Inmate may be freed after DNA raises doubts in Ohio slaying

This undated photo provided by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction shows Evin King, who has spent 23 years in an Ohio prison for the 1994 strangulation of his girlfriend Crystal Hudson. King, who has maintained his innocence, could be released soon after Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Prosecutor Michael O'Malley's office in Cleveland asked a court Monday, April 17, 2017, to vacate King's conviction, based on advances in DNA testing and interpreting forensic evidence. (Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction via AP) (The Associated Press)

A man who has spent 23 years in an Ohio prison for his girlfriend's slaying but maintains his innocence could be released soon after the new county prosecutor in Cleveland asked a court to vacate his conviction.

Cuyahoga (ky-uh-HOH'-guh) County prosecutors asked that 59-year-old Evin King be granted bail while they further investigate. Prosecutors say advances in DNA testing and understanding forensic evidence have called into question the theory of the crime that prosecutors presented at King's trial in 1995.

Cleveland.com (http://bit.ly/2pNNwwH ) reports King learned about the development in a phone call from the Ohio Innocence Project, which has represented him in appeals. In video of the call, King says he knew such a day would come eventually.

His girlfriend, Crystal Hudson, was strangled and found in her closet in 1994.

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Information from: cleveland.com, http://www.cleveland.com