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January 6, 2012

Texas Prisoner Freed Over Withheld Evidence After 31 Years 
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A Texas prisoner who served 31 years behind bars for rape has been
released after a judge ruled prosecutors withheld evidence that could
have led to his acquittal. Rickey Wyatt, a 56-year-old African American,
was sentenced to 99 years in prison for a sexual assault in 1980. He had
gone to trial after rejecting a plea-bargain for a five-year sentence.
At the time, Dallas police withheld evidence that the victim in the
assault had told them Wyatt was far too small to have been her attacker.
The victim had also described the attacker as clean-shaven, whereas
Wyatt consistently had facial hair at the time.



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