NC man savors freedom 5 years after prison release

WINSTON-SALEM — The North Carolina man who spent 19 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit says if there are people who still think he’s guilty, they don’t confront him.

The Winston-Salem Journal interviewed Darryl Hunt, who on Wednesday will mark his fifth anniversary of freedom. He had been convicted twice for the 1984 rape and murder of a Winston-Salem newspaper copy editor. He was later cleared by DNA testing.

Hunt now runs a program that helps released convicts readjust to life outside prison. The 43-year-old says one client was a man involved in the murder of Hunt’s mother when he was 9 years old.

Hunt says the best feeling is knowing he can move around freely in the home he shares with his wife, three stepchildren and a dog.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)