Michigan man exonerated by DNA testing

Nathaniel Hatchett was released from prison today after serving 10 years in Michigan prison for a rape he didn’t commit, news organizations are reporting. Hatchett was convicted of a carjacking and rape in Sterling Heights, Michigan, in 1998. The Cooley Innocence Project in Lansing, Michigan, filed a motion for a new trial last month based on the DNA evidence of innocence, and today a Michigan judge granted a motion filed by prosecutors to drop all charges based on the new evidence.

The Innocence Project maintains a database of all people exonerated by DNA testing. We are currently researching the background of Hatchett’s case for inclusion in the database. He would become the 216th person exonerated by DNA evidence nationwide.

News Coverage of today’s exoneration:



Detroit News:

Prisoner freed after DNA exoneration




Visit the Cooley Innocence Project website

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