Man Cleared of Wrongful Rape Conviction After Two Decades in Prison

A New York man walked free Thursday after spending more than 20 years in prison for a wrongful rape conviction. His release was based on new DNA evidence, which conclusively excluded Newton as the rapist.

Alan Newton waited quietly in the courtroom in Bronx as Judge John Byrne declared him a free man and his family whooped with joy. Newton walked out of the courthouse after two decades in prison, thanked his lawyers, and offered his sympathy to the victim whose sexual assault led to Newton’s wrongful rape conviction.

“My unjust conviction denied both of us justice,” Newton said. “It opens up old wounds and denies her closure.”

In 1985, Newton was convicted of raping a woman in an abandoned building and sentenced to 40 years in prison. In 1994, he filed a motion requesting new DNA testing, but was denied due to unavailable evidence.

Four years later, another motion was filed and testing of the woman’s clothing “failed to yield the presence of male DNA.”

The Innocence Project, a non-profit organization that fights to free wrongly convicted inmates, asked the New York Police Department to find the rape kit taken after the sexual assault in an evidence warehouse.

The kit was found and new DNA testing by two different labs excluded Newton as the assailant.

If you or a loved one has been charged with a criminal offense, contact an experienced criminal law attorney today.