USA TODAY: ASHEVILLE, N.C. ..Prosecutors and investigators interrogated [Kenneth Kagonyera ]repeatedly, he says, and told him he faced at least 25 years in prison for first-degree murder, with life or a death sentence possible. So he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 2000 slaying of Walter Rodney Bowman…
Kagonyera was sentenced to 15 years in prison, as was his co-defendant, Robert Wilcoxson. Both continue to maintain their innocence.
In September, the two men are scheduled to have a hearing before a three-judge panel that could free them. The hearing comes after the N.C. Innocence Inquiry Commission in April found enough evidence to indicate the men are innocent. That evidence includes the confession of another man and DNA testing that points to other suspects. … (more)
EDITOR: So much for the reliability of plea bargains. They can be rammed down the throats of the innocent. Just ask our former commissioners.
