In 1984, a nine-year-old girl was found dead in the woods, having been sexually assaulted, strangled, and beaten with a rock.
An anonymous caller told the police that a 6 feet, 5 inches tall, thin, white man with curly blond hair and a bushy moustache had been seen with the victim that day. The man arrested was 6 feet, had red hair and was over 200 pounds.
Despite there being no physical evidence connecting him to the crime, Kirk Bloodsworth was convicted of rape and murder and was sentenced to death row.
In 1989, Kirk read about a new forensic breakthrough called DNA fingerprinting and the opportunities it could bring to prove his innocence. His DNA testing was finally agreed in 1992.
The victim’s shorts and underwear, a stick found at the scene, and an autopsy slide were compared against DNA from the victim and Kirk.
Kirk was innocent.
He was released from prison in June 1993 after spending almost nine years behind bars.
Not only did the system fail the poor girl, but they also failed Kirk. As he said, “If it could happen to me, it could happen to anybody.”
After his release, Kirk began fighting for others who had been wrongly convicted.
In 2003, the real killer was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
