NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam on Wednesday said he has exonerated a man whose convictions for rape and burglary were set aside by a court in 2009 and who was released after more than three decades in prison.
The exoneration makes 61-year-old Lawrence McKinney eligible for compensation of up to $1 million. The only other repayment for his time behind bars was $75 he received when he left prison, his lawyer said.
In a news release, Haslam said that he respects determinations by the court and prosecutor that 61-year-old Lawrence McKinney was not guilty of crimes he was convicted for in 1978 and wouldn’t have been prosecuted if DNA testing results were available during his trial.
Last year, a Tennessee parole board voted against recommending McKinney for exoneration, saying the absence of his DNA following a rape was not conclusive evidence of innocence.
The board had also turned down McKinney’s request for exoneration in 2010, and then-Gov. Phil Bredesen followed the recommendation, an attorney for McKinney, David Raybin, has said.