Jul 10, 2007 5:02 am US/Central
Man Exonerated After 22 Years In Prison
DNA Testing Cleared The Man Of Murder, Rape Of Children
ELIZABETH, N.J. (CBS) ―
All charges against a man who served 22 years in prison for the murder and rape of two children were dropped on Monday after prosecutors cited new DNA testing that exonerated him.
In a statement released before a scheduled court hearing Monday, Union County Prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow said he decided not to pursue the charges following "careful re-evaluation of the case" against Byron Halsey.
Halsey, 46, was released from prison on May 15 after prosecutors threw out his convictions. New DNA testing, not available when he was convicted, linked a neighbor to the crime.
However, until Monday Halsey still faced charges of aggravated sexual assault, aggravated manslaughter, felony murder, child abuse and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.
Halsey was convicted in 1988 of murdering and sexually assaulting Tyrone and Tina Urquhart, the children of his girlfriend, with whom he lived at a Plainfield rooming house.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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