After almost four decades in prison, Joseph Sledge was released from jail after a panel
of three judges ruled that he was wrongfully convicted.
So how did they find a man innocent forty years after the crime was committed and why
did it take so long?
On September 5th, 1976 Joseph Sledge escapes White Lake Prison Camp, North Carolina, where
he was serving time for larceny.
A day later, the bodies of Josephine Davis and her daughter are discovered inside their
home which is just four miles away from the prison where Sledge escaped.
Both women have multiple stab wounds.1
On September 9th, Sledge is arrested in Dillon, South Carolina, driving a stolen car.
He is charged with two counts of murder, although Joseph denies any involvement.
Two years later, Joseph faces trial.
The case pre-dates any DNA testing, but forensic evidence is presented in court, implicating
Sledge.
Two of Sledge’s fellow prison inmates testify that he admitted to the murders.
Sledge is sentenced to life in prison.
For over three decades, Sledge pleads his innocence, asking that the forensic evidence
used against him be DNA tested.
But the key evidence has gone missing.
In 2012, the evidence re-emerges.
A small envelope is found containing hairs which had been collected from the victim’s
bodies.
DNA testing reveals conclusively that the hairs do not belong to Sledge.
A year later, Sledge’s lawyers move to overturn his conviction, supported by the DNA evidence
and an affidavit from one of the two jailhouse informants that testified during Sledge’s
trial.
The informant admits that police offered him early release from prison if he testified
against Sledge.
After a lengthy process to get the case reopened, in January 2015, the new DNA evidence is presented
to a three-judge panel in North Carolina.
They find Sledge innocent.
After 37 years behind bars, Sledge is released from prison.
He is the longest-serving wrongfully convicted person in North Carolina and he stands among
325 other convictions in the US to date that have been overturned by DNA testing.
What do you think of Joseph’s wrongful conviction and the time it took to find him innocent?
Tell us in the comments below.
To learn more about the US Prison System check out this video.
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