Judge dismisses convictions of 3 men imprisoned for 20 years

CLEVELAND (AP) — Three defendants who spent 20 years in prison for a murder they denied committing are free after a judge in Cleveland dismissed their convictions because a prosecutor didn’t disclose witness statements that questioned their guilt.

A county judge told the men today that they were free.

Laurese Glover, Derrick Wheatt and Eugene Johnson were imprisoned as teenagers in 1996 and remained behind bars until a judge ordered a new trial for them last year. An appeals court ruling in May upheld the judge’s decision.

An assistant county prosecutor said his office won’t pursue the case further.

Ohio Innocence Project attorneys learned in 2013 that a supervising prosecutor had ordered East Cleveland police not to turn over a case file that held statements casting doubt on the defendants’ guilt.