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Innocent Man Released After 34 Long Years
Jim Lewis pushed for new DNA investigation for decades.
Prison is not a pleasant place by design, and many critics point out how it further hardens up criminals, pushing them towards a future of harsher crime. However, what happens when you put an innocent man in that inhospitable environment. Sadly, America is full of such stories. Jim Lewis’ story is one of those many ones.
Lured Into Car And Raped
It all started with 15-year-old Deann “Kathy” Long’s murder. On July 31, 1976, a man picking blackberries happened upon poor Kathy’s partially covered, dead body in the woods 400 yards away from her home in Indiana County, Pennsylvania.
The young teenager had been brutally raped and then shot in the back of the head. Autopsy results revealed that she was shot from a distance; sadly, her attempt to escape had backfired, resulting in the loss of her life.
The Long family was devastated, and Kathy’s sister, Lola, had much to tell the police. Lola was the last person to see Kathy alive. On their way back from school, Kathy had entered a blue car after the driver anxiously told the sisters that their brother had been in a nearby car accident.
Thinking the stranger to be nothing more than a good samaritan, Kathy entered the car while Lola rushed home to inform their parents. However, much to their alarm, the brother was unharmed. That naturally made them fear for Kathy: who knew what the man would do to her? The family was right to fear for Kathy’s life, as was evident from what transpired the next day.
Police Sketch Is The Only Lead
Everything started going downhill for Jim, starting with Lola’s sketch. According to the 12-year-old Lola, the man was between 20 to 30 years of age, standing 5'3" to 5'55" inches, with black curly hair and straight sideburns.
