After spending 28 years in prison for a crime he insists he did not commit, Roeling Adams was released on parole from San Quentin State Prison.
The parole board relied heavily on a declaration from the California Innocence Project supporting Adams’ innocence claim. Gov. Jerry Brown did not overturn the parole, reported an Oct. 12 article in Rocklin Today.
Adams was convicted in 1986 for a shooting, based on testimony from a witness, who later recanted his claim, the story reported.
The California Innocence Project said it receives up to 2,000 claims a year. It has earned the exoneration of 11 wrongfully convicted clients. It is a program of the California Western School of Law.
“One of the leading causes of wrongful conviction is misidentification,” said Justin Brooks, director of the California Innocence Project.