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Alabama frees man after 30 years on death row
State says it lacks evidence
Death Row Inmate Heal
Pat Turner, left, hugs Anthony Ray Hinton as he leaves the Jefferson County jail Friday in Birmingham, Ala. Hinton spent nearly 30 years on Alabama's death row, and was set free Friday after prosecutors told a judge they won't re-try him for the 1985 slayings of two fast-food managers.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A man who spent nearly 30 years on Alabama's death row walked free Friday hours after prosecutors acknowledged that the only evidence they had against him couldn't prove he committed the crime. Ray Hinton was 29 when he was arrested for two 1985 killings. Freed at age 58, with grey hair and a beard, he was embraced by his sobbing sisters, who said "thank you Jesus," as they wrapped their arms around him outside the Jefferson County Jail.
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