California governor pardons man following advanced DNA test
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A 70-year-old California man convicted nearly four decades ago of killing his ex-girlfriend and her 4-year-old son walked out of prison Wednesday after DNA tests showed he was wrongfully convicted.
Gov. Jerry Brown pardoned Craig Richard Coley and ordered his immediate release from a state prison in Lancaster.
Coley has maintained his innocence since he was arrested on the same day 24-year-old Rhonda Wicht and her 4-year-old son, Donald Wicht, were found dead in her Simi Valley apartment on Nov. 11, 1978.
Brown wrote in his pardon that Coley has been a model inmate for 38 years, avoided gangs and violence, and dedicated himself to religion.