California Man Exonerated Through DNA Evidence

On June 24^th, Uriah Courtney was exonerated after serving eight years in prison for a crime he did not commit. In 2004, a 16-year-old girl was kidnapped and raped near San Diego. Although the girl could not clearly identify the suspect—she could not give enough information to create a composite sketch of the suspect—she remembered a truck that belonged to Courtney’s stepfather that was at the scene. Although it was Courtney’s only link to the crime he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

In 2010, attorneys at the California Innocence Project began working on Courtney’s case. The California Innocence Project convinced the San Diego District Attorney’s Office to retest the evidence from the case and found DNA evidence that did not match Courtney but another man. In May, Courtney was released from prison and on June 24^th, all charges against him were dismissed.

Read the full story here: http://bit.ly/12lTfr7

www.ncip.scu.edu