Legal Commentary

CT Man Freed After 21 Years, DNA Established His Innocence

By Jeralyn

Egregious cases of wrongful convictions continue to come to light. Kenny Ireland of Connecticut was imprisoned at age 20 for a rape and murder DNA evidence now shows he did not commit. He was released from prison today.

East Haven State Rep. Mike Lawlor issued this statement:

“This is yet another Connecticut example of an innocent person having spent two decades in prison for a very serious crime while an actual rapist and murderer has been roaming free since 1986. This is not acceptable.

“The legislature, working with the Advisory Commission on Wrongful Convictions, must determine whether any state laws need to change and whether the law enforcement community is using best practices in the investigation of cases in order to avoid wrongful arrests and convictions.

Congrats to the CT Innocence Project which represented him. Ireland will be allowed to apply for compensation under CT law. It will never be enough to make up for two decades of his life.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on August 05, 2009 (boomark / email).