The Latest: Man freed after judge tosses murder conviction

HARTFORD, Conn. – The Latest on a Connecticut man being granted a new trial and freed after new DNA testing cast doubt on his conviction for a 1991 murder (all times local):

2:15 p.m.

A Connecticut man who spent nearly two decades in prison for a 1991 murder has been freed on home confinement after a judge dismissed his conviction and granted him a new trial based on DNA testing.

Alfred Swinton shouted “Freedom! Freedom!” as he walked out of a Hartford courthouse Thursday.

A judge threw out the conviction and granted Swinton’s request for a new trial after new DNA testing showed he wasn’t the source of bite marks on the body of Carla Terry, who was strangled in Hartford. The murder charge remains pending, and prosecutors plan to retry him.

State’s Attorney Gail Hardy requested $500,000 bail. But Judge Julia DiCocco Dewey said the evidence is now under serious challenge and released Swinton on a promise to appear in court July 20.

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12:09 p.m.

A judge has dismissed a murder conviction against a Connecticut man accused of strangling a woman in 1991 after new DNA tests showed he was not the source of bite marks on her body.

Hartford Superior Court Judge Julia DiCocco Dewey ordered a new trial Thursday for Alfred Swinton. He was ordered released on a promise to return to court later.

Swinton was convicted in 2001 of killing Carla Terry in Hartford based, in part, of the testimony of a dentist who said Swinton’s teeth matched the bite marks. The dentist has recanted his testimony, citing new developments in the understanding of bite mark evidence.

Lawyers with the Innocence Project pushed for the new DNA testing.

Swinton was investigated, but not charged, in four other 1990s killings. He has denied killing anyone.