Lawrence McKinney, 60, was wrongfully convicted of rape and
burglary in 1978 and sentenced to 115 years in prison.
However, DNA evidence examined in 2009 eventually ruled him
out as a suspect, meaning that, after 33yrs and spending most of his life behind bars
for a crime he didn’t commit, he was a free man.
After his release McKinney was given a paltry $75, around
£60.
He could be eligible for up to $1million in compensation if
a parole board hears his exoneration case, but this has been denied twice
already.
McKinney, from Memphis in Tennessee, told CBS News: ‘I don’t
have no life. All of my life was taken away.’His lawyer Jack Lowery agrees, and says he deserves some
compensation for being denied freedom for most of his life.
‘It is not justice for him not to receive compensation for
being wrongfully imprisoned,’ he added.
In September, a parole board voted 7-0 to deny him an
exoneration hearing. Now it’s up to Tennessee’s governor, Bill Haslam, to make
a final decision.‘There has been one mistake made that sent him to prison,’
Lowery added.‘I trust that another is not made that does not allow him
exoneration.’
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