Guardian: A North Carolina man who spent 24 years behind bars for a murder he has long said he did not commit has been pardoned by the state’s governor.
Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina on Friday granted a pardon to Montoyae Dontae Sharpe, who spent more than 24 years in prison for murder before a judge vacated his conviction in 2019, finding that a key witness had “entirely made up” her testimony. https://t.co/dDA4UbGwDz
— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 13, 2021
Dontae Sharpe has been out of prison since 2019 and the pardon allows him to apply for compensation of up to $750,000 for his wrongful conviction.
JUST IN: @NC_Governor has granted a pardon of innocence for Dontae Sharpe who was wrongfully convicted and served 26 years in prison @WNCN #ncpol pic.twitter.com/AMHO0ehVeW
— Michael Hyland (@MichaelWNCN) November 12, 2021
“Mr Sharpe and others who have been wrongly convicted deserve to have that injustice fully and publicly acknowledged,” the governor, Roy Cooper, said.
BREAKING: Governor Cooper Grants Pardon of Innocence to Dontae Sharpe! Learn more at today’s #FreedomFridays Vigil at 5pm ET. https://t.co/pPd4L5m3Xv pic.twitter.com/MbWkeghqPQ
— Repairers of the Breach (@BRepairers) November 12, 2021
In 1995, Sharpe was given a life sentence at age 19 for the first-degree murder of 33-year-old George Radcliffe, whom he was accused of killing a year earlier during a drug deal. Sharpe had maintained his innocence throughout and said in a 2019 interview that his faith and knowledge he was innocent guided his refusal to accept offers of a lighter sentence in exchange for a guilty plea.
Wonderful news for Dontae Sharpe, a client of Duke Law's Wrongful Convictions Clinic, who received a pardon of innocence from NC Gov. Roy Cooper earlier today. https://t.co/YBAB4q8PnM
— Duke Law (@DukeLaw) November 12, 2021
“I’m still in a haze, kind of,” Sharpe said. “When you’re dealing with us human beings, it can go any way, yes and no. I didn’t know what to expect. I was believing for a pardon.”
Dontae Sharpe, who was wrongfully imprisoned for 26 years in US, has been pardoned
A BBC documentary highlighted the miscarriage of justice https://t.co/xm9EOqFeP2
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) November 12, 2021
The government’s case against Sharpe relied in part on testimony from a 15-year-old girl at the time who claimed she saw Sharpe kill Radcliffe, but later recanted and said she wasn’t present at the time of the shooting. She later said her claims were made up, based on what investigators told her.
Read more..
ATTENTION READERS
We See The World From All Sides and Want YOU To Be Fully InformedIn fact, intentional disinformation is a disgraceful scourge in media today. So to assuage any possible errant incorrect information posted herein, we strongly encourage you to seek corroboration from other non-VT sources before forming an educated opinion.
About VT - Policies & Disclosures - Comment Policy