Read something on my local news today. I give this man alot of credit. It takes alot of strength and courage to be in prison for 18 years for a crime you never committed. It amazes me how he shows no anger towards the court or the woman who identified him in the line up 18 years ago.
I realize there are alot of people in prison for crimes they didn't commit but unfortunately many of them will never be cleared of the crime.
THE VIDEO http://mfile.akamai.com/25576/wmv/vod.ibsys.com/2006/0711/9498705.200k.asx THE STORY: Judge Erases Tillman Rape Conviction:
DNA Evidence Clears Man In 1988 Crime
HARTFORD, Conn. -- James Calvin Tillman, who was exonerated by DNA evidence after spending 18 years in prison, had his rape conviction erased by a judge Tuesday.
Judge Thomas Miano dropped all charges against Tillman during a brief proceeding and said the case highlights the need for prosecutors to take extra steps to avoid wrongful convictions.
With his mother and brother by his side, a smiling Tillman talked to reporters outside the courthouse.
"I don't hate nobody, I can't live my life hating nobody," Tillman said, adding that he is not yet sure what he will do now that he is free. "I love God."
Recent DNA tests proved that evidence on the victim's clothing from the 1988 crime did not match Tillman's genetic profile, contradicting circumstantial evidence on which he was convicted in 1989.
Tillman, 44, was released on his own recognizance June 6. He had been in jail since 1988, when he was arrested. He was convicted and sentenced a year later to 45 years in prison.
Tillman was 26, living in a homeless shelter and working at a car wash when he was charged with abducting a woman as she got into her car near a Hartford restaurant, then beating and raping her at a nearby housing project.
He maintained his innocence and rejected a plea bargain that would have given him eight years in prison.
The victim picked out Tillman from a series of photos and he was convicted. Forensic tests at the time showed some similarities between Tillman's DNA and that of the attacker.
But more sophisticated DNA tests conducted earlier this year at the request of the Connecticut Innocence Project categorically ruled out Tillman as the source of the DNA.
The sample also did not match any of the thousands of DNA profiles in Connecticut's database or the millions in the federal database, he said.
Tillman spent much of his time in prison reading the Bible and talking with other inmates about religion.
His mother, Catherine Martin, visited every week, often driving through rain and heavy snow to the prison, where she and her son sang gospel songs to each other through the clear pane that divided them.
