No new murder trial for Connecticut man freed by DNA tests

HARTFORD, Conn. – A judge has dismissed a murder charge against a Connecticut man who was imprisoned for 18 years on a conviction that was dismissed as the result of DNA tests.

Alfred Swinton was released from prison last June after the new evidence showed he was not the source of bite marks on the victim of a 1991 homicide.

The Hartford Courant reports that Swinton walked out of court a free man on Thursday after prosecutors announced they would not subject him to a new trial.

Swinton was convicted in 2001 of killing Carla Terry in Hartford and sentenced to 60 years in prison. A dentist who testified about the bite marks later recanted that testimony and lawyers with the Innocence Project brought ahead new evidence that further undermined the case against Swinton.

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This story has been corrected to show that prosecutors announced they would not subject Swinton to a new trial.