Wrongfully convicted Georgia man freed after 17 years

A Georgia man has been released from prison after spending more than a third of his life incarcerated for a crime he didn't commit.

Kerry Robinson, 44, walked out of a South Georgia prison Wednesday after 17 years behind bars and hugged his relatives, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

He was convicted of breaking into a woman's home in 1993 and sexually assaulting her, according to his attorneys at the Atlanta-based Georgia Innocence Project.

Robinson filed a motion for a new trial in September 2019 and was exonerated by Southern Judicial Circuit District Attorney Brad Shealy.

DNA evidence retested using modern technology proved the original state Bureau of Investigation analysis that was presented at trial was misleading.

A GBI analyst suggested during the 2002 trial that a mixture of DNA in the victim's rape kit likely matched Robinson, though tests weren't conclusive.

But Robinson and supporters maintained his innocence. Robinson was never identified as a suspect by the victim, and he argues a co-defendant in the case falsely implicated him to authorities because he had reported the man to police in another case. Robinson's son, sister and other relatives were there waiting as he was freed from Coffee Correctional Facility outside of Douglas.