DETROIT – An exoneration hearing will be held Wednesday afternoon for a Detroit man who was found to be innocent on charges he was convicted of 15 years ago.
At 1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 27, Terance Calhoun is set to appear for an exoneration hearing, after his initial hearing was postponed last week when a Detroit police officer brought it to a halt.
Update: Exoneration hearing to be held Wednesday for Terance Calhoun
In 2006, Calhoun pleaded no contest to charges against him including first-degree criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping. A review of the case revealed that DNA evidence shows the crimes Calhoun was charged for were actually committed by someone else.
When Calhoun appeared in court on April 22 for his exoneration hearing, an officer approached the judge and requested that they review “new evidence” against Calhoun. Public defenders said that the information presented by the officer to the judge was “nothing new,” and has “already been thoroughly investigated.”
The exoneration hearing was rescheduled for Wednesday.
“We are gonna have a swift investigation on this issue and get to the bottom of it,” Detroit Police Chief James White said last week.
Read more: Detroit man set to walk free from prison until officer brought exoneration hearing to halt
The case against Calhoun dates back to 2006 when someone sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl and attempted to assault a 15-year-old girl near a liquor store on Fenkell Avenue in Detroit.
Both girls picked Calhoun out of separate lineups.
Calhoun was sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison. Recently, DNA evidence has indicated the crimes were committed by another man. That man is facing charges.
“I want to stress that the Calhoun case was never a Sexual Assault Kit Task Force case. However, important Sexual Assault Kit Task Force protocols for reviewing criminal sexual conduct cases, implemented after the SAKs were discovered in 2009, allowed the CIU to consult with them to evaluate significant evidence in Mr. Calhoun’s case. This evidence disproved that he committed the two crimes,” said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. “We are currently prosecuting the defendant who is alleged to be the perpetrator of criminal sexual conduct crimes. Because the cases are in progress, we are ethically prohibited from releasing further information at this time.”
The State Appellate Defender Office released the statement below about Calhoun and these cases on April 22.
Mr. Calhoun is innocent. DNA testing exonerates him and instead points to a suspected serial rapist. Mr. Calhoun should have been freed today. Instead, because a police officer acting alone with no authority could not face the facts, Mr. Calhoun remains wrongfully incarcerated, which is unconscionable.
We have been informed that the information that the officer attempted to present to the judge today is nothing new and has already been thoroughly investigated.
State Appellate Defender Office
Previously: Release of exonerated man delayed after Detroit cop claims to have new evidence in court