Before “Serial” and “Making a Murderer,” and before DNA evidence was a staple of trials on TV and in real life, an innocent man was sentenced to death. In 1985, Kirk Bloodsworth, a 23-year-old honorably discharged Marine was convicted of the rape and murder of a 9-year-old girl based on the testimony of five so-called eyewitnesses. As the prison librarian, Kirk found a book about the first time DNA was used to solve homicides in England. After nine years
in prison, and many twists and turns, including a judge fortuitously saving the victim’s underwear, Kirk became the first death row pris
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