“That’s the weight that’s been lifted up off my shoulders. This is justice right here today,” exclaimed Tyrone Day. “It’s overwhelming.”
It took 34 years for Tyrone Day to in spite of everything claim himself an blameless guy with the toughen of the regulation and the Dallas County district legal professional. Day used to be significantly impacted by way of a false accusation that resulted in his arrest and the specter of a legal trial for a criminal offense he didn’t dedicate. In 1989, a tender girl reported that she were sexually assaulted close to Fair Park by way of 3 males, and because the police have been interviewing her, she pointed at a black guy dressed in a white hat, identical to Day’s clue. Based in this one testimony, Day’s arrest used to be secured, and he confronted existence imprisonment if convicted of the false accusations.
Day used to be deficient and not able to have the funds for a attorney, he took a plea discount of a 40-year prison sentence, hoping for the potential of parole after serving 4 years. Unfortunately, the parole by no means got here, and he needed to reside in jail whilst preventing to turn out his innocence for nearly 26 years.
The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU) used to be in spite of everything satisfied to pursue Day’s case broadly and concluded that Day used to be, in truth, blameless. Through a rigorous investigation and DNA trying out, Day’s true innocence used to be published, and his title used to be cleared at an exoneration listening to on May 24, 2021, at Dallas County Criminal Court, in spite of everything finishing one of the vital vital struggles of his existence.
“That’s the weight that’s been lifted up off my shoulders. This is justice right here today. This is justice,” Day mentioned. “I can’t explain it. But it’s overwhelming.”
(*34*) his lengthy struggle for justice, Day, who had change into a registered sexual wrongdoer, used to be not able to turn out his innocence totally till DNA trying out and new era used to be to be had. The Innocence Project used to be ready to assist Day’s lawyers to collaborate with the CIU to turn out his innocence and display that eyewitness misidentification is a vital contributor to wrongful convictions in circumstances akin to Day’s.
“We’re dismissing this case because he didn’t do it,” mentioned Dallas County DA John Creuzot. “We are pleased to be able to right this wrong, and while we know Mr. Day can’t get back the years lost, we hope he finds some solace in seeing that justice has finally been done today.”
Day’s circle of relatives, pals, and supporters cheered when the pass judgement on made his exoneration legitimate. While Day by no means gave up the struggle for his justice and freedom, he lived with the ache and frustration of being falsely accused and imprisoned. Upon his free up, Day based Restorative Farms in South Dallas, which has helped other folks identical to him and fought meals lack of confidence and poverty concurrently. Today, he appears to be like ahead to monetary reimbursement from the state of Texas, however for now, he celebrates his win and the helpful present of clearing his excellent title.
“I would say never give up,” Day mentioned, encouraging different inmates to pursue their very own exoneration. “Keep pursuing your justice, your freedom. Keep pursuing the truth, because that’s what I did.”
This marks the forty fourth total exoneration for Dallas County since 2001 when post-conviction DNA statute went into impact. Eyewitness misidentification continues to give a contribution to roughly 63% of the 243 wrongful convictions the Innocence Project has helped overturn.