An innocent man who spent almost his entire adult life
in prison was given just £60 when he was finally
released.
Lawrence McKinney, 60, was wrongfully convicted of
rape and burglary in 1978 and sentenced to 115 years in
prison.
However, DNA evidence examined in 2009 eventually
ruled him out as a suspect – meaning that, after
spending most of his life behind bars for a crime he
didn’t commit, he was a free man.
After his release, McKinney was given a paltry $75 –
around £60.
He could be eligible for up to $1m in compensation if a
parole board hears his exoneration case – but this has
been denied twice already.
McKinney, from Memphis in Tennessee, told CBS News:
‘I don’t have no life. All of my life was taken away.’
His lawyer Jack Lowery agrees, and says he deserves
some compensation for being denied freedom for most of
his life.
‘It is not justice for him not to receive compensation for
being wrongfully imprisoned,’ he added.
In September, a parole board voted 7-0 to deny him an
exoneration hearing. Now it’s up to Tennessee’s
governor, Bill Haslam, to make a final decision.
‘There has been one mistake made that sent him to
prison,’ Lowery added. ‘I trust that another is not made
that does not allow him exoneration.’