KANKAKEE, Ill. (AP) – Prosecutors in Kankakee County have dropped charges against a man who spent nearly two decades in prison for a murder conviction in a case he says was self-defense.
The Chicago Tribune reports Terrence Haynes’ attorney told him when he arrived at court Monday morning that he wouldn’t be retried in the 1999 shooting death of 18-year-old Cezaire Murrell. Last month prosecutors said they were reconsidering whether to retry Haynes after a child witness recanted testimony.
State’s Attorney Jim Rowe says his office made the decision after interviewing witnesses with “a fresh set of eyes.” Hayes says it’s rare for the county’s prosecutors to drop a first-degree murder case after a conviction is overturned.
Haynes has said he was forced to shoot Murrell after the man threatened him with a gun.