pinky
Jul 12th, 2006, 08:31 AM
http://www.comcast.net/news/national/index.jsp?cat=DOMESTIC&fn=/2006/07/11/431998.html&cvqh=crime_dna
DNA Evidence Clears Wrongly Convicted Man
By STEPHANIE REITZ, Associated Press Writer
HARTFORD, Conn. - A man who spent 18 years in prison on a rape charge walked out of court Tuesday a free man, exonerated by DNA evidence.
James Calvin Tillman, 44, had been imprisoned since his arrest in 1988. He was sentenced a year later to 45 years in prison.
Hartford Superior Court Judge Thomas Miano granted Tillman's request last month for a new trial and released him on his own recognizance. On Tuesday, Miano dropped all charges and wished him "health and happiness into the future."
With his mother and brother by his side, a smiling Tillman talked to reporters outside the courthouse. He said he is not angry or bitter.
Neither Tillman nor his attorneys would say whether he plans to sue the state or seek other compensation. Connecticut does not have a compensation policy for the wrongly convicted...
Recent DNA tests proved that evidence on the victim's clothing from the 1988 crime did not match Tillman's genetic profile, contradicting circumstantial evidence from his trial...
DNA Evidence Clears Wrongly Convicted Man
By STEPHANIE REITZ, Associated Press Writer
HARTFORD, Conn. - A man who spent 18 years in prison on a rape charge walked out of court Tuesday a free man, exonerated by DNA evidence.
James Calvin Tillman, 44, had been imprisoned since his arrest in 1988. He was sentenced a year later to 45 years in prison.
Hartford Superior Court Judge Thomas Miano granted Tillman's request last month for a new trial and released him on his own recognizance. On Tuesday, Miano dropped all charges and wished him "health and happiness into the future."
With his mother and brother by his side, a smiling Tillman talked to reporters outside the courthouse. He said he is not angry or bitter.
Neither Tillman nor his attorneys would say whether he plans to sue the state or seek other compensation. Connecticut does not have a compensation policy for the wrongly convicted...
Recent DNA tests proved that evidence on the victim's clothing from the 1988 crime did not match Tillman's genetic profile, contradicting circumstantial evidence from his trial...