2 wrongly convicted men will receive $140 for every day spent in jail

Two wrongly convicted men have been released after 17 years and will receive $140 (£112) for each day they spent behind bars.

Dupree Glass, 36 and Juan Rayford, 37, were freed after a 2020 retrial which declared the pair innocent. It came after the man who committed the crime, Chad Brandon McZeal, confessed it was him.

The men were jailed after a 2004 shooting that left two teenagers injured. They have always adamantly stated they were not involved.

Defence lawyer, Annee Della Donna, told The Associated Press that "there was no evidence tying them to the shooting. Zero."

She added: "We proved their innocence beyond a shadow of a doubt."

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The new trial in Los Angeles meant Glass and Rayford were entitled to the $140 per day compensation for being wrongly convicted. This amounts to around $900,000 (£725,000).

Speaking outside the court, Glass said: "I thought about this day for so long. I thought about it when I was locked up for 17 years. I thought about it for my last two years being free.

"I waited for this day because, you know, I knew I was innocent of every crime they said I committed."

He added: "I'm not big for words. But today is a wonderful day. For 20 years, we've been living this nightmare. It's finally over. We can go on with our lives."

Defence attorney Eric Dubin said: "Today, the judge righted a wrong. In my over 30 years of trying cases, I’ve never experienced such a magical moment where I’m able to see justice come to light so vividly."

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