DNA clears Conn. man convicted of rape

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A man imprisoned more than 18 years for kidnapping and raping a woman was released Tuesday after new forensic tests showed evidence from the crime did not match his DNA. James Calvin Tillman, 44, told his family he wanted to take a quiet walk for the first time since 1988, when he was imprisoned after his arrest. He was sentenced a year later to 45 years in prison. "I thank the Lord," he said as he left Hartford Superior Court. "I was innocent all along, so I just kept my faith and let science be science." Judge Thomas P. Miano granted Tillman's request for a new trial and released him. Hartford State's Attorney James E. Thomas said his office will likely drop the charges. Tillman was 26, living in a homeless shelter and working at a car wash when he was charged with abducting a woman as she got into her car near a Hartford restaurant, then beating and raping her at a housing project.

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