He has since spent seven years, two months and two weeks in several Michigan prisons. During that time, he unsuccessfully appealed his conviction to the Michigan Court of Appeals. He now has one last hope. Last week, William Gregory walked out of a Kentucky prison after DNA testing showed that hairs found in a stocking mask, which was used as evidence in his rape conviction, did not belong to him. Scheck estimates there are hundreds, if not thousands, of people in prison paying for crimes they did not commit.
Snitches tell lies.
Confessions are coerced or fabricated. Racism trumps the truth. Lab tests are rigged. Defense lawyers sleep. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, in February introduced the Innocence Protection Act, which received support from a handful of lawmakers, including Michigan Democratic Sen. Carl Levin.