By AP/KWMU
St. Louis, MO – DNA evidence has shown that a St. Louis man did not commit the crime for which he spent 18 years in prison.
The Post-Dispatch reports that a judge on Thursday signed an order that says Anthony Woods, 42, did not commit the crime. The judge also cleared Woods' record.
On October 10th, 1983, a teenage girl was raped on her way to school. Woods walked by her home that afternoon, and the child at that time identified him as the rapist. Woods was sentenced a year later to 25 years in prison, though he always maintained he was innocent.
After being released from prison in 2002, Woods sought a DNA test which authorities say proved his innocence last month.