Description
A Maine man who spent 27 years in prison for allegedly killing his 16-year-old girlfriend in 1989 wept as he was set free on Wednesday.
Anthony H Sanborn Jr, 45, was just a teen when he was sentenced to 70 years in prison in 1993 for the murder of his then-girlfriend Jessica Briggs.
Despite protesting his innocence for decades - and two of the witnesses recanting testimony - Sanborn was only released because his lawyers successfully argued that giving a 70-year sentence to a juvenile was 'cruel and unusual punishment'.
Sanborn, who was 16 when accused, has spent most of his life in Maine State Prison, had been fighting for a post-conviction review of his case when the offer from the district attorney came through,
His lawyers argued that police and prosecutors withheld evidence that would have aided his defense, and threatened and coerced witnesses leading up to the conviction.
And on Tuesday, one of the supposed witnesses to the crime - Glenn Brown - recanted the statement he made to police.
Brown, now 47, had told police that he saw Sanborn with a knife and looking for Briggs on the night she was murdered, but said on Tuesday that was a lie.
He claimed that he had given the false testimony because he had a jail record, was afraid of police, and was frightened about being sent back to jail.
Another 'witness', Hope Cady, confirmed an earlier recantation, saying she lied to investigators because she also feared going to jail.
On Tuesday evening, in the wake of Brown's new testimony, the DA's office and Sanborn's legal team began to draft an agreement.
After the hearing, they attorneys released a statement from Sanborn that said he respected 'what Justice [Joyce] Wheeler did for me' in allowing a review of his case.
'I think Justice Wheeler has a lot of courage and integrity to do what she did,' he added. 'There is only one judge who can ultimately judge me, and that is God. And I will be judged to be innocent when my time comes.'
Assistant Attorney General Meg Elam that her office 'never wavered' in believing Sanborn was guilty.
