DNA evidence exonerated Michael Hanline after he served 34 yearas for a crime he did not commit. Hanline, 69, was the longest-serving wrongfully convicted prisoner in California history.
California Innocence Project worked for 15 years to free him after persuading prosecutors to re-examine the evidence. DNA evidence at the crime scene did not match Hanline or his alleged accomplice, said Justin Brooks, director of the California Innocence Project.
The conviction was based on “paper-thin evidence… He is 100 percent innocent,” Brooks added.
CBS News reported, “A Ventura County Superior Court judge dismissed the charges at the request of prosecutors, telling the courtroom it was done because the allegations cannot be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.”
In 1980, Hanline was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after being erroneously convicted for the murder of J.T. McGarry.
Hanline’s then-girlfriend, Mary Bischoff, was granted immunity and was a key witness at his trial.
As for his plans, Hanline answered: “All I want to do is go fishing and ride my bike and spend time with Sandy (his wife) and do a little gardening.”
Other former prisoners released due to wrongful convictions include:
Susan Mellen, after serving 17 years for the murder of a homeless man. A Los Angeles judge said she was convicted on the word of a liar.
In 2013 Kash Register was freed after spending 34 years in prison. The judge said prosecutors used false testimony from an alleged eyewitness.
In 2007, Timothy Atkins was freed after spending 20 years in prison for a 1987 robbery and murder in Los Angeles. A key witness who claimed she heard him confess recanted her testimony, according to the CBS report.
