Darryl Pinkins was convicted of rape in May of 1991, and he served 25 years before being released from prison — despite the fact that he was innocent in the first place.
According to his attorney, Fran Watson, Pinkins was only a month shy of 25 years into his sentence before DNA evidence exonerated him, and he was released on Monday morning. The years in prison have taken a toll on him, however, and he has a thyroid disease in addition to being diabetic, and he has lost all of his teeth.
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Pinkins and Roosevelt Glenn have been fighting for over two decades to prove that they were innocent, after being accused of bumping their cars into a woman’s car and then pulling her inside and sexually assaulting her for hours.
“Until recently, there was no technology that could really do what I call dissect DNA mixture,” Watson explained of the evidence that eventually led to Pinkins being cleared.
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“Once they explained to us what DNA was, we told them to bring the test on because we know where we were,” Pinkins said.
“When you look at the evidence that stands now, it would be an injustice for us to even attempt to try Mr. Pinkins. We would not convict him,” said Bernard Carter, Lake County prosecutor.
Now, Pinkins is out, and he is looking forward to a new life, saying, “This is a new beginning.”