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Michigan man free on bond after 45 years in prison

Michigan man free on bond after 45 years in prison | iNFOnews.ca
Richard Phillips is seen outside a Wayne County jail, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017 in Detroit after being released after 45 years in prison. Phillips was released while prosecutors appeal a decision that granted him a new trial in a 1971 murder. Phillips has long declared his innocence in the fatal shooting of Gregory Harris. He was convicted largely on the testimony of a trial witness who's now dead. Phillips' big break occurred in 2014 when the Innocence Clinic at University of Michigan law school learned that another man said Phillips had absolutely no role. (AP Photo/Ed White) A

DETROIT – A Detroit man whose 1972 murder conviction was thrown out has been released from prison while prosecutors appeal a decision that grants him a new trial.

Richard Phillips’ conviction was erased in August after 45 years. But the 71-year-old had remained in custody until a judge this week said he could be released with an electronic tether.

Phillips pointed to the sky Thursday as he left a Detroit-area jail. The temperature was 22 degrees (-5.56 Celsius), but he says he would have walked in his bare feet. Phillips says, “It’s already a merry Christmas.”

He has long declared his innocence in the fatal shooting of Gregory Harris. In 2014, University of Michigan law school learned that a co-defendant said Phillips had no role. The disclosure had been made to the Michigan parole board.

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This story has been corrected to show conviction was in 1972.

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Abbey Westbury

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