SAN DIEGO—
A Los Angeles man walked free from a state prison in Imperial County Saturday, freed after San Diego law school students found serious questions about his conviction for a 1994 robbery and killing, reported Saturday.Attorneys from the California Innocence Project at California Western Law School in San Diego also convinced a judge that the inmate, Reggie Cole, was defending himself in a prison murder, and that 16 years of wrongful imprisonment for the alleged L.A. murder was sufficient punishment for the prison-house manslaughter.
Reggie Cole walked free from Calipatria State Prison and will head to San Diego to meet the law school students at the California Innocence Project who worked to free him, the Imperial Valley Press newspaper reported.
"It's just beautiful, just beautiful. I am an innocent person, I am an innocent man," said Cole. "I've always known God would see me through. I would like to thank the brilliant Chris Plourd and the students who worked so hard to make this day possible."
He is then expected to go home with his family members to L.A., attorney Christopher Plourd told the El Centro newspaper.
Cole was serving life without chance of parole for a 1994 murder during a botched robbery in South Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times reported last summer. Because Cole could have faced the death penalty for the prison slaying, his case was reviewed by law students volunteering for the California Innocence Project.
"[Cole] actually referred me to a book that was written by an L.A. Times reporter about his L.A. crime," said Plourd.
The book "The Killing Season" told Coles' case in a way, Plourd knew without a doubt his client was innocent.
The 1994 conviction was overturned when the students found holes in the prosecution's case, and a judge agreed that Cole had insufficient legal representation in the Los Angeles courtroom.
He was also charged with murder for a prison killing in 2000, but that charge was dropped to manslaughter when Cole proved he had acted in self defense. Imperial County Superior Judge Donal Donnelly granted a defense motion Thursday to declare Cole's sentence for the prison killing to have been discharged by serving time for the L.A. killing, the Imperial Valley Press reported.
Last month, prison officials cancelled Cole's scheduled release because they heard that protesters were waiting for Cole at the El Centro Greyhound station. Those people turned out to be Cole's family and law students, anxious for him to arrive. Cole was re-imprisoned as the state recalculated his release date, but the judge ordered his release Saturday, the newspaper reported.
Cole will live with his family in the Los Angeles area and eventually plans to attend school to become a lawyer.
