After spending 32 years behind bars for a murder he always maintained he did not commit, Darrell Jones is officially a free man after a jury found him not guilty this week in a retrial. Jones’ conviction was first vacated in 2017, when a superior court judge ruled his initial trial was rife with problems: a video of a witness deposition that had been doctored by Brockton police, and evidence of racism among some jurors. After Plymouth County prosecutors announced their intent to re-charge Jones, his lawyers pushed for the case to be dismissed. While that motion was denied, the second trial lasted only three days, with Jones declared not guilty on Tuesday after just two hours of deliberation by the jury.
In for Jim Braude, Adam Reilly was joined by Jenifer McKim, the senior reporter behind the New England Center for Investigative Reporting’s coverage of Jones’ case.