Rape Charge Thrown Out Agains Wrongly Convicted Dallas Man
February 28, 2008
DALLAS (AP) - A Dallas man who spent 27 years in prison for a rape he didn't commit saw the aggravated rape charge against him officially dismissed.
Charles Chatman says "it's just a relief" to not have the charge hanging over his head after yesterday's dismissal.
The 47-year-old Chatman won his freedom January 3rd after new DNA testing excluded him as the rapist in a 1981 sexual assault. He is the 15th inmate from Dallas County since 2001 to be freed by DNAtesting. He served more time than any of the others.
The Innocence Project says Dallas County has freed more inmates after DNA testing than any other county nationwide. The New York-based legal center that specializes in overturning wrongful convictions says Texas leads the country in prisoners freed by DNAtesting, with at least 30 since 2001.
