Innocent Man Wrongfully Imprisoned for 28 Years for Murder

An innocent man from Arizona, Barry Lee Jones, who spent 28 years in prison, has finally been released after authorities reconsidered his case. On Thursday, a judge overturned his 1994 murder conviction in the death of his then-girlfriend’s 4-year-old daughter, according to the Washington Post. The tragic incident occurred when Angela Rene Gray discovered her little girl, Rachel Yvonne Gray, unresponsive in bed in May 1994. Jones, who lived with them, rushed them to the hospital, as reported by NBC News. Unfortunately, the child was pronounced dead upon arrival, and it was determined that she had suffered from a lethal bowel laceration caused by blunt abdominal trauma. After five hours of questioning, Jones was charged, convicted, and sentenced to death.

However, federal public defenders who later took on the case discovered that Jones was only alone with the girl for a brief period of time, during which it would have been impossible for him to cause her fatal injuries. They also found that authorities failed to investigate other potential suspects or consider the possibility that the injuries occurred before the time she was under Jones’ care. The Arizona Attorney General’s office conducted an independent review of the case and concluded that while the first-degree murder conviction should be overturned, there was enough evidence to support a second-degree murder conviction since the child was under Jones’ care and he did not seek medical assistance for her on the night before she died. Eventually, a agreement was reached between Jones’ lawyers and prosecutors, resulting in the dismissal of his original convictions and his guilty plea to a second-degree murder charge. He was given credit for the time he had already served.