A service of Salisbury University and University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Exonerated Prisoner Gets $1.5 Million from Virginia

mugshot

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A man who spent more than three decades in prison for a crime he didn't commit could be getting $1.55 million from Virginia.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that a bill to provide compensation to 60-year-old Keith Allen Harward is awaiting Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe's signature.

Harward was released from prison in April 2016 after DNA evidence proved he's innocent of the 1982 killing of Jesse Perron and the rape of his wife in Newport News. Harward was a sailor on the USS Carl Vinson, which was stationed at the shipyard close to the victims' home at the time of the crime.

The legislation providing Harward compensation passed the House and Senate without a single no vote. The governor has until March 27 to sign it into law.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.