Oklahoma Man Exonerated After 30 Years Wrongfully Imprisoned

Last week, an Oklahoma judge exonerated a man who spent 30 years in prison for a 1987 rape and burglary, after post-conviction DNA testing from a rape kit showed he did not commit the crime. Pontotoc County District Judge Steven Kessinger issued a final order that vacated Perry Lott's conviction and permanently dismissed the case.

In 2014, the survivor of the attack allegedly told an investigator that she was scared to pick the wrong man in the lineup and nothing specific made her choose Lott as the attacker, according to the Innocence Project, who worked with Lott to help him seek exoneration. The Innocence Project says eyewitness misidentification is the leading contributing factor of wrongful convictions and has contributed to 64% of the Innocence Project's 245 exonerations and releases. 

Lott was released from prison in 2018 after the DNA results first came to light, but only after agreeing to a deal with former District Attorney Paul Smith to modify his sentence. The agreement allowed Lott to leave prison and remain free while his motion to vacate was litigated. At the time, Smith said the DNA evidence did not exclude Lott as a suspect.

But earlier this year, the Innocence Project approached newly elected District Attorney Erik Johnson, who reviewed the case and agreed the conviction should be vacated. "Five years ago, all evidence pointed to his innocence, but he was denied justice," Innocence Project Senior Staff Attorney Adnan Sultan said in a statement. "We are grateful to District Attorney Erik Johnson for his commitment to righting this wrong."

"Former District Attorney Smith's opposition to the irrefutable evidence of Mr. Lott's innocence was a blatant miscarriage of justice," said Barry Scheck, Innocence Project's co-founder. "This unwillingness to acknowledge the truth in addition to the systemic factors at play in Mr. Lott's wrongful conviction cost him 35 precious years, and have plagued other wrongful conviction cases in Ada for decades."

"I have never lost hope that this day would come," Lott, 61, said in a statement. "I had faith that the truth would prevail, even after 35 long years. I can finally shut this door and move on with my life."

To read more about Perry Lott and the work done with the Innocence Project to ensure his exoneration, you can visit his case page, "Perry Lott is Exonerated After 35 Years of Wrongful Conviction in Ada, Oklahoma" at the Innocence Projects website.