Cambridge, Mass. — A man who spent 20 years in prison for murder was released Thursday because of DNA evidence obtained by his sister, a former high school dropout who put herself through law school in hopes of someday clearing her brother's name.
Judge Vieri Volterra freed Kenneth Waters, 47, pending a possible retrial, after the genetic evidence cast doubt on his guilt.
Waters praised the efforts of his sister Betty Ann.
"I think it's absolutely amazing that she's dedicated her life to this," he said. "It's been 19 years. My whole family suffered unbelievably."
Waters was convicted of beating and stabbing to death Katharina Brow during a robbery in 1980. His lawyer at the time argued Waters was in court on the morning of the slaying to face a charge of assaulting a police officer, but authorities were unable to verify the alibi. Waters was sentenced to life in prison in 1983.
Betty Ann Waters, 46, of Middletown, R.I., went back to school, earning a bachelor's degree and a master's from Rhode Island College and attending law school at Roger Williams University in Bristol, R.I.
"The idea was that I could learn something and maybe try to help him," she said. "I thought all along the way I might not be able to do it. But I wanted to try."
After graduating, she focused on her brother's case, and to this day has taken only a few other cases on behalf of friends.
The breakthrough came when she hounded the clerk at the courthouse and learned that a box of evidence with her brother's name on it was in the basement. The box contained the knife used in the slaying and pieces of cloth with blood on them.
She enlisted the help of the Innocence Project, a group that helps inmates challenge convictions with DNA evidence. The material was tested, and the district attorney's office announced Tuesday that the DNA she found did not match her brother's.
"She did re-investigation. She got recantation from the witnesses. She came to us with a strong case," said defense attorney Barry Scheck, who heads the Innocence Project.
Prosecutors said they will decide whether to pursue a new trial based on review of all the evidence. In a statement, they said their decision not to oppose Waters' request for a new trial does not mean they believe he is innocent.
The case had included allegations by two of Waters' former girlfriends that he had admitted to the murder and an allegation that he sold some of the victim's jewelry five or six weeks later.
On Thursday, Waters said the true story of how he was wrongly convicted was "going to come out and it is going to be shocker." But Scheck jumped in and said there would be no further comment.
Waters had a tearful reunion with his mother and nine brothers and sisters in a courthouse hallway.
"It's a great day. It's a great day," said Waters' mother, Elizabeth O'Connor of Providence, R.I.
"It's great to be free," Waters said.
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.