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| DNA Tests Help Free Memphis Inmate |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 05/27/2002 |
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Twenty-two years after he was convicted of rape, Clark McMillan was freed from a Tennessee prison on May 14 because of DNA tests that cleared him of the crime. 'I feel rejuvenated,' McMillan, 45, said following his release. 'The Lord has given me happiness and joy - a chance to live.' Judge Chris Craft dismissed McMillan's 1980 rape conviction May 2 after results from the DNA test showed that genetic markers in McMillan's blood did not match those in semen left on the rape victim's clothes. However, he was held for another 12 days until his attorneys could settle with federal authorities an unserved two-year sentence for felony firearm possession that was handed down about the same time as the rape conviction. Authorities decided to declare that McMillan began serving the federal sentence on Oct. 8, 2000. With time off for good behavior, his release date was May 14. McMillan was charged in 1979 with raping a 16-year-old girl and robbing her boyfriend. At the time, he was free on bond pending appeal of the federal gun conviction. McMillan, who had past felony convictions for receiving stolen property, was caught with a sawed-off shotgun and ammunition in 1977. The firearms conviction was upheld on appeal in November 1979, and he was sentenced to two years in a federal prison, but he was already in state custody on the rape and robbery charges. When he was convicted on those charges, McMillan was sentenced to 119 years in state prison. |
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