A wrongfully convicted man thanked a group of San Diego law students on Friday for helping him get out of prison after 23 years. KPBS reporter Ana Tintocalis has more.
Tim Atkins has been in prison since 1987 for a murder he did not commit. His case caught the attention of the California Innocence Project, a program that's part of the California Western School of Law in San Diego. A group of law students cracked-open the case after 20 years.
One student in particular, Wendy Koen, spent countless hours on the case, and uncovered new evidence proving Atkins' innocence. The 39-year-old man says he's grateful.
Atkins : I love these students and the work that they do is marvelous. This is needed because there's a lot of people in jail that don't have any funds, or whatever, and they can't receive adequate help.
Atkins was released from prison in February. The student-law group filed a compensation claim on behalf of Atkins. He stands to receive $100 for every day he spent in prison -- for a total of more than $700,000 dollars.
Ana Tintocalis, KPBS News.
