A Missouri judge on Tuesday exonerated a 62-year-old Black man who spent more than four decades in prison for a crime he has steadfastly insisted he did not commit, putting an end to one of the longest wrongful convictions in the history of the United States. Kevin Strickland was ordered released by Judge James Welsh after prosecutors said Strickland had not been involved in a 1978 triple murder and must “not remain in custody a day longer,” The Kansas City Star reported. Strickland will not receive any compensation for the more than 42 years he improperly spent behind bars, and will be able to draw on more than $61,000 raised on GoFundMe by the Midwest Innocence Project, according to the paper. The case against Strickland hinged on testimony from a lone eyewitness, who later recanted and said she had been pressured by police. Strickland told The Washington Post that he looks forward to doing two things as a free man: Seeing the ocean in person, which he has never done, and visiting his late mother’s grave.
