Black man who spent years on death row freed after evidence discredited in murder case
January 13, 2021 / 1:06 PM / CBS/AP
A Black man who spent more than a quarter-century on death row in the 1992 killing of a White woman has been released from a Mississippi prison after a judge dismissed the murder charge against him. Eddie Lee Howard, now 67, was convicted multiple times of capital murder in the stabbing death of 84-year-old Georgia Kemp of Lowndes County, but key evidence used to convict him was later discredited.
In Mississippi, capital murder is defined as a killing committed along with another felony. In this case, the other felony was rape.
Discredited Bite Mark Evidence, DNA Tests Help Exonerate Eddie Lee Howard After 26 Years on Death Row forensicmag.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from forensicmag.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A Mississippi judge has dismissed a murder charge against a Black man who spent more than a quarter-century on death row in the 1992 killing of a white woman.
Eddie Lee Howard, now 67, was convicted multiple times of capital murder in the stabbing death of 84-year-old Georgia Kemp of Lowndes County. In Mississippi, capital murder is defined as a killing committed along with another felony. In this case, the other felony was rape.
District Attorney Scott Colom confirmed on Monday that prosecutors were dropping the murder charge against Howard.
Howard has been released from prison, his attorneys said.
A dentist’s bite-mark testimony that had been used to convict Howard has now been discredited, Colom said.
Eddie Lee Howard is Exonerated After 26 Years on Mississippi Death Row - Innocence Project innocenceproject.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from innocenceproject.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.