A man who spent 16 years in jail for the rape of author Alice Sebold has been released following a successful application to have his conviction quashed.
Anthony Broadwater had always protested his innocence and the court agreed there were serious flaws in his conviction.
Sebold, author of the acclaimed The Lovely Bones, which was later adapted for film starring Mark Wahlberg, claimed she had been raped during her freshman year while studying at Syracuse University. Sebold lodged a complaint with police but no progress was made on the investigation due to a lack of evidence.
Six months later Sebold happened to walk past Broadwater in the street and became convinced for some reason that he was the rapist. She told police who promptly arrested Broadwater. At a police line-up she identified another man as the rapist, but was convinced by prosecutors to chose Broadwater.
On 23 November 2021 Broadwater had his day in court. The video shows the moment he is exonerated:
