PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A man who spent nearly 30 years in prison for the arson murder of a woman in West Philadelphia is now free after a Philadelphia judge exonerated him on Wednesday.
Daniel Gwynn, 54, was convicted of first-degree murder in 1994 and sentenced to death. Citing a flawed investigation, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office filed a motion for all charges to be dropped.
Following a short hearing on Wednesday, Common Pleas Court Judge Barbara McDermott granted the motion and ordered Gwynn to be released from prison.
"Because of all of the evidence that was uncovered in this case over the last 10 years, we are no longer confident that Mr. Gwynn is actually guilty of this crime,” said Assistant District Attorney David Napiorski. “I think a lot of the evidence that we uncovered over time, I don't think it was purposely hidden. I think wires got crossed, and accidents happened and mistakes were made — and we're lucky that things were caught and we were able to kind of correct this injustice of the past."
Gwynn's attorney Karl Schwartz tells KYW Newsradio his client's re-entry into society isn't going to be easy after being locked up for so long, but Gwynn is driven to succeed.
"I don't know how he kept his spirit alive. I think his art was a big part of it. He is an amazing artist.”
Schwartz says he hopes his client will be able to explore his talent as he re-adjusts to society.
The District Attorney's Office under Larry Krasner has supported 42 exonerations of 41 wrongfully convicted people. The district attorney's website has more details about the case.