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Innocent, the man from Ohio, USA was released after 21 years in prison and received compensation of IDR 19.6 billion. Photo/Unilad.com
WASHINGTON – A man from Ohio, United States of America (USA), released from prison after 21 years in prison for a crime he never committed.
Ralph Blaine Smith is jailed on charges of entering a house with a gun and burglary that allegedly took place in 2000.
At the time, Smith was accused of being one of two black men who broke into the Lancaster family home in February 2000 and stole rare comic books and about $10,000 in cash.
Prosecutors based their charges against Smith solely on the fact that the two homeowners selected him from a row of photos.
There was no other evidence linking Smith to the crime, and no stolen property was found.
Still, it was enough to put him behind bars for more than two decades.
It wasn’t until June 2021 that Judge Richard E. Berens reviewed Smith’s case and found that prosecutors withheld preliminary evidence.
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Smith’s attorney, Joseph Landusky, found that his defense team had not been presented with key evidence that would prove his innocence.
“He was sentenced to 67 years in prison for a crime that no one even committed,” Landusky told local media, Local 12, quoted from Unilad.com, Friday (10/2/2023).
