Watch | Cleared of wrongful rape conviction after 47 years, man hugs judge, cries 'I'm free'
Leonard Mack and Judge Minihan
Receiving the gift of a lifetime on his birthday, 72-year-oldLeonard Mack, a South Carolina resident was finally exonerated on Monday (September 5) after being wrongfully convicted of raping a Westchester County teenage girl, nearly five decades ago.
In one of the videos going viral on social media platforms, Mack can be seen hugging State Supreme Court Judge Anne E. Minihan who overturned his 1976 conviction.
Dubbed the longest wrongful conviction in American history by the Innocence Project, which led the campaign to absolveMack, theconviction had left him languishing in prison for more than seven years.
“This is your day. You’ve waited much too long for it,” Minihan told him. “In what we do the stakes are very high and it’s important to get it right.”
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Advanced DNA testing came to Mack's rescueand proved that he was not behind the attacks. Instead, it was revealed that the heinous acts were performed by a sex offender whorecently confessed to the disturbing crimes, said theWestchester District Attorney’s Office.
"We were able to prove Mr Mack’s innocence, in large part, due to our independent Conviction Review Unit’s commitment and Mr Mack’s unwavering strength fighting to clear his name for almost 50 years. This exoneration and thenew DNA evidenceconfirm that wrongful convictions are not only harmful to the wrongly convicted but also make us all less safe," the DA's office added.
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Police used aggressive tactics
Mack, a Vietnam veteran, was only 23 when he was convicted of the 1975 gunpoint sex assaults on two Greenburgh teenagers in the woods near a local high school. Despite having a strong alibi, the police used aggressive tactics to get witnesses to identify him and wrongfully won a conviction.He was found guilty of raping one teen girl and trying to rape another.
“Today has been a long time coming. I lost seven-and-a-half years of my life in prison for a crime I did not commit and I have lived with this injustice hanging over my head for almost 50 years," said Mack after having his name cleared.
“It changed the course of my life,everything from where I lived to my relationship with my family. I never lost hope that one day that I would be proven innocent. Now the truth has come to light and I can finally breathe. I am finally free.”
After coming out of the court, an elated Mack said: “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, I’m free at last.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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