Corneliue Dupree Jr. was exonerated January 4th 2011 after serving 30 years in jail for a robbery and rape that he did not commit. ”It’s a joy to be free again,” Dupree said after the judge’s ruling. Dupree has been out on parole since July but today’s decision clears his record.
Dupree now 51 has DNA evidence to thank for being able to clear his name. According to the Associated Press:
“Nationally, only two others who have been exonerated by DNA evidence spent more time in prison, according to the Innocence Project, a New York-based legal center representing Dupree that specializes in wrongful conviction cases. James Bain was wrongly imprisoned for 35 years in Florida, and Lawrence McKinney spent more than 31 years in a Tennessee prison.”
Under Texas compensation laws for the wrongly imprisoned, Dupree is eligible for $80,000 for each year he was behind bars, plus a lifetime annuity, none of which would be subject to federal income taxes.
Texas’ compensation law is the nation’s most generous. The law was passed in 2009 by the Texas Legislature after dozens of wrongly convicted men were released from prison. Texas has freed 41 wrongly convicted inmates with DNA testing since 2001. This is more than any other state.
