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A Memphis, Tennessee, jury convicted McKinney of rape and burglary in 1978. The victim identified him as one of the two men who attacked her in her bedroom. He was sentenced to 115 years. When he was convicted, McKinney recalled, “I still could not believe it because I thought it was a dream or something.” In 2008, DNA testing of evidence scientifically excluded McKinney as a suspect. Prosecutors said, “if this evidence had been available ... there would have been no prosecution.” McKinney was released and given $75 in 2009, after more than 31 years and nine months.