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Robert McClendon, exonerated by DNA testing performed by DDC, is home for the holidays for the first time in 18 years. He was released August 11 after DNA evidence cleared him of a child rape charge.

McClendon is the 7th Ohio exoneree (read about the other six in this Columbus Dispatch article) and his is the first case in which DDC provided the testing as part of its pro bono services for the Ohio Innocence project.

Read more about his story in this news article, entitled “Home for the Holidays, after 18 years.”

DDC’s forensics division has worked with The Ohio Innocence Project and the Franklin County Prosecutor’s office to provide DNA testing that resulted in the release of longtime prison inmate Robert McClendon. After 18 years of imprisonment, a Franklin County, Ohio, judge ordered McClendon’s release after DNA analysis found no match between McClendon’s DNA sample and the DNA found in the submitted evidence. Based on this new evidence, McClendon walked out of the courtroom a free man on August 12.

In January, The Columbus Dispatch ran a five-part investigative series that re-examined the cases of 313 inmates who had requested DNA testing in the state of Ohio. Together with the Ohio Innocence Project, the Dispatch investigative team selected 30 cases they determined to have “legitimate claims of innocence.”

DDC offered to administer the DNA testing for these selected cases free of charge, in the interest of pursuing justice through science. The case of Robert McClendon marks the first of these cases to be resolved, with DNA testing playing a critical role in its outcome.

For more details on McClendon’s case, or to read the five-day investigative series that prompted the DNA testing, entitled “Test of Convictions,” visit the website of The Columbus Dispatch. Also read DDC’s press release to learn more about our role in the testing.

CBS News reports the release of the 200^th man made free after DNA testing proved his innocence, with help from the Innocence Project. Jerry Miller was exonerated from charges made 26 years ago for rape, kidnapping, and robbery.

The Innocence Project, founded 14 years ago at the Yeshiva University law school, is today a network of non-profit legal clinics that assist the incarcerated by providing representation or legal assistance. The Project has been using DNA technology to free innocent people, and also works to reform the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice, according to their website.

“Forensic DNA testing methods have really provided a way to give a more complete picture of the crime scene,” comments Dr. Michael Baird, Laboratory Director at DNA Diagnostics Center, which offers DNA consultation services through its Forensics division. In its Ohio headquarters, DDC Forensics provides DNA testing to the Ohio Innocence Project hosted by the University of Cincinnati Law School.