Man Cleared by DNA Evidence Leaves Prison
A man who spent 26 years behind bars as the “Bird Road Rapist” was released from prison after DNA evidence cleared him in two of the attacks and cast doubt on whether he was responsible for any of the crimes.
“Victory,” Luis Diaz, 67, said as he walked out of the courthouse a free man. He said he planned to spend time with his family, was not bitter about the time he lost and didn’t blame prosecutors. “They did their job,” he said.
Circuit Judge Christina Pereyra-Shuminer threw out his five rape convictions at the request of both Miami-Dade County’s chief prosecutor and lawyers for the Innocence Project, a nonprofit organization that works to get inmates exonerated via DNA.
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