CLEVELAND -- A man who spent more than 21 years on death row is free after a judge dismissed the murder charge against him in a 1988 stabbing death in Cleveland.
Cuyahoga County Judge John J. Russo on Thursday dismissed the charge of aggravated murder against Michael Keenan, 62, after determining evidence that could have exonerated him was withheld from his trial attorneys.
Keenan was convicted twice of killing Tony Klann in Cleveland's Rockefeller Park.
Keenan's attorney says a Catholic priest who befriended Keenan's co-defendant helped uncover evidence favorable to both men.
A federal judge in April had ruled that Keenan must be retried or the verdict set side.
Co-defendant Joseph D'Ambrosio was freed in 2010 by a judge who determined evidence that could have exonerated D'Ambrosio was withheld from his trial attorneys.
The Associated Press