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1993-03-02
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03/02/1993 BAY MINETTE, Ala. (AP) -- An inmate who spent the last
six years on death row was freed Tuesday as prosecutors told a court
he was wrongly convicted for a 1986 murder.
Walter McMillian walked out of court into the arms of relatives
after Baldwin County Circuit Court Judge Pam Baschab granted a
defense motion to drop all charges. Prosecutors told the judge that
three witnesses lied at McMillian's trial.
"I guess they'll get what's coming to them down the road,"
McMillian said. "I'm innocent. God knows, I'm innocent."
Monroe County District Attorney Tommy Chapman said he did not
handle the 1988 trial that resulted in McMillian's capital murder
conviction and death sentence. Chapman also said the statute of
limitations on possible perjury charges against the witnesses has
expired.
Minnie Bell McMillian, the freed inmate's wife, said nothing
could repay her for the six years.
"Six years is a long time," Mrs. McMillian said, holding the
shoulders of her 7-year-old granddaughter, Pamela McMillian.
On the courthouse steps, more than two dozen friends and relatives
waved their arms and shouted "Praise the Lord!"
McMillian's lawyer, Bryan Stevenson, had filed a motion Monday
seeking McMillian's release. McMillian was to return to prison to
gather his things and prepare for his return home.
Last week, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the
capital murder conviction for McMillian, 52. The court said the
state had surpressed evidence that could have demonstrated his
innocence or damaged the testimony of a key witness.
Ronda Morrison, 18, was shot three times in the head and robbed
while working at a dry cleaners in her hometown Nov. 1, 1986. The
key witness against McMillian at his 1988 trial was Ralph Bernard
Myers, who later recanted his story that he saw McMillian at the
murder scene.
McMillian, who was sent to death row after his conviction, said
he was at home when the teen-ager was slain. His family backed up
his claim.
Myers is serving a 30-year sentence for the robbery. He avoided
the death penalty by testifying against McMillian. Two other men
split $7,000 in reward money for identifying McMillian as the
killer.
Chapman said new evidence surfaced in connection with the murder
case, which was featured on the CBS news show "60 Minutes."