Terance Calhoun Cleared Of Kidnapping, Other Charges After 15 Years

DETROIT (AP) — A man who has been in prison for 15 years for kidnapping and sexual assault didn't commit the crimes, a Detroit-area prosecutor said Thursday.

Terance Calhoun | Credit: MDOC

A judge will be asked Friday to clear the convictions and exonerate Terance Calhoun.

In 2007, Calhoun, now 35, pleaded no contest to kidnapping and other charges and was sentenced to at least 17 years in prison, the Wayne County prosecutor's office said.

Calhoun was identified by two teen victims after a sketch was posted at a Detroit liquor store.

"New evidence has resulted in the identification of another man," the prosecutor's office said.

Calhoun was represented by the State Appellate Defender Office, known as SADO, in the exoneration effort.

"We are just so thrilled that this has been corrected and he's able to go home to his family," said attorney Tabitha Harris of SADO.

It's not clear why Calhoun had agreed to plead no contest to the charges instead of going to trial in 2007. His attorney at that time is deceased.

"A series of fortunate events and a lot of very hard work by quite a few people led to my decision to exonerate Mr. Calhoun," prosecutor Kym Worthy said. "The decision in this case was the culmination of years of long work on this and unrelated cases."

Calhoun could be eligible for $50,000 from the state for every year spent in prison as a result of a wrongful conviction.

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