James Bain: Free after 35 years

[Undeniable Truth]

DNA testing has exonerated a Florida man who has been serving time in prison since 1974 for a rape that he did not commit.

He was convicted largely on the strength of the victim's eyewitness identification, though testing available at the time did not definitively link him to the crime. The boy said his attacker had bushy sideburns and a mustache. The boy's uncle, a former assistant principal at a high school, said it sounded like Bain, a former student.

The boy picked Bain out of a photo lineup, although there are lingering questions about whether detectives steered him.

The jury rejected Bain's story that he was home watching TV with his twin sister when the crime was committed, an alibi she repeated at a news conference last week. He was 19 when he was sentenced.

As Bain walked out of the Polk County courthouse Thursday, wearing a black T-shirt that said "not guilty," he spoke of his deep faith and said he does not harbor any anger.

"No, I'm not angry," he said. "Because I've got God."

Earlier, the courtroom erupted in applause after Yancey ruled.

"Mr. Bain, I'm now signing the order," Yancey said. "You're a free man. Congratulations."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091217/...s_old_rape_dna

[Bay]

See this? That's why I'm against the DP.

[Pete Bondurant]

DNA testing has exonerated a Florida man who has been serving time in prison since 1974 for a rape that he did not commit.

Perhaps he is innocent of this particular crime, but that does not mean that he is altogether innocent. No one is innocent....no one. Imagine all of the crimes he would have committed had he not been incarcerated these past few decades. All in all, this is not really an injustice.

[malq]

Not enough info here But...
It is possible the DNA threw enough doubt that he did it, not prove that he did not do it. He may be entirely guilty. Dna proof that it MAY have been someone else is almost always the case. Rarely is it definitive proof they DID NOT do it.