Inmate Acquitted After 10 Years by DNA

A New York man convicted of slaying a local community organizer a decade ago was exonerated Tuesday after DNA tests linked the crime to another man.

“All I can say is God is good,” said 44-year-old inmate Douglas Warney who is diagnosed with advanced AIDS.

After the 1996 New Year’s Day murder, Warney gave police details of the stabbing of William Beason that they believed only the killer could know.  

However, defense attorney argued that Warney, stricken with dementia from his AIDS disease, was only retelling what detectives had revealed to him during previous interrogation.

Prosecutors blocked any genetic testing in the 2004 trial, but new DNA tests, requested by defense attorneys, linked the crime to another inmate, Eldred Johnson Jr. Johnson has confessed to the murder.

A judge cleared Warney of his second-degree murder conviction and 25-year-to-life prison sentence and issued his immediate release.

“I’m angry that I was put in a position that could have cost me my life,” Warney said. “10 years of my life that I’ll never get back.

To learn more about DNA evidence, please contact an experienced criminal law attorney for a free consultation today.