California man wrongfully convicted freed after nearly 40 years
By
Trévon Austin
25 November 2017
After 39 years of wrongful imprisonment, a California man was released on Wednesday. Craig Richard Coley, 70, was convicted in 1978 for the murder of his ex-girlfriend and her four-year-old son. California Governor Jerry Brown ordered Coley’s immediate release from a state prison in Lancaster based on the results of a new investigation that demonstrated he was wrongly convicted.
Coley was arrested on November 11, 1978 after 24-year old Rhonda Wicht and her four-year old, Donald Wicht, were found dead in her apartment in Simi Valley. Rhonda Wicht was strangled with a macramé rope and Donald Wicht was smothered to death. Investigators quickly identified Coley as a suspect because he had broken up with Wicht shortly before she was killed.
According to a news release issued by the police chief and district attorney, Coley’s first trial in 1979 resulted in a hung jury after jurors failed to resolve an impasse that left them deadlocked 10-2 in favor of a guilty verdict. Coley was tried again in 1980, found guilty, and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Coley, a Vietnam War navy veteran, has always maintained his innocence. He appealed to Governor Brown for clemency and Brown ordered a review of the case in 2015. Brown said that former law enforcement officials felt that Coley was wrongfully convicted or framed.
Coley’s request for clemency was supported by Simi Valley Police Chief David Livingstone and Ventura County District Attorney Gregory Totten, who said they could not stand by the evidence used to convict Coley. The trial court had ordered evidence destroyed after Coley exhausted his appeals, but investigators received records from Coley’s relatives and…