Man released after 38 years following a wrongful conviction
Michigan, USA
A man from Michigan has regained his freedom after spending decades behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit that happened in 1982.
A key witness, Annice Kennebrew, said that she was threatened almost 40 years ago to lie against Forbes.
Life turned gloomy for Forbes as a college student in 1982 when he intervened between two groups of people fighting in front of a Michigan bar.
In a grave reaction, one of the fighters Dennis Hall, shot at Forbes the next day. Later, Hall was reported dead in an arson fire. With that, Forbes was sentenced to life imprisonment.
However, Kennebrew’s testimony contradicted the investigation found on site. While she said that gasoline was poured on the building, authorities found out otherwise which later saw to the exoneration of Forbes.
In another related incident, a homeless man named Winslow, borrowed a friend’s bike and came back 10 minutes later with two small bags of marijuana worth R300.
According to the Innocence Project New Orleans, who represented Winslow.
The officer arrested Winslow, and because Winslow had three priors a burglary of a business when he was 17 in 1985, a car burglary in 1995 and possession of cocaine when he was 36 the R300 marijuana sale landed Winslow a life sentence.
However, on Wednesday Winslow walked free after his case was resentenced for 12 years, with credit for time already served.
Moreover, The District Attorney’s office agreed that Winslow did not receive effective counsel at his original sentencing. The office has since agreed to the relief sought by Winslow in his Application for Postconviction Relief,
With 15 states and Washington DC having legalized recreational marijuana, the drug has become a multi-billion dollar industry in the US, although it remains illegal under federal law.
As states legalize marijuana’s recreational use, more advocates have called for the expungement of marijuana-related criminal convictions.
Source – CNN
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