Police Officer Causes Hearing Delay For Man Set To Be Freed After 15 Years In Prison

A 35-year-old man in Michigan was set to be exonerated after 15 years of wrongful imprisonment, but his hearing was halted after a Detroit police officer approached the judge, claiming to have further information on the case.

Terance Calhoun was set to be cleared of his supposed crimes and have his 2007 case dismissed during a hearing Friday. But Judge Kelly Ramsey said the hearing had to be adjourned after she said she was approached by Detroit police officer Robert Kane, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Kane, who testified at Calhoun's preliminary examination in November 2006, had a binder of information that he believed to be relevant to the case and the release of the 35-year-old, according to the report.

Calhoun was charged in 2007 with multiple crimes in two separate cases involving the rape of a 13-year-old girl and attempted sexual assault of another girl, 15. He pleaded no contest to the charges and was sentenced to a minimum of 17 years.

However, a recent investigation and new evidence in the case, including rape kit DNA, proved that Calhoun did not commit the crimes, Fox 2 Detroit reported, citing the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. The evidence resulted in the identification of another man, who has been linked to several other sexual assaults.

The new evidence led the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office's Conviction Integrity Unit to ask a judge Friday afternoon to dismiss the case and clear Calhoun of the convictions.

But the request will now be delayed pending a review of the materials brought forward by Kane.

"It is my belief that it is my role and responsibility to ensure the court's role is to ensure that justice is done and the court is also mindful of the need to ensure finality in its orders," the judge said. "Given the circumstances before this court, there needs to be an opportunity, due diligence that exceeds whatever happened this morning to whenever Mr. Kane hopefully went to the prosecutor's office."

Ramsey said Kane met her in her courtroom Friday morning and presented her with "evidence" he believes she should review before dismissing the case.

Ramsey said she referred him to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office and did not look at any of the documents he brought to her.

The State Appellate Defender Office said in a statement that the information Kane submitted was not new and had already been investigated.

"I don't know what Robert Kane has to share, but I certainly think that it's worth commenting that an officer came here this morning and wanted to show me something. I don't know the solidity of that information. But what I do think is that whether or not this information that the officer may or may not have cannot be disregarded to ensure that we arrive at an accurate conclusion," the judge stated.

Another exoneration hearing for Calhoun is scheduled for Wednesday at 1 p.m.