Thursday, June 1, Jeff Titus was cleared by American justice after spending 21 years in prison. He was identified as the prime suspect when two hunters were found dead on his property in 1990, and was convicted of double murder.
Already released from prison since last February, prosecutors have decided to exonerate him and exempt him from a new trial after bringing to light numerous inconsistencies in the file.
In this case told by Associated Press, the man was portrayed by various witnesses "as being a gruff person who did not like intruders and therefore was quickly charged with the double murder". But two decades later, members of the University of Michigan Law School's Innocence Project decided to reopen the case.
Also readH. H. Holmes, America's first serial killer
They discovered many inconsistencies, such as the fact that at the time of the events, Jeff Titus was himself 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 transmitted to the lawyer of Jeff Titus. Died in detention 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 free, could ask for more than a million dollars in compensation from the American State.