U Not Gonna Like This

This article comes to you by way of JJ's Garage it's about a man who was falsely accused of rape and spent 20 years in prison.



Rape conviction gone, stigma isn't


A few years ago, someone finally did. A new attorney took his case, and last month, after DNA evidence from the 1987 crime proved his innocence, Lyons' conviction was dismissed by DuPage County State's Atty. Joseph Birkett -- the same prosecutor who tried the case.



Lyons' exoneration is another illustration of the impact DNA technology has had on the criminal justice system, shedding new light on cold cases that often hinged on witness identifications.



But beyond the legal ramifications lies a deeper, more personal story of frustration and redemption, of the extreme measure one man took to vindicate his tarnished reputation and his bitter 20-year wait.



the article continues...



Lyons did his time without incident. But just two weeks after he was released early on parole, facing a future as a registered sex offender, he was frustrated. And desperate. Hoping to get the U.S. Navy to hear his plight, Lyons dressed in his reserves uniform, carried a cross on his back and tried to crucify himself outside the courthouse where he was tried and convicted.



The stunt, which cost Lyons a $100 fine for disturbing the peace and a week in an Elgin mental health facility, showed the depths to which the wrongfully convicted will go to clear their names, said Vanessa Potkin, a staff attorney at the Innocence Project, which investigates such potential cases.



After losing their freedom, Potkin said, they enter society devoid of things they once took for granted, such as relationships and possessions.



"All they have left is their word," she said.



The article is two pages long and a good one, so please go read the whole thing..