Man sentenced to death declared innocent

A Mississippi judge has dismissed a murder charge against a man who spent more than a quarter-century on death row.

Eddie Lee Howard was convicted of capital murder in the 1992 stabbing death of an 84-year-old woman.

District Attorney Scott Colom says prosecutors are dropping the murder charge. He says a dentist’s bite mark testimony used to convict Howard has been discredited.

The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled in August that Howard deserved a new trial. He was freed from Death Row in December.

His attorney says Howard has now been released from prison.