"...a 24-year nightmare that ended Friday..."

[SoCalDem]

http://www.chron.com/news/article/Texas-man-freed-after-DNA-clears-him-of-1988-rape-3811865.php

Texas man freed after DNA clears him of 1988 rape
ANGELA K. BROWN, Associated Press
Updated 3:17 p.m., Friday, August 24, 2012



FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A man who spent more than two decades behind bars was freed Friday after DNA evidence cleared him in the rape of a 14-year-old Fort Worth girl. David Lee Wiggins was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 1989, although neither of the two fingerprints found at the scene matched his. The girl, whose face was covered during most of the attack, picked Wiggins out of a photo lineup and then a live lineup, saying he looked familiar. But DNA testing earlier this month excluded Wiggins as the person who committed the crime. Tarrant County prosecutors said DNA evidence demonstrated his innocence.

snip

"I hold no bitterness," Wiggins said in court after the judge's ruling. "I'm thankful to Jesus Christ. He said he could move mountains, and surely this was a mountain. ... And to the victim: I'm not mad at you. I don't hold you responsible."

snip

Wiggins, who wore a blue shirt and tan pants, said his immediate plans included eating a hamburger and spending time with his sister. He will live with a friend he met through his church ministry, according to the Innocence Project nonprofit group, whose attorneys started working on his case in 2007. After his conviction is formally reversed, Wiggins will be eligible for $80,000 a year in compensation that Texas pays to wrongfully convicted ex-inmates.

snip

Wiggins said he agreed to be in a police lineup in 1988 because he knew that he didn't commit the crime and thought he had nothing to worry about. Instead, it led to a 24-year nightmare that ended Friday.
snip

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Justice was, FINALLY, done.

Project Innocence has done, and continues to do, great work. I used to know a guy who had a friend who had been wrongly convicted of something (I don't recall what, now) and Project Innocence got his freedom restored.

[Politicalboi]

2. The $80,000 should also be paid

For the 24 years as a lump sum, and he would continue to receive the $80,000 every year till his death I guess.

[rfranklin]

3. Is it my imagination or does Texas excell in convicting the innocent?

Just wondering.

[lunatica]

4. Actually Texas excels in putting innocents and the mentally retarded to death

Plus it executes more people than any other state every year. Teabaggers love Texas. Remember how they cheered when Perry said he likes using death penalty?

[Horse with no Name]

5. There have been some really corrupt District Attorneys

in certain counties before the days of DNA. These DA's were more concerned with convictions and reelections than they were with justice.

I do think that there is still somewhat of a vigilante old west spirit here...but I really think that exists in many places and wouldn't say that Texas is worse than all...but I imagine it is in the top 5.

[Mister Ed]

6. A fate far worse than death.

I would much, much rather die than have my friends, my loved ones, and the world at large believe me guilty of a crime like the one this man was wrongly convicted of committing.