Article Author:
Associated Press
Kevin McGill
New Orleans (AP) — Convicted of shooting another man in New Orleans in 1997 and imprisoned for more than 20 years. A man was released Monday after prosecutors agreed to vacate his conviction.
Court records show Cedric L. )'s conviction was granted by a judge on Monday, and the district attorney's office agreed not to continue prosecuting the case.
The shooting took place outside a New Orleans supermarket, according to court records.
According to the Innocence Project New Orleans organization, prosecutors in the 1990s withheld documents showing eyewitnesses to the shootings, but the accounts did not match Dent's, and the key was The witness's story changed many times before he testified at trial. The police did their best to investigate a serious crime.A lawyer who did not have the resources or means to investigate his case.One of Mr. Dent's lawyers. Meredith Angelson, in a statement released by the organization, used the district attorney's office to hide evidence that should have been turned over and would help Dent get acquitted at trial.
Innocence Project New Orleans said Dent was released from state prison on Monday.
Dent is another customer, the organization said. Elvis Brooks' nephew.Brooks was released in 2019 after serving 42 years for murder related to an armed robbery.Brooks was 62 at the time of his release.He had no involvement in the robbery. After IPNO discovered evidence that was withheld during his trial, prosecutors agreed to a deal to release him if he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter. When he was released, Brooks petitioned an indictment to obtain his freedom.
