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Kevin Byrd celebrates the tenth anniversary of his exoneration

Posted: October 8, 2007 7:00 am

Wednesday marks the tenth anniversary of Kevin Byrd’s exoneration. After serving 12 years for a Texas rape he did not commit, DNA testing proved his innocence.

Byrd’s wrongful conviction was based on eyewitness misidentification. Nearly four months after the crime, the victim was grocery shopping when she spotted Byrd and told her husband that he was the man who raped her. Based on her identification, Byrd was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Eyewitness misidentification is the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions later overturned by DNA testing. Read more about how Byrd’s case and others are helping to spark reforms in eyewitness identification procedures.

Other exoneration anniversaries this week:

Wednesday: William O' Dell Harris, West Virginia (Served 7 years, Exonerated 10/10/1995)
Calvin Washington, Texas (Served 13 years, Exonerated 10/10/2001)

Friday: Allen Coco, Louisiana (Served 9 years, Exonerated 10/12/2006)