Being in jail for a crime you didn’t commit is one of the scariest possible outcomes you can think of. In the last decade, people have been trying harder than ever to get innocent loved ones out of jail. It may have been due to petty crimes that didn’t deserve the large sentence, or for trials that didn’t properly provide the correct evidence needed. One of those cases is Ricky Davis.
Back in 2005, Ricky Davis was convicted for a crime he swears he didn’t commit. His roommate at the time, Janet Hylton, was a known newspaper columnist. During the original 1985 investigation, when the incident happened, they couldn’t figure out who may have been the culprit. Years later, they decided on Ricky.
However, in a shocking twist, new DNA evidence actually led them to a different suspect, who was arrested on Tuesday. Prior to, Ricky had passed a lie detector test and stated that the state had lost key evidence proving his innocence. He was correct. According to the Sacramento Bee, the true criminal was just a juvenile during the time of the murder. They also hint that it may have been someone who knew Janet Hylton’s teenage daughter, who was home at the time.
Ricky spent 14 years in jail for a crime he didn’t commit. It makes you think about all of the other inmates who were falsely accused. There are likely hundreds of inmates currently paying a sentence for someone else.
Watch the video and see what Ricky’s mom thinks about the case.