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"It feels like a bird has been let out of a cage. That's how I feel,"
Walter Swift, May 21, 2008
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Click here to hear Walter:
In November 1982, Detroit native Walter Swift was wrongly convicted of rape and sentenced to 55 years' imprisonment.
Convicted at the age of 21 on the basis of evidence that has been discredited, Walter nonetheless languished behind bars for almost 27 years for a crime he did not commit.
Ten years ago his case came to the attention of the Innocence Project, a non-profit legal clinic founded in New York in 1992 by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld.
"Evidence shows that the victim's eyewitness identification was tragically wrong", said Olga Akselrod, an Innocence Project attorney who was at Wednesday's hearing.
"Walter Swift has been fully exonerated after spending most of his adult life in prison", said Innocence Project Co-Director Barry Scheck. "His case highlights the need for state-wide reform of identification procedures in order to prevent a repeat of this injustice."
After a decade of investigation and campaigning by the Innocence Project, Walter Swift was exonerated in April 2008 and a release date set for May 21.
This website has been created to shed light on Walter's story and to help him as he begins to embark on a life of freedom.
Leaving prison with nothing but the possessions he can carry, Walter faces the challenge of life on the outside with little in the way of resources to help.
"A simple donation can go a long way towards helping Walter." said Niamh Gunn, an Irish businesswoman who as a legal student worked with the Innocence Project on Walter’s case and played a key role in securing his release.
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Walter Swift clip 1