Balanced News Blog

North Carolina Governor Mike Easley has refused to pardon Sylvester Smith, who he put in jail for rape in 1981 when he was a prosecutor, even though Smith was released from jail when the victims recanted their testimony.

The accusers were 5 and 6 at the time of the trial, and admit that their grandmother had told them to say Mr. Smith was responsible for the abuse instead of their 9-year-old cousin. Mr. Smith was released by a judge in November, but a pardon in North Carolina allows a wrongfully convicted person to seek $20,000 a year from the state for each year the person was imprisoned.

SOURCES:
New York Times
Washington Post