Chad Heins exonerated after 13 years behind bars - Florida

		Chad Heins exonerated after 13 years behind bars Innocence Project client Chad Heins (left) walked out of a Florida jail this afternoon, a free man for the first time since he was 20 years old. New DNA evidence proves that another man committed the murder for which Heins was incarcerated for 13 years. Today, Heins' long wait for justice came to an end and he became the 209th person nationwide — and the ninth in Florida — to be exonerated by DNA evidence. Heins was convicted in 1996 of killing his sister-in-law, Tina. He always said he had nothing to do with the crime and was convicted despite DNA tests at his trial showing that hairs in the victim's bed came from an unknown man. New DNA tests now show that the same unknown man also left other biological evidence at the scene. Read more about Heins' case on our website. Your role as a member of our online community is vital to the success of criminal justice reforms nationwide based on the lessons of wrongful convictions. Forward this email to one friend today and help us spread the word. By educating more people about wrongful convictions, you're helping us to fix our broken criminal justice system. Your friends can sign up for email updates at www.innocenceproject.org/signup. The Innocence Project at the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law 100 Fifth Ave. 3rd Floor - New York, NY 10011 www.innocenceproject.org