said DePasquale. "And he gets arrested with a gun and drugs. He had no one but himself to blame."

Following his release from prison, Doswell received 3.7-million dollars in a settlement from the city.

In 90 days, Doswell's attorney has the option to file a motion for parole.