Detroit man whose confession to 1999 murder was coerced by rogue cop released from prison

Source: Associated Press

Detroit man whose confession to 1999 murder was coerced by rogue cop released from prison

By ED WHITE
Updated 2:34 PM EST, March 3, 2026

DETROIT (AP) — A man in prison for more than 25 years was freed Tuesday after prosecutors acknowledged that his confession to a Detroit murder in 1999 was coerced by a rogue police officer.

Wearing a big smile and a Detroit Lions hoodie, George Calicut Jr. hugged his legal team as he emerged from a prison in Coldwater, Michigan, where he was serving a life sentence.

Calicut, 56, has long professed his innocence in the murder of Virgie Perkins — there were no eyewitnesses or physical evidence against him — and said he never saw his purported confession until confronted with it at trial.

In addition, recent DNA testing “further supports the lack of any evidence” connecting him to the killing at Perkins’ home, the Wayne County prosecutor’s office and his lawyers said.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/detroit-police-wrongful-conviction-f305088b98f066821d9bda889db1fdf2