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Former inmate, exonerated of rape and released from prison May 3, dies
Former inmate, exonerated of rape and released from prison May 3, dies
FRANK GREEN Richmond Times-Dispatch 16 hrs ago
Calvin Wayne Cunningham, wrongfully convicted of a 1979 rape and who was released from prison May 3 seriously ill with cancer, died Monday morning, said his daughter, Alicia Randall, of Portsmouth.
Cunningham, 68, was exonerated in 2011 of his Newport News rape and burglary convictions as part of Virginia’s post-conviction DNA testing program. He told the Times-Dispatch that the wrongful convictions barred him from good jobs, ruined his life and led him to drug abuse. ... After his 1988 release for the rape conviction, he went back to prison in 1999, 2001, 2005 and 2009 for unrelated crimes.
He was in prison when he was diagnosed with cancer and was serving time for convictions in Chesapeake for grand larceny, contempt of court, obstructing justice and falsely identifying himself to law enforcement. His projected release date was in 2023.
Jonathan Sheldon, a Fairfax lawyer assisting Cunningham in an effort to win compensation for wrongful imprisonment, said that last month Cunningham learned he was suffering from stage 4 pancreatic cancer. ...Sheldon sought a conditional compassionate release for Cunningham from the Virginia State Parole Board. He was released provided he stay at the VCU Medical Center, where he was being treated, or with his family.
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FRANK GREEN Richmond Times-Dispatch 16 hrs ago
Calvin Wayne Cunningham, wrongfully convicted of a 1979 rape and who was released from prison May 3 seriously ill with cancer, died Monday morning, said his daughter, Alicia Randall, of Portsmouth.
Cunningham, 68, was exonerated in 2011 of his Newport News rape and burglary convictions as part of Virginia’s post-conviction DNA testing program. He told the Times-Dispatch that the wrongful convictions barred him from good jobs, ruined his life and led him to drug abuse. ... After his 1988 release for the rape conviction, he went back to prison in 1999, 2001, 2005 and 2009 for unrelated crimes.
He was in prison when he was diagnosed with cancer and was serving time for convictions in Chesapeake for grand larceny, contempt of court, obstructing justice and falsely identifying himself to law enforcement. His projected release date was in 2023.
Jonathan Sheldon, a Fairfax lawyer assisting Cunningham in an effort to win compensation for wrongful imprisonment, said that last month Cunningham learned he was suffering from stage 4 pancreatic cancer. ...Sheldon sought a conditional compassionate release for Cunningham from the Virginia State Parole Board. He was released provided he stay at the VCU Medical Center, where he was being treated, or with his family.
{snip}