Paul Hildwin always maintained his innocence.

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John,

This morning, our client Paul Hildwin finally walked out of a Florida prison as a free person after 35 years in prison, including 29 years on death row for a murder he always maintained he did not commit. Paul, who has survived cancer four times, was facing a retrial for a murder that took place in Hernando County in 1985 and accepted a plea agreement today to avoid a second death penalty trial—and to finally be free. Read more about Paul's fight for justice. ([link removed])


** "I am looking forward to the feel of grass under my bare feet for the first time in 35 years."
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Paul Hildwin
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In 2014, the Florida Supreme Court reversed Paul’s capital murder conviction and death sentence based on DNA testing and the results of a court-ordered search of the national DNA database, which ultimately proved that the evidence originally used to tie Paul to the crime actually belonged to the victim’s estranged boyfriend.

Though the court ruled that the new DNA evidence created enough doubt about Paul’s guilt that it “would probably produce an acquittal on retrial,” prosecutors said they would retry him and would seek another death sentence. As a result, Paul remained in prison until today.
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** Paul Hildwin after he was released from prison with his team including Kate O'Shea (left), investigator, and Lyann Goudie (right) of Goudie & Kohn, P.A., who led the retrial team since 2014. Photo courtesy of Kate O'Shea.
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“Paul Hildwin’s unwavering determination to one day walk free enabled him to survive three and a half decades behind bars, during which he battled four bouts of cancer,” said Nina Morrison, Innocence Project senior litigation counsel, who helped represent Hildwin on his appeals from 2004-2014, alongside Fort Lauderdale attorney Martin McClain. Since 2014, Paul has been chiefly represented by Tampa attorney Lyann Goudie—who took on Paul’s case six years ago, free of charge, at the request of the Innocence Project, and who worked tirelessly to win Paul’s release from prison today.

“It is outrageous that Paul was held in jail for five more years after the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the new DNA would likely lead to his acquittal," said Morrison. "And while we hoped that he would be fully exonerated, we are thrilled that Paul will not spend another day behind bars or face another death penalty trial.”
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We are grateful to the incredible team that worked tirelessly to bring Paul home and to you for your support along the way. Read more about his case here. ([link removed])

Thank you,

—The Innocence Project Team


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