Brandeis Investigative Journalism Program Helps Man Go Free After 21 Years In Prison

After spending 21 years inside prison for a murder he says he did not commit, Angel Echavarria is out.

A judge granted his release after vacating the life sentence in the 1994 murder of Daniel Rodriguez in Lynn. Earlier this month, the judge said Echavarria deserves a new trial because of the poor representation he received from his original trial lawyer.

Instrumental in securing his freedom was the Brandeis University Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism, which investigated the case for a decade.

Florence Graves, the institute's founding director, joined WBUR's Morning Edition. Listen above to her conversation with WBUR's Bob Oakes.