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Wrongfully Convicted Man Free 20 Years Later
By BRIM | November 27, 2008
UTICA  When Steven Barnes became a free man Tuesday morning, he didn’t immediately head for the doors to escape the Oneida County Courthouse that had wrongfully sent him to prison nearly 20 years ago.
Instead, the 42-year-old Marcy man spent more than two hours soaking up an opportunity that long had been stolen from him - the chance to live in the moment, to hug people metal bars once kept at a distance, and to hear the voices of friends and family he hasn’t seen in almost two decades.
“I want to get out of here, but everyone has my ear,� Barnes said before walking over to a group of middle-aged men, some with gray hair, who were patiently waiting.
“I got old, Barnesy,� Mark Biamonte of Marcy told his high school friend.
While his friends were getting jobs, getting married and having children, Barnes was serving 25 years to life in prison for the 1985 rape and murder of 16-year-old Kimberly Simon, a crime Barnes always maintained he did not commit.
“Prison’s crazy,â€? Barnes told his friends. “I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.â€?
Suddenly, in just a matter of days, it was time for Barnes to make up for lost time after a joint motion by the Innocence Project and the Oneida County District Attorney’s Office vacated Barnes’ 1989 conviction based on DNA results that prove Barnes did not rape Simon, a Whitesboro High School junior.
But for all the days and years Barnes remained in prison since he was 23, he has never felt any anger, Barnes said. Instead Barnes’ smiles, laughter and upbeat demeanor echoed his belief that one day the truth would come out, he said.
“I’ve waited for this for 20 years,â€? Barnes told a circle of news reporters, each trying to capture what Barnes was feeling the moment his shackles fell to the floor.
“I never gave up hope,â€? he said. “I knew this day would come. I didn’t know when, but I knew it would come.â€?
Barnes’ mother, Sylvia Bouchard, then spoke something she probably had been waiting for years to shout out.
“DNA is God’s signature, and DNA doesn’t lie,â€? Bouchard said alongside her son. “Now everyone knows he’s innocent.â€?
Topics: News & General Discussion |
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