In the United States, an African-American man was acquitted of rape after half a century

A 72-year-old African-American man was acquitted Tuesday by a court near New York, thanks to new DNA evidence, of a 1975 rape and more than seven years in prison, one of the oldest recognized abortions. Justice in America.

According to the Innocence ProjectThe case, which was prosecuted in Westchester County, New York State Supreme Court, is the oldest conviction in the United States based on DNA evidence, with a total of more than 3,300 people exonerated since 1989.

Leonard Mack, who walked on Tuesday with a cane and appeared very emotional at the hearing, was in his twenties when he was arrested on May 22, 1975, for raping a high school girl just hours earlier. A friend in Greenburgh, a small town in the same county.

Leonard Mack, who fought in the Vietnam War, was convicted and sentenced to seven counts of rape and possession of a weapon a year later, according to the prosecution, “despite the fact that he maintained his innocence and presented witnesses.” One and a half to fifteen years in state prison.

“I can say I’m free”

Two victims were forced to acknowledge the prosecution after underlining the prosecution’s “marks tainted by discriminatory and problematic methods of policing”. According to the Innocence Project, black and Hispanic populations are most often victimized.

After more than 7 years in prison, Leonard Mack lives in the American South and has always fought for his innocence. But it wasn’t until 2022 that the prosecution reopened the file and conducted analyzes based on valid DNA traces on one of the victims’ underwear.

The analysis took him out of the cause and instead allowed him to confuse another suspect in prison in another case. He confessed to the 1975 rape, but can no longer be convicted under the statute of limitations.

“Now I can say I’m free,” a tearful Leonard Mack said, according to portions of the White Plains court hearing broadcast by US media.

According to a 2022 report by the “National Registry of Exonerations,” led by several American universities, black people represent 13% of the population in the United States, but 53% have declared their innocence after miscarriages of justice since 1989. .

20 minutes with AFP