N.C. s Wrongfully Imprisoned Can Be Compensated. An Extra Step Means It May Take Years to See It Happen.
Howard Dudley
On the grounds of an affordable housing complex in Kinston, Howard Dudley finds peace sitting on a swing early in the morning, watching the sunrise.Â
Gone are the late-night hollers of convicts who kept him awake, the commands of guards, and the shutter of prison bars.Â
Sometimes he calls his sister and tells her how good the air feels.Â
âThings we take for granted,â his sister, Linda Hawkins, says.Â
After nearly 24 years in prison, Dudley, now 64, was exonerated and released in 2016 for a crime he didnât commit.