DNA Frees Texas Man After 27 Years

AP
Posted: 2008-04-29 12:52:38
Filed Under: Top News
DALLAS -- A man who spent more than 27 years in Texas prisons for a murder he didn't commit is free thanks to DNA test results that clear him of a 1980 murder.

James Lee Woodard walked free Tuesday.

AP
His time behind bars was the longest of any wrongfully convicted U.S. inmate exonerated by DNA tests.

DNA testing has now exonerated 31 people wrongfully convicted in Texas, more than in any other state.

The Innocence Project, a New York-based legal center that specializes in overturning wrongful convictions, says Woodard is the 18th person in Dallas County to have his conviction cast aside. That's the most of any county nationally.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2008-04-28 18:07:33
Bookmark

More Black Voices News

DAYTON, Ohio (Aug. 29) -- John McCain picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a conservative who shares his maverick streak, as his vice presidential running... Read More

DENVER (Aug. 28) - Surrounded by an enormous, adoring crowd, Barack Obama promised a clean break from the "broken politics in Washington and the... Read More

NEW ORLEANS -Six mausoleums for the unclaimed dead of Hurricane Katrina stand on what was vacant land just five weeks ago, as New Orleans — in what... Read More

HARARE, Zimbabwe -Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe says he will form a new government soon, with or without the opposition. Read More

DENVER (Aug. 26) - Hillary Rodham Clinton summoned the millions of voters who supported her in the primaries to send Barack Obama to the White House... Read More

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Dr. Dre's 20-year-old son has died, the rapper's publicist said Tuesday. Read More

DENVER (Aug. 25) - Michelle Obama declared "I love this country" Monday as she sought to reassure the nation that she and her husband Barack... Read More

Our History Remembered

Arthur Ashe

FilmMagic.com

This Week: Aug. 31-Sept. 6, 2008

Virgos in the House!:
Beautiful Beyonce and wildman Damon Wayans share a birthday this week.

This Week in Black History

    Today's News Poll

    News Discussion Boards

    *This list is automatically generated from live member discussions. It is not editorially selected.

        Our Lens - Pictures of the Week

        Pictures of the WeekAP Photo

        Patrick DeBow, 33, has some words of advice for his son Morgan, 5, on his first day of school in South Bend, Indiana. Read what he told him ...
        > More Pictures of the Week