As unfortunate as these stories are, it is not uncommon for us to hear of a wrongfully incarcerated individual recently being freed after years behind bars. In fact, Ava DuVernay's Central Park Five-focused Netflix series When They See Us became a huge success due to its ability to shed light on wrongful convictions. And while the latter served to greatly show the several flaws present within the judiciary system, issues remain. As of late, Complex reported on the story of John Miller, a Philadelphia man who was finally freed after being wrongfully convicted and spending a total of 21 years in prison. Miller was slammed with a guilty verdict on a second-degree murder charge back in 1997 for allegedly killing parking lot attendant, Anthony Mullen. Although at the time there was no physical evidence which hinted at Miller's involvement in the crime. The conviction was in fact solely done on the basis of an eye-witness who told the police that Miller had confessed to the crime.
The eye-witness since recanted the aforementioned statements numerous times and even penned a letter to Miller's mother wherein he admitted he was the killer and not Miller. After filing many appeals which had previously been denied, Miller's lawyer got in touch with the Pennsylvania Innocence Project. After years of battle, the federal court finally ordered for Miller's release on the grounds of an unreliable witness.