Who Is Lawrence McKinney? Wrongly Convicted Man Sues Tennessee After 31 Years In Prison

A wrongly convicted man filed a lawsuit against the state of Tennessee this week after he was imprisoned for 31 years. Lawrence McKinney, 61, was convicted of rape and burglary in 1978.

Then 22-years-old, McKinney was charged and convicted of first-degree rape and burglary after his neighbor at the time told police she had been raped when two men broke into her home. The neighbor identified McKinney as one of the men and he was subsequently sentenced to 115 years in jail, WREG-TV reported.

McKinney was released from prison in 2009 after new DNA evidence from the victim’s bed sheets was put forth in the case. The sheets showed stains from three people, none of whom had DNA that matched with McKinney, according to the Innocence Project. Despite his release, McKinney had to wait until the governor officially exonerated him before he was able to seek compensation from Tennessee.

Gov. Bill Haslam officially exonerated McKinney Dec. 20, declaring him innocent. In his statement, Haslam said he believed McKinney would not have been prosecuted or convicted if the DNA testing results had been available at the time.

“In the eyes of the judicial system, Mr. McKinney is innocent,” Haslam said.

David Raybin and Jack Lowery filed the request to seek $1 million, the legal maximum, Thursday morning with the Board of Claims, the Tennesseean reported. A $1 million settlement would equal just $86 per day for every day he was in jail, WSMV-TV reported.

“A person is deprived of their life and freedom,” said Raybin, according to the Tennesseean. “In my view, Mr. McKinney is entitled to far more than $1 million based on what’s happened to him.”

Upon his release in 2009, the Tennessee Department of Corrections gave McKinney a mere $75 in order to start his life outside of prison, CNN reported. Because he had no identification at the time, it took him three months to cash the check, he told CNN.

“Although I’ve spent more than half of my life locked up for a crime I did not do, I am not bitter or angry at anyone, because I have found the Lord and married a good wife,” McKinney said, according to CNN. “All I ask is that I be treated right and fair for what has happened to me. I didn’t do nothing, and I just want to be treated right.”