![Lydell Grant speaks after being exonerated for a murder he did not commit [Youtube:Screenshot:KHOU 11]](https://images.dailycaller.com/image/width=960,height=411,fit=cover,f=auto/https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Lydell-Grant-speaks-after-being-exonerated-for-a-murder-he-did-not-commit-YoutubeScreenshotKHOU-11-scaled-e1621617513206.jpg "Lydell Grant speaks after being exonerated for a murder he did not commit [Youtube:Screenshot:KHOU 11]")
A Houston man who was convicted of murder nearly a decade ago has been found “actually innocent,” authorities announced.
44-year-old Lydell Grant was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2012 for the stabbing death of Aaron Scheerhoorn outside a bar in 2010, the Harris County District Attorney’s office said in a statement. But the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals recently found Grant was innocent.
“The exoneration of innocent individuals is as important as the conviction of guilty ones,” district attorney Kim Ogg said. “The highest responsibility of a prosecutor is to see that justice is done.”
Our client Lydell Grant has been declared innocent! Lydell spent nine years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Even though DNA evidence identified the real perpetrator, who was caught and confessed, it has taken another 18 months to clear his name. pic.twitter.com/DPus50FRY0
— Innocence Texas-Innocence Project of Texas (@innocencetexas) May 19, 2021
The court’s decision came after a new analysis of the victim’s fingernails showed Grant’s innocence, according to The Washington Post. (RELATED: Black Man On Death Row For 26 Years Exonerated After Newly-Examined Evidence Shows No Connection)
During Grant’s trial, six eyewitnesses testified against Grant. However, court documents showed that an eyewitness told police he was unsure whether Grant was actually the suspect, according to KHOU. The witness reportedly did not see the suspect in the initial lineup but when forced to look again chose Grant.
Jermarico Carter, 43, has since been arrested for Scheerhoorn’s death and is in jail. Carter allegedly confessed to the killing after being tracked down in Atlanta, according to The Associated Press.
Grant was released on bond in 2019 but his name was only just recently cleared, according to KHOU.
“Now, we can say, this day, that justice has been served,” Grant said during a press conference. “I hold no grudge toward the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, I mean, it was something that happened, and I can’t whimper and whine about it. I’m ready to move on and move forward with my life.”
Grant is eligible to receive $80,000 annually for every year he was wrongfully imprisoned, according to KHOU. He spent 7 years in jail.
The Daily Caller reached out to the Texas Innocence Project but did not receive a response at the time of publication.