Thursday, June 1, Jeff Titus was exonerated by the American justice after spending 21 years in prison. He had been identified as the prime suspect when two hunters were found dead on his property in 1990, and had been convicted of double murder.
Already released from prison last February, prosecutors decided to clear him and exempt him from a new trial after highlighting numerous inconsistencies in the case.
Lack of evidence
In this case told by the Associated Press, the man was portrayed by various witnesses "as a gruff person who did not like intruders and therefore was quickly charged with the double murder." But two decades later, members of the "Innocence Project" association at the University of Michigan School of Law decided to reopen the case.
See alsoH. H. Holmes, the first American serial killer
They discovered many inconsistencies, such as the fact that at the time of the events, Jeff Titus himself was hunting 43 kilometers from the crime scene. In addition, another suspect was mentioned in the file: Thomas Dillon of Magnolia. This information had not been shared with Jeff Titus' lawyer. Died in custody in 2011, nothing can confirm the involvement of this other man, guilty of five murders between 1989 and 1992.
For lack of evidence to justify this conviction, Jeff Titus now at large could seek more than a million dollars in compensation from the US state.