DNA testing proved he was wrongly convicted in connection with a 1979 Dallas rape, robbery and abduction. Dupree, 51, spent three decades in prison – more time behind bars than any other Texan later cleared by DNA testing.
"It's a joy to be free again," Dupree said Tuesday in a brief hearing. Applause broke out in the courtroom full of other exonerees after state District Judge Don Adams told Dupree, "You're free to go."
Dupree's exoneration could be the first in a new wave of cases, albeit probably a small wave.
With 21 DNA exonerations in Dallas County – more than any county in the nation since 2001 – it was believed there were few wrongly incarcerated people left who could be cleared by DNA evidence. Authorities thought that evidence with DNA had only been preserved by the county's lab since 1981.
How DNA Evidence Helps Exonerate
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