Connecticut Man is Freed

Miguel Roman was released from a Connecticut prison today after serving 20 years for a murder he has always said he didn’t commit. Prosecutors said DNA testing in Roman’s case had matched crime scene evidence to another man, Pedro Miranda. Prosecutors charged Miranda with the murder – and two other similar murders – on December 5.

Roman has another court date set for February 5, and it is unclear whether prosecutors will seek a new trial or move to dismiss the charges.

"It feels good. It feels good," Roman said, surrounded by family and friends who had packed the courtroom for the hearing.

Roman's daughter, Ana Roman, was 8 years old when her father went to prison. She said, for the first time in two decades, the family will make a home-cooked meal for him. She said her father is religious and patient, and that he was the one who got the family through his long incarceration.

Even in prison, Roman said, "he's always been a father figure."

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. (Hartford Courant, 12/19/2008)