Man freed from prison decades after being wrongly convicted of murder A 70-year-old man was released from a North Carolina prison Friday, nearly 40 years after he was wrongly convicted of murder. “Joseph Sledge was found innocent by a three-judge panel who heard testimony from a DNA expert,” the New York Post reports. “The expert said none of the evidence collected in the case — hair, DNA and fingerprints — belonged to Sledge.” Additionally, a key jailhouse informant recanted his trial testimony in 2013, saying that he lied because authorities promised him leniency in his own case if he testified against Sledge. “After the judges’ decision was announced, Sledge was still for a moment, then hugged his lawyer and family members,” details the New York Post. Nearly four decades ago, Sledge was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. He was accused of killing 74-year-old Josephine Davis and her 57-year-old daughter, Aileen, who were found stabbed to death inside their home. Their murders came one day after Sledge had escaped from a prison work farm, where had been serving a four-year sentence for larceny. “Sledge is the eighth person exonerated after the state set up the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission, the only state-run investigative agency of its kind. The commission found there was enough doubt to review Sledge’s case, and the state Supreme Court appointed the three judges to have the final say,” the New York Post reports. When asked what he plans to do with his new freedom, Sledge replied, “Going home. Relaxing. Sleeping in a real bed. Probably get in a pool of water and swim.”
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 11:45:21 +0000
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