Virginia governor pardons man wrongly jailed 29 years for attempted rape

After 29 years in jail for a crime authorities now say he did not commit, Michael McAlister was freed from a Virginia prison on Wednesday evening. Hours earlier, Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) had issued an "absolute pardon," citing "overwhelming evidence, including a recent confession by another individual," that McAlister didn't try to rape a woman at knifepoint in an apartment complex laundry room in 1986.

The pardon was granted a month after McAuliffe received the petition, and five days before a court hearing that could have resulted in his indefinite incarceration as a sex offender — McAlister's sentence technically ended in January. Among those backing the pardon was the former police detective who helped convict him.

McAlister was convicted based solely on the testimony of the victim, who was able to get a peek at her assailant's face when she clawed at his stocking mask. She identified a photo of McAlister from among a selection that did not include Norman Bruce Derr, a serial rapist who lived nearby. He had tried to rape a police decoy in the same laundry room previously, and looked like McAlister. Police also had convinced McAlister to wear a flannel shirt for his lineup photo, making him the only suspect dressed like the assailant.

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McAuliffe's spokesman told The Associated Press that Derr had confessed to the 1986 attack. "The integrity of our justice system depends on the guarantee of a fair trial that is informed by all available evidence," McAuliffe said in a statement. "Protecting that integrity requires quick action in the event that new evidence comes to light."