A 74-year-old woman has been released from prison after serving 27 years for a crime she did not commit.
A 74-year-old lady who was unfairly imprisoned for the murder of a family member has been released.
Joyce Watkins, of Tennessee, was acquitted of the murder of her great-niece.
According to CNN, Watkins and her then-boyfriend Charlie Dunn went to pick up her four-year-old great-niece Brandi in 1987.
Brandi remained unconscious the next day, so she was brought to the hospital.
The child sustained brain damage as well as bruises to her privates.
The two were with Brandi for two hours, and the medical examiner concluded she sustained the injuries when they were with her.
Watkins and Dunn were convicted of aggravated rape and first-degree murder in 1988. It was eventually determined that the medical examiner made a mistake, resulting in their unjust conviction.
They were given release in 2015 after serving 27 years in prison, but Dunn died in prison.
“I wish my father was here to see this moment.” Dunn’s daughter explained that “he knew he was innocent, and he knew he didn’t do those acts,”
The lawyer for Watkins and Dunn said he is uncertain whether their families would be reimbursed for the time they spent in jail.
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