DNA THAT THE POLICE "COULD NOT FIND" FREES BLACK NYC "RAPIST"

A man wrongfully imprisoned for rape 21 years ago is now free. A Bronx court released Alan Newton Thursday, throwing out his 1985 conviction and 40-year prison term after recent DNA tests conclusively proved that Newton was not guilty of raping and robbing a 25-year-old woman in the Bronx. Newton has always maintained his innocence.

He says he plans to sue over his wrongful conviction and how the NYPD handled evidence in his case. The Bronx District Attorney has issued a statement saying it regrets Newton's wrongful imprisonment. Now 44-years-old, Newton says he plans to enjoy some home cooked meals and will visit the New Jersey grave of his grandmother who died while he was in prison....

Newton was convicted in 1985 for raping and slicing the face of a woman in the Bronx. He continued to insist he was innocent, and in 1994 began requesting the rape kit done on the victim to be compared to his DNA. But the NYPD Property Clerk's office continued to insist the kit could not be found and might have been destroyed.

Finally, Newton contacted the Innocence Project, a group of lawyers who look into cases of people who may have been wrongfully convicted. Police eventually found the rape kit, which did not match Newton's DNA. So he was finally exonerated. “Tragically, it took 11 years to find the evidence," said Vanessa Potkin, an attorney with the Innocence Project. Especially tragic because the rape kit turned up in the same bin that cops said they checked before.

After 21 years of being wrongfully locked up, the wide-eyed 44-four-year old says he tries not to be angry, but he does plan to sue. “The false arrest and unjust conviction and the amount of time I served should serve as an example, because you have a lot of other brothers in the system who are truly innocent also, and their predicament needs to be brought to the forefront," said Newton. “I'm glad he is finally vindicated,” said Grace Newton, the man’s sister. “I’m angry. Al may not be, but I am.”

Newton and his lawyers from the Innocence Project did especially thank Elisa Koenderman, who heads up the Bronx Distric Attorney's Sex Crime Unit. Although her job is to convict rapists, she did help locate the rape kit that resulted in Newton being released. “It’s obviously a very emotional moment for everyone involved,” said Koenderman. “I feel grateful for being a part of finally seeing justice done for him, which I see as part of my job."

Newton said one of the first things he wanted to do as a free man was to sit down to a home style cooked meal. So his family brought him to Amy Ruth's soul food restaurant in Harlem. Newton says he plans to finish his college education, which he started while in jail. He says he is only five classes away from earning his bachelor's degree. After that, maybe he’ll go to law school.

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