Roy Cooper on Friday pardoned a man who spent 24 years behind bars for a murder he has long said he did not commit. Cooper’s pardon of innocence allows Dontae Sharpe to apply for compensation up to $750,000 for his wrongful conviction. The NAACP had long pushed for Sharpe's release over the years and urged Cooper to issue a pardon of innocence. Sharpe thanked Cooper but called out a criminal justice system he considers “corrupt." “My freedom is still incomplete as long as there's still people going to prison wrongfully, if there's still people in prison wrongfully and there's still people that are waiting on pardons,” he said.

Source: Indian Express November 13, 2021 19:18 UTC