DNA Database Exonerates Leonard Mack, Ending 47-Year Wrongful Conviction

Leonard Mack has been exonerated after spending nearly five decades in prison for a rape and weapon possession conviction. New DNA testing of crime scene evidence, conducted by the Innocence Project and the Westchester County District Attorney's Conviction Review Unit, proved Mack's innocence. The DNA profile uploaded to the database led to the identification and confession of the actual assailant. Mack's wrongful conviction was the longest to be overturned based on DNA evidence. The case involved unreliable witness identifications, racial bias, and tunnel vision, highlighting the common contributing factors in wrongful convictions.