Prosecutor writes emotional apology to terminally ill innocent death row prisoner

A US prosecutor has apologised to a terminally ill man exonerated after 30 years on death row, saying he was only interested in winning the trial.

Glenn Ford, an African American man, was convicted by an all-white jury in 1983 for the robbery and murder of a watchmaker in Shreveport, Louisana.

Now 65 and suffering Stage 4 lung cancer, Mr Ford was freed last year after new evidence proved he wasn't at the crime scene.

In a letter to the editor in The Shreveport Times, prosecutor A.M. "Marty" Stroud said he was ashamed of the way he pursued Mr Ford during the trial.

He admitted to producing dubious testimony from a forensic pathologist, failed to investigate other leads, and apologised for mocking Mr Ford when he tried to prove his innocence.

"I was arrogant, judgmental, narcissistic and very full of myself. I was not as interested in justice as I was in winning," Mr Stroud wrote. 

"To borrow a phrase from Al Pacino in the movie And Justice for All, 'Winning became everything'." 

Louisiana authorities are reportedly trying to prevent Mr Ford from claiming $420,000 in compensation because he cannot prove he is "factually innocent."

Mr Stroud said Mr Ford deserves "every penny owed to him".

"Glenn Ford should be completely compensated to every extent possible because of the flaws of a system that effectively destroyed his life," Mr Stroud said.

"I now realise, all too painfully, that as a young 33-year-old prosecutor, I was not capable of making a decision that could have led to the killing of another human being.

"I apologise to Glenn Ford for all the misery I have caused him and his family.

"I hope that providence will have more mercy for me than I showed Glenn Ford, but I am also sobered by the realisation that I certainly am not deserving of it."

Source: Shreveport Times