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Illinois exonerees celebrate four years of freedom on Wednesday
Posted: August 20, 2007 12:01 am
Michael Evans and Paul Terry were both 17 years old when the body of a 9-year-old girl was found in a Chicago alley. Based almost exclusively on the testimony of eyewitnesses, the two men were convicted of killing the girl and sentenced to serve more than 200 years in prison. They were convicted just months before Illinois reinstated the death penalty in 1977. Had the crime occurred later, they may have been executed before DNA testing could prove their innocence.
Instead, the pair served 26 years in prison for a murder they didn’t commit. Finally, in 2002, DNA test results proved their innocence, and they were officially exonerated on August 22, 2003.
Other exoneration anniversaries this week:
Wednesday: Charles Dabbs – 16 Years (Exonerated 8/22/1991)
Saturday: Lonnie Erby – 4 Years (Exonerated 8/25/2003)
Tags: Charles Dabbs, Lonnie Erby, Michael Evans, Paul Terry
One year free, and a new life begun
Posted: August 28, 2008 5:20 pm
One year ago today, Dwayne Dail walked out of a North Carolina prison and into his family’s arms. Dail served 18 years for a child rape he didn’t commit, before his attorneys at the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence discovered biological evidence from his case stored in a police department closet. For years, Dail had written and appealed to everyone he could think of – and even asked to be executed at one point. “I wanted the state of North Carolina to be responsible for my murder and not just another inmate,” he said. Finally he found the NCCAI, whose work led to his release.
Today he lives in Florida with relatives, and he was recently compensated by the state of North Carolina – which improved its compensation statute this month to bring it in line with federal standards of $50,000 per year of wrongful incarceration.
Watch a video interview with Dail after his release.
Other exoneration anniversaries this week:
Monday: Lonnie Erby, Missouri (Served 17 Years, Exonerated 8/25/03)
Tuesday: Barry Laughman, Pennsylvania (Served 16 Years, Exonerated 08/26/04)
Eddie Joe Lloyd, Michigan (Served 17 Years, Exonerated 08/26/02)
Today: Bruce Nelson, Pennsylvania (Served 9 Years, Exonerated 08/28/91)
Tags: Dwayne Dail, Lonnie Erby, Barry Laughman, Eddie Joe Lloyd, Bruce Nelson