N.C. man exonerated, freed after 17 years in prison

RALEIGH, N.C. — Three judges voted Wednesday to give Greg Taylor his life back.

The judges voted unanimously to undo Taylor’s 1993 conviction of murdering Jacquetta Thomas, a prostitute in Raleigh. Their decision exonerates Taylor and releases him from a term of life in prison.

After the decision was read, Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby walked over to Taylor, shook his hand and apologized that he had been convicted.

Taylor was then taken into a private room, where his
leg shackles were removed, before he returned to reunite with his
family. He met his son-in-law, Charles Puryear, for the first time and hugged Yolanda Littlejohn, sister of the woman he had been accused of murdering.

Taylor, 47, is the first person in North Carolina
to be exonerated using a new process established to handle convicted
people’s claims of innocence. Last September, the North Carolina
Innocence Inquiry Commission voted unanimously that Taylor’s case
warranted further review.

Three judges — Wake County Superior Court Judge Howard Manning, District Judge Tanya Wallace of Rockingham and Mecklenberg County Superior Court Judge Calvin Murphy — were appointed to consider Taylor’s case this month.

Taylor has sworn from the start that he did not kill Thomas. He and a drug partner, Johnny Beck, were targeted by police because Taylor’s truck was found stuck in mud near Thomas’ battered body in an isolated cul-de-sac in Southeast Raleigh.

This month, Taylor’s attorneys discredited evidence used to persuade a jury to convict him in 1993.

Testimony showed that no blood, contrary to trial
testimony, was found on Taylor’s truck; a State Bureau of Investigation
agent had run the tests that would show that — but had not reported it
to prosecutors in Taylor’s trial.

A police canine’s behavior probably was
misinterpreted by her master, another expert testified. A prostitute
who said she saw the victim with Taylor testified that she wouldn’t bet
her life on her recollection. And another prostitute who testified that
she saw Thomas with Taylor described a scenario that would have been
physically impossible.

Taylor and his family have been fighting for his
release for 17 years. Every appeal failed. This hearing was his last
chance to clear his name and regain his freedom.

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