St. Louis man freed after 24 years behind bars

Darryl Burton was convicted of committing a 1984 St. Louis shooting murder based on little more than the word of two unreliable witnesses. He was freed yesterday after an eight-year investigation by New Jersey-based Centurion Ministries uncovered strong evidence of his innocence.

"I've got 24 years behind the eight ball; it was hell on Earth," Burton said Tuesday at a news conference in Kansas City, where he plans to live with cousins. "Prison's a stressful place, especially when you're innocent and no one believes you."

Read the full story here

. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 09/03/08)

One of the alleged eyewitnesses was a jailhouse snitch who testified in a 2007 that he lied at Burton’s trial in exchange for sentence reductions. The other witness, who is now deceased, was at least a block away and could not have seen the shooter. In addition, Centurion uncovered two actual eyewitnesses from the crime scene who told police that Burton was not the shooter. Police ignored their testimony during the investigation. Centurion’s investigation also pointed to another man, also deceased, who may have been the actual killer.



Learn more about Centurion Ministries on the group’s website

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