ILLINOIS : Condemned Man Is Freed After 11 Years

What began as a college journalism project to investigate a possible miscarriage of justice has led to freedom for a man sent to death row 11 years ago. Verneal Jimerson, 43, was a free man after murder charges against him were dropped in Cook County. Earlier this month, three friends also convicted in the case were released on home monitoring while prosecutors evaluate evidence uncovered as part of the Northwestern University project. Professor David Protess and three of his students spent six months investigating the 1978 slayings of a gas station worker and his fiancee and tracking down the real killers.