US & Canada


  • 1 hour ago
by Alyssa Mann and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, New Orleans

Robert Jones and Julie Stott in a composite imageImage copyright BBC/Trinity Mirror
Image caption Robert Jones (left) has always strongly denied murdering Julie Stott (right)
A US man whose conviction was overturned after serving more than 23 years in jail for crimes including the killing of a UK tourist has been freed.
"It's a great day," Robert Jones, 42, said as he left Orleans Parish Prison in Louisiana on Friday.
Mr Jones was sentenced to life for rape, robbery and the manslaughter of Julie Stott in 1992.
He was jailed even though another man, Lester Jones, had already been convicted of the murder.
There had also been compelling evidence that linked him to all of the crimes Robert Jones was accused of having committed.
State prosecutors had withheld crucial evidence in Robert Jones's trial. In June, a Louisiana court ruled that he did not get a fair trial, but he remained in prison.
Media captionA man has been in prison in the US for 23 years for shooting dead a British tourist, even though the judge in his case and police detectives believe he is innocent of the crime.
Last month, the murder detective and the judge from Mr Jones's original trial told BBC News they believed his conviction had been a miscarriage of justice.
This week a judge said he could leave prison on bail pending a retrial, citing "disturbing testimony from a lead detective".
Speaking outside the prison, Mr Jones's mother described his release as a "blessed day".
His daughter Bree, who was born after he was jailed, said: "I've been looking forward to it for a long time."

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