A man was released from prison last Friday after spending 23 years behind bars for a crime he may not have committed. Earnest Sonnier, 46, was convicted of rape and sentenced to life in jail. While evidence gathered at the scene showed a different blood type between the assailant and the defendant, Sonnier was convicted mainly on the victim's testimony.


Recent genetic testing yielded no evidence of Sonnier being at the scene of the crime and it did implicate two felons known to have been accomplices. One is currently on trial for a different rape. In light of this discovery, District Court Judge Michael McSpadden ordered Sonnier released pending further investigation. Only the highest criminal court in Texas can grant exoneration to a convicted criminal.