Policy

Innocence Roundup

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A summary of wrongful conviction news from the last several weeks.

Two Dallas men released after serving 12 years in prison. They were convicted of a 1997 murder based on false eyewitness testimony.

New York judge throws out conviction, declares Fernando Bermudez "innocent." Bermudez had served 17 years for a 1992 murder. He too was convicted largely on eyewitness testimony.

• Dewey Bozella, another New York man, was freed last month after serving 26 years for a 1977 murder. Bozella was convicted twice, thanks largely to the word of two witnesses who got reductions in their own charges in exchange for their testimony.

Judge orders a New Jersey State Police to search for evidence that may exonerate Stephen Brooks, convicted of rape in 1985. The New Jersey State Police say they've lost the file that includes the DNA from Brooks' case.

• Another New York man was released from prison last week after serving 22 years for a murder he, the murder victim's mother, and other say he didn't commit. Lebrew Jones wasn't exonerated, but was released on parole after his first interview.