WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - A man who spent about half of his life behind bars for a murder he said he didn’t commit was released from prison after Delaware prosecutors decided to essentially dismiss his case.
Mark Purnell walked out of the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center late Thursday, just after a New Castle County prosecutor filed a memo ending a bid to retry him for the 2006 killing of Tamika Giles in a Wilmington neighborhood, The News Journal of Wilmington reported.
Friday was the deadline for prosecutors to file legal briefs responding to Purnell’s arguments for the case to end or let him get out on bail before his scheduled August retrial.
“It is like a dream,” said Purnell, 32, who hadn’t been freed since he was 16. “It is a dream come true.”
In overturning his second-degree murder conviction last year, the Delaware Supreme Court last year said that new evidence from attorneys and investigators created a “strong inference” that Purnell was innocent.
New Castle prosecutor Annemarie Puit wrote Thursday that “there remains evidence” Purnell committed the crime, but added that prosecutors pursue trials only in cases they believe have a “reasonable likelihood of conviction.”
“After careful consideration of all the evidence in the case, the state has determined it can no longer ethically proceed,” Puit wrote.
Prosecutors met with Giles’ family twice in April and are “disappointed that they will not see justice here.” A spokesperson for the Delaware Department of Justice declined further comment beyond Thursday’s memo.
Purnell began his attempts to be freed with a handwritten, 133-page appeal filed without the help of attorneys in 2010. His appeal was rejected and revived by various courts. His efforts were boosted by the involvement of lawyers.
The Supreme Court ruling discredited much of the testimony used to convict Purnell. The court also criticized Wilmington police for “troubling” investigative tactics used during the interrogation of a teenager who would become the state’s primary witness.
Purnell said he may eventually seek compensation for his time behind bars, which could be asked for through a federal lawsuit. For now, Purnell looks forward to spending time with family.
“I want to be successful and be a positive energy in this world,” he said. “I’ve got to prove right everyone that believed in me.”
