(Aug. 20) -- A man who served 21 years in prison for a murder and rape he didn't commit walked out of a Connecticut court a free man Wednesday after a judge dismissed all charges against him, reported WTNH.

Kenneth Ireland was 16 years old.....

.......While the DNA found at the scene of the crime wasn't conclusively linked to Ireland, it was linked to a blood type that 20 percent of the population has, including Ireland, ........

....New tests conducted on that DNA in the past few months at the behest of the New Haven state's attorney conclusively proved Ireland's innocence. On Aug. 5 he was released from jail, according to the Courant, and on Wednesday a judge formally dismissed all charges against him......

http://news.aol.com/article/dna-frees-convicted-murderer-kenneth/632284?icid=main|main|dl1|link3|http://news.aol.com/article/dna-frees-convicted-murderer-kenneth/632284

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stole the kids most fun time of his life

dna helped get him in

and now it did get him out

wonder what the next step will be

$$$$$$$$$$$$????????????

ya think

What would you do if you had spent 21 years in prison for something you haven't done, and all of a sudden you stand on the street with absolutely nothing?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

that state best be coming up with major funds and free college

he was 16 years old

the headline should read

dna clears BOY convicted of murder

Yes, I think he is entitled to quite a lot.

Question is, after 21 years innocently in prison, what type of person has come out of all this.

He must be bitter, to say the least, and he has spent 21 years with the worst of the worst.

For 21 years he has been told what to do, can he really make the right decisions for himself anymore?

he was 16 and lost his young adult hood

he may or may not be able to adjust

and the govt is responsible

therefor they need to help him adjust in every way feasible

what were the kids aspirations when he was falsely convicted

that would help to lead him into a new/old life hopefully


it is just wrong totally wrong

and those that said he confessed should be charged with at least lying under oath and get the max sentence available

Is the government responsible? Presumably, he was convicted by a jury of his peers based on the evidence they had available at the time. If witnesses committed perjury, then perhaps there's something there. But, it's not the government's fault that technology 21 years ago wasn't as it is today. There are probably many more cases that will end up the same. Just as I am sure there are people being convicted today based on technology that 20 years from now will prove to outdated. Our system is flawed, yes, because it is run by people who are fallible. It will never be perfect because people will never be perfect.

Do I feel for the guy? Yes. I can't imagine what kind of man he has become. Does someone owe him something, though, or does he owe himself? Or both? I think the right thing to do would be to get this guy counseling, education/job training, a start on a new life. Will he sue? Probably. Will he win something? I would expect he'll get some kind of settlement. What he does with that, though, is wholly up to him at this point. He can mire himself in hatred, bitterness and an entitlement mentality. Or he can make this the greatest learning experience of his life and move forward. He's still relatively young, he can still have a really good life, if he chooses.

who do you think would be those that said he confessed

most obvious answer

law enforcement

and/or

prosecutors

thus govt officials so yes the govt is responsible for their actions

and they should be held accountable and punished to the fullest extent of the law possible (and they should have to do at 21 years)

but hey..........

I believe that's what I said, that whoever committed perjury should be held accountable. As for the rest, I was specifically commenting on the technological evidence. I thought that was clear, but apparently not.

the govt hired those that lied thus that makes the govt responsible

i thought i made that clear

those that designed the pinto gas tank that blew up on impact worked for ford

thus ford was held responsible for their actions and those that lied obviously worked for the govt thus they and the govt should be held responsible for this

the govt for time lost and livelihood

and those that lied should be slammed drastically to let others know if they lie they will pay dearly when it comes out

Well, our opinions are different. So be it.

That's sad....and exactly why I oppose the death penalty.

I met a guy that sat on death row for 7 years.

Long story short, he was a mailman that frequented a local bar after work for a beer. A woman that worked at the bar he visited often was murdered. Her body was found with a bite mark on her breast from someone with crooked teeth...he just happened to have crooked teeth.

The prosecutors will stop at nothing to get a conviction. They brought in experts that said his teeth were a perfect match to the bite mark. He was sentenced to death.

7 years later, the crime lab was running DNA from past crimes and found his DNA did not match. It did happen to match someone else that was currently in prison system...and he had crooked teeth too.

God help you if you get caught up in the legal system in this country.

I oppose the death penalty as well, as long as there is a possibility to put an innocent person to death it makes use all of society guilty by allowing it. Right now I am sure he is grateful for those that helped him get out of jail. I can only hope there will be people to help him sue the crap out of those responsible for putting him there. I can't even imagine loosing the most precious time in life. I wish him the very best.

i hear that

and trying Juvenals as adults

does that mean if they get off they can drink smoke and drive

and do other adult things

it should imo

THIS GUY HAS ANOTHER PROBLEM YOU GUYS MAY NOT UNDER STAND . HE WAS 16 WHEN HE WENT IN . mentally hes still 16 . the volence levels are so bad in there ( the fact he wasn,t murdered is a wonder ) but the stress levels are so high no one mutures in there they only try to stay alive .so you got a 16 year old with no work skills with alot of money who has to mature 21 years in a really short time or everything well just slip threw his fingers and never be seen again . and it won,t be fair because if they hadn,t done that to him he would of grew up at a slower pace with less mistakes .
the guys I knew who had been there when they got out whither they where guilty or not come out with a real rage inside and can go off at any time for about 3 to 6 years . and they won,t even know it there selfs . they may just wonder why they are hurting so many idoits . if not killing them .
this is one of the reasons i say if you are going to punish a persom with10 or mores years just exacute them its kinder or give them a choice see if they would prefer 20 year in a american prison or not . BEING KIND IS NOT ALWAYS KIND .
one more thing if i had to do 21 years or more . i would try and kill a couple guards or some kind of staff in the first yesr and every day from then on because liveing with out quality is not life ..

Happens more often than ya think..

Just imagine if he had been killed by the death penalty and found innocent posthumously.

This is the main reason the death penalty should NEVER be used. At least this man has a chance even as slight as it may be thanks to the conditioning he received in prison but he does have a chance.

I agree with adj about juveniles being charged as adults. It is really not fair to the kids.

yep the system for juvs should be changed for heinous crimes

and kids should never be thrown in with adults