Renowned Author Who Put Man in Jail for 16 Years in 1981 Apologises After Conviction Overturned
- US author Alice Sebold has broken her silence and released an apology to the man wrongfully convicted of her 1981 rape - Anthony Broadwater
- 61-year-old Broadwater saw himself exonerated of the crime following Sebold's memoir's success in landing a movie deal
- Broadwater's life was ruined after being jailed for 16 years and then being put on the sex offenders list after his release
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Renowned US author Alice Sebold has apologised to the man who was wrongfully convicted of her 1981 rape. Anthony Broadwater is now 61 years old and spent 16 years in jail for the rape and was put on the registered sex offender list upon release.
Broadwater's case was re-examined and overturned last week after two defence attorneys argued that the case was 'hopelessly flawed'. Sebold's memoir Lucky had just scored a movie deal and the executive producer Timothy Mucciante came across a few discrepancies.
He was concerned about this and hired a private detective to investigate the case. The detective passed the matter on to the two district attorneys. Since Broadwater's exoneration, Sebold's memoir's film adaption has been cancelled.
Source: Getty Images
According to The Guardian, Sebold released a statement apologising for the part she played in the destruction of Broadwater's life. She referred to him as "another young black man" who was "brutalised" by the country's legal system.
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A video shared by Syracruse.com of Broadwater's court case shows the elderly man speaking about his life. Broadwater maintained his innocence through the years and refused to have any children with his wife out of the fear that their lives would be made hell.
Social media users share numerous responses to the news:
@msdictator said:
"I hope Anthony Broadwater takes all of Alice Sebold’s money tbh."
@gabehudson shared:
"The Alice Sebold story is horrific & we know this happens to black men all the time & Mr. Broadwater had come home from the Marines to care for his ailing dad when he was falsely convicted & sent to prison. Alice Sebold owes Anthony Broadwater more than an apology."
@freeblackgirl tweeted:
"This is so devastating. If a movie producer hadn’t recognised the discrepancies in Alice Sebold’s story, Anthony Broadwater would’ve spent the remainder of his life with the stigma of being a sex offender. She owes him far more than a 'no comment'."
Local woman applauded for fighting for wrongly accused deaf man: #ImStaying
In other news about the wrongfully accused, Briefly News previously reported that a local woman was hailed as a heroine for her unrelenting efforts to help a hearing-impaired man after he was wrongfully accused of committing a crime.
It is unclear what crime the man was accused of committing, but the woman, Lorraine Hlazana, reportedly fought tooth and nail to ensure he did not go to prison.
Tuning to the #ImStaying Facebook page, a user, @Ke Nna Waga Makgato, gave an explosive account of the events and Hlazana's timely, heroic intervention to save the wrongfully accused man.
Source: Briefly News
