Two Hours to Convict Him and 15 Years to Set Him Free

11.02.10

Jermaine Arrington walked out of a Maryland prison last week, 15 years after he was convicted of a murder evidence now shows he did not commit.

Arrington was convicted in 1995 of allegedly stabbing a man during a street fight in Maryland. Two people told police they saw Arrington stab the victim and three other witnesses said they heard Arrington tell the victim he stabbed him with his knife, according to the Washington Post. A police report, however, said the killer wore his hair in braids, which Arrington did not.

A jury deliberated for only two hours before convicting Arrington. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Arrington and his lawyers got to work on his appeal and obtained a court order to have a blood stain from his sweatpants subjected to post-conviction DNA testing. The results showed the blood didn’t come from the victim. During the original trial, a forensic chemist said that blood stains found on Arrington’s sweatpants were “consistent with the blood type of the victim,” according to court records.

“We know through DNA testing that the victim’s blood was not on Mr. Arrington’s sweatpants,” Samantha Sandler, Arrington’s attorney said. “. . . Jermaine Arrington is innocent.”


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