WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - A man convicted of rape after questionable FBI forensic testimony at his 1980 trial has been released from prison.
Fifty-six-year-old Elmer Daniels was released Thursday after prosecutors dropped the case.
Daniels’ conviction was called into question after federal officials concluded earlier this year that FBI testimony about hair evidence in the case was invalid.
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An FBI agent testified at Daniels’ trial that hair evidence linked him to the assault of a 15-year-old girl. Authorities say that testimony “exceeded the limits of science.”
Prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss the indictment but noted that they were unable to declare Daniels innocent.
They also noted, however, that were he to be convicted of rape today, the presumptive sentence is 15 years, less than half the amount of time he spent behind bars.
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