Innocent 60-year-old man free after 30 years in prison

He was wrongfully convicted of a crime in 1982



A man who spent more than three decades serving time for crimes he did not commit was finally released from a Virginia correctional facility.



60-year-old Keith Allen Harward got his first taste of freedom Friday afternoon, thanking his lawyers, whom he called “heroes,” and lamented the fact that his parents could not see him walk free.

“That’s the worst part about this, is my parents,” said Mr Harward, holding back tears as he addressed media outside the prison. “It killed them. It devastated them.” He added that he was not allowed to attend their funeral because of the sentence.

“Somebody needs to pay for this.”

Nonetheless, Mr Harward addressed the press with spirits high, excited that he was returning to his hometown in Greensboro, North Carolina.

“I want to try to find me some fried oysters soon as I can, but that’s going to be later on down the road,” he said. “But don’t carry me to a grocery store because I’ll pass out.”


Keith Allen Harward hugs a supporter following his Friday release AP

Mr Harward was wrongfully convicted of murdering Jesse Perron and raping his wife near a shipyard in Newport News, Virginia,in 1982, where he was stationed as a sailor. A shipyard guard testified that he witnessed Mr Harward enter the premises covered in blood. The female victim, however, never identified him as her attacker, according to the Associated Press.

Expert witnesses also testified that teeth marks on the female victim’s leg.

The Virginia Supreme Court ruled Thursday that DNA evidence was proof of Mr Harward’s innocence.



Innocence Project Verified account ‏@innocence
After 33 yrs of wrongful conviction, #KeithHarward is finally FREE! Tell the world you #StandUp4INNOCENCE and RT!




The Innocence Project took on Mr Harward’s case in 2014 and motioned for the court to examine DNA evidence from sperm found at the scene. The DNA profile of the sperm sample reportedly matched the profile of Jerry L. Crotty, a former shipmate of Mr Harward’s. The AP said Mr Crotty died in an Ohio prison in 2006, where he was serving time for abduction. 



Mr Harward is “at least the 25th person to be wrongfully [convicted] or indicted for discredited bite mark evidence,” according to the Innocence Project.

Dana Delger, an attorney with the Innocence Project, warned about outdated, unscientific evidence used against the accused.

“We’ve learned nothing,” she said, “if we continue to use this evidence even though we know it has no basis in science.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/innocent-60-year-old-man-free-after-30-years-in-prison-a6975766.html

Mr Harward was wrongfully convicted of murdering Jesse Perron and raping his wife near a shipyard in Newport News, Virginia,in 1982, where he was stationed as a sailor. A shipyard guard testified that he witnessed Mr Harward enter the premises covered in blood. The female victim, however, never identified him as her attacker, according to the Associated Press.

4EVER2 wrote:

Mr Harward was wrongfully convicted of murdering Jesse Perron and raping his wife near a shipyard in Newport News, Virginia,in 1982, where he was stationed as a sailor. A shipyard guard testified that he witnessed Mr Harward enter the premises covered in blood. The female victim, however, never identified him as her attacker, according to the Associated Press.

Just gotta SMH, and hope that the state of Virginia are forced to cough up some serious monetary reimbursement for all of the time he's been incarcerated!  Far too often I've read about such cases and the RUSH TO JUDGMENT by the prosecution team and using bad - horribly bad - unqualified forensic specialists. 
Good grief there are places in this country where the coroner is nothing more than the local elected sheriff or a medical doctor with ZERO forensic training!

4EVER2 wrote:Well, that assumption was rapidly laid to rest the night my mother passed; after calling the home health/hospice agency and then the funeral home...a RN arrived within 25 minutes, the mortician arrived within 45 minutes and we all stood around and waited for 2 hours for the 'MAN' that was supposed to be the county coroner to arrive
And after the strike of the midnight hour, I'd lost my last NERVE and phoned the Dr. at home --- WTF; he'd gone right back to sleep and told me he'd just send a deputy over to sign off on my mothers death certificate and went back to sleep --- with some other disparaging verbiage about 'how displeased he was by my ATTITUDE and the gull of waking him up!!!'

Indeed, to assume that any given rural community has reliable/certified/accredited/responsible/well trained physicians in place --- was grossly over estimated by 'ME'!

Original Quill wrote:States, being a state entity, usually place a cap on the damage awards, or other outlay, for wrongfully convicted persons.  He'll get, say, $30,000 if lucky.  I'm guessing; but in that range.

eddie wrote:

Original Quill wrote:States, being a state entity, usually place a cap on the damage awards, or other outlay, for wrongfully convicted persons.  He'll get, say, $30,000 if lucky.  I'm guessing; but in that range.

$30,000???? That's pittance!
I can understand a cap, but that's a rubbish amount.

eddie wrote:Ps he wasn't that white was he? It still took him 39 years.

sassy wrote:What the hell will $30,000 do for him - I doubt it would even buy him a house!

sassy wrote:The Innocence Project has managed to free a lot of innocent people:

http://www.innocenceproject.org/cases-false-imprisonment

CNN wrote:Virginia’s compensation law provides that a wrongfully convicted person can receive up to $40,000 per year of wrongful imprisonment with a cap of 20 years.