DNA frees man after 24 years in prison

gldstwmn · #1 01-23-2006, 04:15 PM

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/01/23/dn....ap/index.html

TAMPA, Florida (AP) -- Alan Crotzer stepped into the warm sunlight outside the courthouse Monday and raised his arms to the sky, celebrating his freedom after more than 24 years behind bars for crimes he didn't commit.

A judge freed the 45-year-old Crotzer after DNA testing and other evidence convinced prosecutors he was not involved in the 1981 armed robbery and rapes that led to his 130-year prison sentence.

"It's been a long time coming," said Crotzer, his black hair graying at the temples. "Thank God for this day."

Crotzer walked free more than three years after he wrote to the Innocence Project in New York, a legal clinic that seeks to exonerate inmates through DNA testing.

"Are you ready for what you waited so long to hear?" Circuit Judge J. Rogers Padgett said to Crotzer during the brief hearing. "Motion granted -- you're a free man."

Members of Crotzer's family and other courtroom spectators clapped and cheered as a bailiff removed the shackles from his wrists and ankles.

Prosecutor Mike Sinacore congratulated him. "Trying to fix an error in the system is just as important as trying to convict someone who is guilty," he said.

DNA has been used to clear at least 172 people wrongly convicted of crimes in 31 states since 1989, according to the Innocence Project.

Crotzer and brothers Douglas James and Corlenzo James were convicted of robbing a Tampa family in 1981. Douglas James and Crotzer were also found guilty of kidnapping and raping a 38-year-old woman and her 12-year-old girl at gunpoint.

A victim picked Crotzer out of a photo lineup. But Douglas James says Crotzer is innocent. He said he and his brother were the rapists and a childhood friend was their accomplice.

Crotzer, who has never held a paying job, said he will go live with a sister in St. Petersburg and try to find work. His attorneys said they will seek compensation from the state for him.

In December, Gov. Jeb Bush signed a bill allowing Wilton Dedge to receive $2 million for the 22 years he spent in prison for a rape he did not commit. Dedge, 44, also was exonerated by DNA evidence.

"There ain't no compensation for what they done to me," said Crotzer, whose mother died while he was in prison. "But I'm not bitter."

Crotzer said he was looking forward to a barbecue with his family, who promised him his favorites -- pork chops and banana pudding. Then, he said, he wanted to take a bath in a real bathtub.

"I want to soak," he said. "I want to get some of this off me."

DavidMn · #2 01-23-2006, 04:26 PM

When I think about the death penalty and wether or not I support it, stories lke this give me pause.

sara1998 · #3 01-23-2006, 06:34 PM

Oh- bless his heart. He just wants to take a bath in a real tub. I love, yet hate, these stories.

diamondsnake · #4 01-23-2006, 08:53 PM

OMG, this is scary. I am so glad he was finally set free. But $2 million for 25 years of his life? That is crazy! Those 25 years of precious life have been stollen from him. $200 million would make more sense to me. Even though nothing can make up for it...

It is just really scary because anyone of us could end up behind bars for just being at the wrong place at the wrong time. That is really frightening.

irishgrl · #5 01-24-2006, 07:25 AM

He said "Crotzer" heh heh heh

SuzeQuze · #6 01-24-2006, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by irishgrl

He said "Crotzer" heh heh heh

Honey, you have got to lay off the bong!

SuzeQuze · #7 01-24-2006, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by diamondsnake

OMG, this is scary. I am so glad he was finally set free. But $2 million for 25 years of his life? That is crazy! Those 25 years of precious life have been stollen from him. $200 million would make more sense to me. Even though nothing can make up for it...

It is just really scary because anyone of us could end up behind bars for just being at the wrong place at the wrong time. That is really frightening.

2 really doesn't seem like enough, I agree. If he is not employable, and he is only 45, that will not cut it.

bretonbanquet · #8 01-24-2006, 11:28 AM

I'm so glad we don't have the death penalty, no matter how much my Dad goes on about it - if this guy had been accused of murder, they'd have executed him, end of story. How much compensation would they have given his family then?

And $2 million is nowhere near enough

DavidMn · #9 01-24-2006, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bretonbanquet

I'm so glad we don't have the death penalty, no matter how much my Dad goes on about it - if this guy had been accused of murder, they'd have executed him, end of story. How much compensation would they have given his family then?

And $2 million is nowhere near enough

I take it your father is in support of it?