USA - Oklahoma. Yancy L. Douglas and Paris L. Powell were released from Oklahoma County Jail today

Yancy L. Douglas and Paris L. Powell, who spent nearly 15 years on death row, were released from Oklahoma County Jail today after prosecutors decided they could not successfully retry the men for murder because of conflicting stories from the key witness. Douglas and Powell, both 35, both blacks, were convicted of first-degree murder and shooting with intent to kill based largely on the testimony of the 17-year-old who survived a June 24, 1993, drive-by shooting. Shauna Farrow and Derrick Smith had been walking home from a party when they were shot. Smith identified Douglas and Powell as the shooters, but recanted his testimony after they were convicted, according to court papers. He later claimed he had been telling the truth at the trials. A federal judge dismissed the men's convictions in 2006 after ruling that a "linchpin" witness in their cases, Derrick Smith, received a deal from prosecutors that was never disclosed to the defense. That ruling was upheld on March 26, 2009 by a three-judge panel from the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Court concluded Smith’s testimony was not reliable and came only after a prosecutor offered to help him get a deal on pending drug charges, and that the defendants should get a new trial. Douglas was the 137th inmate exonerated from death row since 1973, and Powell is the 138th, according to a list of exonerations maintained by the Death Penalty Information Center. Ten inmates have been exonerated and freed from Oklahoma. The criteria for inclusion on the list are: Defendants must have been convicted, sentenced to death and subsequently either- a) their conviction was overturned AND i) they were acquitted at re-trial or ii) all charges were dropped; b) they were given an absolute pardon by the governor based on new evidence of innocence.