Case in NC: From 13 years on death row to *all* charges dropped [View All]

Former death-row inmate set free

RALEIGH, N.C. — A man who spent 13 years on death row in North Carolina was released from prison Friday after prosecutors decided to drop the charges against him.

Levon "Bo" Jones was sentenced to death in 1993 for the slaying of Leamon Grady, a bootlegger who was robbed and shot in his home in 1987.

"I'm innocent, that's what I've got to say," Jones told reporters as he walked out of the Duplin County Jail Friday afternoon.

After meeting his grandson for the first time, he said he was "a little bit angry" about being on death row so long, but he just wanted to go home.




"It's wonderful that he's out. He's innocent, and I'm glad he's free," said his daughter, Evette Jones.

A federal judge overturned the conviction in 2006, declaring poor attorney performance had violated Jones' rights. Duplin County District Attorney Dewey Hudson planned to retry Jones on May 12, but decided to drop charges after a key witness recanted her story.

more ----> http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/2824402/