A California man has been released after spending 31 years in jail after the key witnesses recanted or modified their statements. One key witness said that he was pressurized by the killer to lie.
Rick Godfrey was convicted for the robbery murder of Harvey Norfleet in 1992.
A jury found Godfrey guilty of murder in 1993 after two key witnesses testified against him. He was given a life sentence with no chance of parole.
Now some three decades later, one of the witnesses, Geral Cannon says he was pressurized by the killer and the detective to name Godfrey.
The East Bay Times reported that Ricky Godfrey was resentenced to 24 years in California State Prison, Solano, following a no-contest plea to the attempted robbery of Harvey Norfleet. He has already spent 31 years in jail.
The news outlet reported Cannon as saying in his recanted statement, “I first told [detectives] that I had not seen anything, and I did not know who did it.”
Cannon also alleged that he was threatened as he was “someone who was there, and they said that I could be charged as an accessory to murder and spend my life in prison.”
Contra Costa Judge Julia Campins also ordered Godfrey to pay restitution to the family of Harvey Norfleet. Godfrey will be on parole for 2 years.
