Man Who Spent 28 Years in Prison Cleared by DNA Testing
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A man who spent 28 years in prison for a rape and murder has been freed after DNA testing showed he's innocent.
Fifty-eight-year-old Donald Eugene Gates left the federal prison in Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday, just hours after a Washington judge ordered his release.
Gates tells The Associated Press it feels "beautiful" to be free. He says his faith in God helped him get through his incarceration.
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Judge Fred Ugast, who presided over Gates' trial, ordered his release just hours before.
Gates was convicted of the 1981 rape and murder of 21-year-old Catherine Schilling.
Recent testing showed Gates is not a match for DNA found on Schilling's body and the work of an FBI forensic analyst involved in the investigation has been called into question.