Kenneth Kagonyera & Robert Wilcoxson Released from Prison in North Carolina Innocence Review

Kenneth Kagonyera and Robert Wilcoxson released from prison in North Carolina after innocence review found they were not guilty of murder,after spending decade in prison.

North Carolina Department of Corrections

Kenneth Kagonyera, left, and Robert Wilcoxson were ruled not guilty.

Kenneth Kagonyera, 31, and Robert Wilcoxson, 32, were released from a North Carolina prison after spending a decade imprisoned on murder charges for which they were not guilty. The men were set free Thursday after a panel of judges ruled they were not guilty.

The hearing came after the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission in April found enough evidence to indicate the men were not guilty, including the confession of another man and DNA testing that pointed to other suspects. The men had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the slaying of Walter Bowman in 2000, though they repeatedly claimed they were innocent. Their attorneys at the hearing said the men admitted to the murder to avoid life sentences.
District Attorney Ron Moore, the elected prosecutor who handled the case, said, "We accept the ruling of the court." He said the ruling would make it harder to accept guilty pleas for fear that suspects are taking a deal to avoid longer sentences. Source: USA Today

This is a powerful testament to the fact that there are many people sitting behind bars for crimes they did not commit. That also exposes significant flaws in the justice system in this country. It is not unfathomable that Troy Davis may have been innocent in the shooting death of Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail. He was executed even though there was evidence of reasonable doubt.

Gerald Galaway Facing 2nd Degree Murder Charges in Death of Girlfriend Attorney Celestial Cassman After Two Had Domestic Dispute in Hawaii

California city attorney Celestial Cassman dies a "cruel & heinous death" at the hands of her boyfriend Gerald Galaway while on vacation in Hawaii.

Celestial Cassman murdered by Gerald Galaway

Domestic violence has claimed yet another woman's life. Celestial Cassman, 35, a Santa Cruz, Calif., attorney, was killed by her boyfriend, Gerald Galaway, during a domestic dispute while the two vacationed in Hawaii. Galaway, who is hospitalized after jumping off a 100ft. cliff, faces second-degree murder and kidnapping charges in her death. Cassman served as deputy city attorney for three coastal towns, according to the Daily Mail.

In a 51-page court filing, Maui County prosecutors said Celestial Cassman, 35, was killed 'in an especially heinous, atrocious or cruel manner.' Officers who responded to calls about a domestic dispute at Nakalele Point on the island of Maui found her body at about 7.30pm on Thursday. Authorities have not said how she died.

Galaway bolted from police but was found Friday morning and airlifted to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Prosecutors say witnesses reported seeing the two arguing in their rented car, and then later, fighting on the side of Kahekili Highway near Nakalele Point, the northern most point of Maui.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Celestial Cassman. Domestic violence knows no socioeconomic, ethnic and gender. It cuts across every community and station in life.