'Little miracles,' DNA evidence led to death-row inmate's exoneration

Published: 2004-11-04

ST. PAUL, Minn. (CNS) -- It reads like the plot of a crime thriller: A man is falsely accused of a brutal murder. He proclaims his innocence but is sentenced to death. After many years in prison, with the help of DNA evidence and a passionate lawyer, he is exonerated and ultimately finds the real killer -- a man with whom he had spent years in prison. But this story is no work of fiction. It happened to Kirk Bloodsworth, a crab fisherman from Maryland. Bloodsworth and Maryland attorney and novelist Tim Junkin were at Hamline University in St. Paul this fall to promote Junkin's book, "Bloodsworth: The True Story of the First Death Row Inmate Exonerated by DNA" (Shannon Ravenel Books, $24.95) and talk about the death penalty issue. Bloodsworth said his faith in God kept him from giving up hope throughout two trials and appeals and nine horrific years labeled as a child rapist and killer in the Maryland Penitentiary.

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