USA - South Carolina. Edward Lee Elmore, 53, black, was released from prison after nearly 30 years on Death Row

Edward Lee Elmore, 53, black, was released from prison after nearly 30 years on Death Row. He agreed to a plea arrangement in which he maintained his innocence but agreed the state could re-convict him of murder in a new trial. He had been on death row after being sentenced in April 1982 for the sexual assault and murder of Dorothy Edwards, a 75-year-old woman. The state's case was based on evidence gathered from a questionable investigation and on testimony with glaring discrepancies. Elmore’s appellate lawyers discovered evidence pointing to Elmore's possible innocence that prosecutors had withheld. Originally, state officials repeatedly claimed the evidence had been lost. The evidence included a hair sample collected from the crime scene. After being tested for DNA, the evidence suggested an unknown Caucasian man may have been the killer. On February 4, 2010 (see), Elmore was found to have intellectual disabilities and thus ineligible for execution. On April 1, 2010 (see) he was re-sentenced to life in prison and taken off death row. In November 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit granted him a new trial because of the prosecutorial misconduct in handling the evidence. The court found there was “persuasive evidence that the agents were outright dishonest,” and there was “further evidence of police ineptitude and deceit.”