Jamie Dykes sheds light on overturned conviction of 30-year-old Tavon Tull

WICOMICO COUNTY, Md. – Thursday, WMDT brought you the story of 30-year-old Tavon Tull, whose wrongful conviction was recently overturned.

Now, Wicomico County State’s Attorney Jamie Dykes is shedding light on his exoneration.

Tull was convicted of sexually abusing a 21-month-old girl in 2019 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Dykes said evidence reviewed by experts helped proved Tull’s innocence, and now the county is working with the state to compensate him. He’s owed over $500k for the almost six years he should have never served.

“Nobody wants to be in this position; we don’t want Mr. Tull to have been in this position, we don’t want the quote unquote victim or the family to be in this position, we don’t want the community to be in this position of not having confidence, or having a concern,” said Dykes.

The initial investigation was sparked after a complaint was filed by TidalHealth.
Dykes said her office is now taking steps to ensure an even more thorough review of evidence, to prevent wrongful convictions like Tull’s.

“We have employed procedures now, if we have a positive medical finding, that there is an automatic review by a specialized advanced practice provider, to ensure the validity of that finding, so that we can avoid being in this position in the future,” said Dykes.

Tavon’s sister Raven Tull said her brother is filing a lawsuit against TidalHealth.