LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Two men who spent more than 20 years in prison for a "satanic" murder in 1992 have been freed after their convictions were vacated by a Kentucky judge.
Garr Keith Hardin and Jeffrey Dewayne Clark were released on bond Monday, according to media reports. Meade County Circuit Judge Bruce T. Butler overturned their convictions last month in the murder of 19-year-old Rhonda Sue Warford.
The 1995 conviction was based in part on a prosecution claim that a hair found on her body was a "microscopic match" for Hardin. The Innocence Project fought for new testing, which revealed the hair didn't come from Hardin.
Prosecutors also told jurors that items at the crime scene were part of a satanic ritual. Butler found no evidence Warford's murder was inspired by Satanism.
Meade County Commonwealth's Attorney David Michael Williams said he intends to retry the pair.
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