DNA test exonerates man serving life sentence

[Haole Girl]

DNA test exonerates man serving life sentence

Evidence on killer's clothing did not match man accused of 1988 murder

PITTSBURGH - A man serving a life sentence for a 1988 killing was freed Monday after charges were withdrawn because DNA evidence from the killer’s clothing did not match him.

Drew Whitley, 50, had been jailed since he was arrested soon after the shooting death of Noreen Malloy, 22, outside the restaurant she managed.

“I want to thank God for keeping me strong through this nightmare,” Whitley said before walking out of court...


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12581971/

[0007]

1. Thanks for DNA technology

Wonder how many innocent men were died?

[Haole Girl]

2. I wonder that also, ever check out Innocence Project....

Here is a link to their website:

http://www.innocenceproject.org/

[0007]

18. Thanks I'll check it out.

[superconnected]

19. Not to mention, guilty men who got to walk free.

Now they can look further for the real murderer.

[leftyladyfrommo]

3. Thank goodness for DNA

Too many of these cases are showing up.

It's a horrible thing to put an innocent person thru all of this - the trial and then being convicted and then spending your life in prison.

All of his very best years are gone.

[Haole Girl]

5. It amazes me, too, how forgiving most of the people who are

set free, after serving many years for a crime they didn't commit, seem to be.

[noonwitch]

14. They understand that the justice system is run by imperfect human beings.

Usually, the crime they were convicted of was really terrible, if DNA is used to clear them. Perhaps they do understand the need to protect society and get the right guy for the crime, and get him off the streets. Also, DNA technology is new, so it changes how law enforcement does their investigating, so it's perhaps a little easier to forgive people who were intending to do the right thing and limited by the technology used at the time.

Also, there is the prospect of filing suit and getting a generous settlement from the state.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

9. I think after a certain point

You stop caring about how you get out or what put you in, but only that the nightmare ends. I can't say I blame them.

[goclark]

4. Yes!

[hang a left]

6. What a nightmare.

Convicted on shape of his face and gait??? Also bullshit forensics.

[drm604]

7. I wonder if he has any legal recourse.

How do you make a life, plan for retirement etc., when you have to start over at 50?

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

8. Doubtful

He was convicted by a jury of his peers. Unless there was some misconduct in his trial, there's no recourse. I do hope he gets some compensation or assistance.

[Dogmudgeon]

13. Actually, there is recourse

He just doesn't have recourse against the trial -- unless he has evidence of misconduct of some sort. But there are several avenues he can pursue.

Most of these guys, though, come out of prison dead broke and with much less family and just about no friends. They are frequently poorly educated to begin with. They generally just want to enjoy their lives, and who can blame them? But one of these days, the aggrieved party is going to be nursing a twenty-megaton grudge, and have the backing to play Vlad the Impaler with the legal system. And he's going to do what should have been done decades ago -- make prosecutorial responsibility real, not just imaginary.

--p!

[Dogmudgeon]

12. Gee, thanks

I'm 48, and I'm "starting over" as a result of long illness and the financial failure that comes along with it.

:evilgrin:

But I do understand your point. If the government had taken 18 years of my life simply because some cocaine-driven junior prosecutor wanted to makes his bones, I'd probably be pretty bitter.

Yes, there's legal recourse. And if I was in those shoes, I'd be looking for several pairs of buttocks to kick with them.

--p!

[jbnow]

16. But before your illness

you likely had years of good work experience. Your gap in employment is also easier to explain.

I am glad you recovered and best of luck "starting over"!

[arwalden]

10. Is It Enough To SimplySay "Oops, Sorry. Our Bad. You're Free. Off You Go!"

Who's accountable? Who's liable? Does Mr. Whitley have any recourse?

[DavidDvorkin]

11. Good thing he wasn't executed.

The right wing wants more executions and fewer appeals. Imagine how many (more) innocent people will be murdered by the state if they have their way.

[Richard Steele]

15. What constantly strikes me about these cases...

...is that, time and again, we learn
that there was little or no REAL evidence to convict.

Just like so many before him, we find that
there was almost no reason to connect them to
the crime they were convicted of.

A witness "identified" him by the shape of his face
UNDER A STOCKING MASK?????
The whole reason that stocking masks are popular
among criminals is they DISTORT the shape of your face!

And the real criminal's hair was similar?
Holy crap!

I'm a caucasian male with brown hair-
how many millions of hairs found at crime scenes
do you suppose are "similar" to mine?

DNA has uncovered a lot more than INNOCENCE among the convicted;
it often reveals the GUILT of Prosecutors and investigators
who have railroaded and sometimes outright FRAMED
innocent people.

[brentspeak]

17. The "Thin Blue Line" is a good documentary that shows

what it's like to be railroaded by the system, and how powerless the falsely convicted often are.