Inmate Cleared by DNA Pardoned

A man who spent 18 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit has been pardoned by the North Carolina governor and could be eligible for $360,000 in compensation.

“I’m ecstatic about the pardon and I’m very thankful to the governor ... and all the people who supported me,” Darryl Hunt said Friday, the day after Gov. Mike Easley issued the pardon.

Hunt was twice convicted of the 1984 murder of Deborah Sykes, who was raped and killed as she walked to her job as a copy editor at the now-defunct Winston-Salem Sentinel.

He was freed in December, after serving 18 years of a life sentence, when DNA evidence led police to another man, who confessed to the killing and said he had acted alone. A judge vacated the charges against Hunt in February.

Easley said in a brief statement that he gave the case “careful, extensive review and consideration.”

Hunt’s attorneys asked Easley almost eight weeks ago to issue a “pardon of innocence.” People receiving a pardon of innocence are allowed to apply to the state Industrial Commission for $20,000 in compensation for each year they were imprisoned.

Hunt, 39, said he had used his time since his release to speak out against capital punishment and start on what he hopes will be a career helping others.

He is studying at Winston-Salem State University and wants to work with children and former inmates, he said. The state settlement money will help him pay for his schooling and the house he and his wife, April, hope to buy.

Evelyn Jefferson, Sykes’ mother, said she still believed that Hunt was involved in her daughter’s death despite the DNA evidence.

Hunt was freed after DNA testing identified the new suspect, Willard Brown. Brown has since been charged with murder, rape, kidnapping and robbery. No court date has been set for Brown, who is being held without bond.