California Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday pardoned a 70-year-old man who spent nearly four decades behind bars for two murders that officials now believe he did not commit.
Craig Coley was convicted in 1980 of strangling to death his ex-girlfriend and fatally smothering her 4-year-old son, according to Brown's pardon. For 39 years, Coley maintained his innocence.
In recent years, multiple investigations, including one Brown requested more than two years ago, led to the discovery of new evidence that revealed Coley was wrongfully convicted. Police concluded that the detective who originally investigated the case "mishandled the investigation or framed" Coley, the pardon said.
Coley will be released from prison immediately.
Early one November morning in 1978, Rhonda Wicht, 24, was beaten and strangled to death with a macrame rope in her apartment. Her son, Donald, was smothered to death in his bed.
Investigators zeroed in on Coley, who was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder after a second trial. The first trial resulted in a hung jury. In 1980, Coley was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors and police this week said that a key piece of evidence used to convict him didn't contain his DNA but instead contained the DNA of others. Officials said they reopened the case after a retired detective raised concerns about whether Coley was guilty.
Coley had no criminal history and has been a "model inmate" during his incarceration, avoiding gangs and dedicating himself to religion, Brown said in the pardon.
"The grace with which Mr. Coley has endured this lengthy and unjust incarceration is extraordinary," Brown wrote, adding that he has the support of the Ventura County district attorney's office and Simi Valley police chief. "It is my hope that any and all individuals responsible for the murder of Rhonda and Donald Wicht are brought to justice."
Ventura County District Attorney Gregory D. Totten and Simi Valley Police Chief David M. Livingstone released a statement saying they no longer have confidence in the conviction and called for Coley's release.
"This is a tragic case," they wrote in a joint letter. "An innocent woman and a small child were murdered. Craig Coley has spent 39 years in custody for a crime he likely didn't commit. The real murderer or murderers have not been brought to justice."
Totten and Livingstone said authorities have reopened the case in hopes of finding the real killer.
