Donate Sharpe was finally freed after spending 24 years in prison for a crime he did not commit even after a key witness had “entirely made up” her testimony
It was a moment of great joy as justice was finally served.
Donate Sharpe was falsely convicted for murder and jailed for 24 years, but finally freedom has beckoned at him.
Sharpe had suffered injustice after a key witness Johnson lied against him 24 years ago and was subsequently convicted and jailed.
Gratefully, Sharpe was finally granted a full pardon by North Caroline Governor Roy Copper on Friday after decades of fight for his freedom.
Johnson had not only withdrawn her initial testimony, if tried again she would testify that “she was not present at the time of the shooting and that her trial testimony was entirely made up based on what she saw on television and what investigators told her.”
In addition to that, the medical examiner of the trial, Dr Mary Gilliand only learned of Johnson’s false testimony “well after the trial was over” and if called to a retrial would testify that Johnson’s initial description of the shooting was “medically and scientifically impossible.”
Speaking about the case, Cooper said: “I have carefully reviewed Dontae Sharpe’s case and am granting him a Pardon of Innocence.
“Mr Sharpe and others who have been wrongly convicted deserve to have that injustice fully and publicly acknowledged.”
Throughout his sentence, Sharpe maintained his innocence and refused to take a lighter sentence in exchange for a guilty plea.
After being declared innocent, Sharpe said: “I’m still in a haze, kind of. When you’re dealing with us human beings, it can go any way, yes and no.
“I didn’t know what to expect. I was believing for a pardon.”
“My family’s name has been cleared. It’s a burden off of my shoulders and my family’s shoulders.”
Sharpe hopes to continue with his fight to help others who have been convicted wrongfully.
He added: “My freedom is still incomplete as long as there’s still people going to prison wrongfully, if there’s still people in prison wrongfully and there’s still people that are waiting on pardons.
“I’ve been in there and know there are guys that are innocent and know that our system is corrupt and needs to be changed.”