(CNN) North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper on Friday pardoned a man who was wrongly convicted of second-degree murder and first-degree arson in 1995, a news release from the governor's office said.
Darryl Anthony Howard can now file a claim for compensation for the years he spent in prison. In North Carolina, people wrongly convicted of felonies can receive up to $50,000 per year they were in prison, but no more that $750,000
Amelia Green, an attorney for Howard, said: "We are pleased to have the State acknowledge what has been clear all along -- Darryl Howard never should have spent a moment in prison for these horrifying crimes, let alone over 22 years. Darryl is relieved to have this official recognition of his innocence as he moves forward to the next chapter in his life."
Howard has been a free man since a judge vacated his convictions in 2016.
In 2009, attorneys filed a motion on Howard's behalf requesting the victims' rape kits be DNA tested, the pardon said. According to media reports, Howard's attorneys argued that the DNA found in the kit of one of the victims implicated another man. Howard's DNA was not a match, the News & Observer of Raleigh reported in 2015.
numbportion on May 1st, 2021 at 13:57 UTC »
No money can pay 22 years in jail.
SandokanNL on May 1st, 2021 at 13:46 UTC »
22 years lost. No money can give him back those years, but he deserves to spend the rest of his life without financial worries.
CheeseStandsAlone262 on May 1st, 2021 at 12:32 UTC »
Under North Carolina law, there are two types of pardon:
-Pardon of Forgiveness: carries admission of guilt but expresses forgiveness of your crime by the state;
-Pardon of Innocence: an official recognition from the state that the accused is innocent. Carries no admission of guilt and entitles the recipient to sue the state for restitution.
In this case, Gov. Cooper granted a pardon of innocence.
Source: am NC lawyer