A man is finally tasting his freedom after spending 20 long years in jail for a crime he did not commit.
In 1999, Horace Roberts was convicted of murder.
But he has since been proven innocent thanks to new DNA testing of evidence from the crime scene, courtesy of the charity, the California Innocence Project (CIP.)
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So how did the mix up all begin?
Horace allegedly killed a woman named Terry Cheek in 1998.
Horace was the prime suspect because his watch was found near her body and also, Horace was having an affair with Terry.
Police assumed Horace was lying and attempting to cover up the murder after Horace denied that he had, in fact, had an affair with Terry.
This was due to shame and embarrassment.
To be convicted of the murder of Terry, Horace would need three jury trials.
And the prosecution used the watch along with his inconsistent stories regarding the affair with Terry to convince the jury that he was in fact, guilty of murder.
Horace was found guilty of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.
After Horace’s conviction as well as appeals — he reached out to the CIP and for close to a decade, had DNA testing done.
The charity conducted multiple tests on the watch, Terry’s fingernails scrapings/clippings, as well as a rope that was used to strangle Terry.
And thankfully, it came up that there was no DNA on the rope and the watch did not belong to Terry — but to one of his family members who did have evidence linking them to the murder.
…So who was the real murderer?
He was arrested on October 12th, and then, on October 15, 2018 — the Riverside District Attorney agreed to a Finding of Factual Innocence in Robert’s case, which gave him a free ticket out of prison.
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There has since been video footage released of Horace being released from prison and let us just say, get ready for the tears.
When he exits the prison, he can be seen throwing away the clothes he was required to wear in jail.
Horace is then met with family members he had not seen in 20 years and I am going to be honest, I needed four kleenexes to make it through this one video.
Commenters of the touching footage praised the homecoming, saying:
“God bless him and his family. Heartbreaking to go night after night locked behind bars knowing you didn’t do the crime and being wrongfully prosecuted for it.”
While another user said:
“Congratulations to the team for a job well done! I hope Mr. Roberts has every opportunity and enjoys every moment. May the TRUTH always PREVAIL!”
Amen to that!
Scroll on below to watch, you have been warned — have tissues handy and lots of emotional support.
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