SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California man convicted of shaking his baby to death has been freed after spending 15 years in prison.
His lawyer says 34-year-old Zavion Johnson was released Saturday from the Sacramento County jail, where he was sent while his case was heard. A judge on Friday set aside his conviction and 25-years-to-life sentence.
Paige Kaneb says her client is “both loving and trying to adjust to freedom.”
Johnson was convicted of second-degree murder in his daughter’s 2001 death. He said he accidentally dropped her and she struck her head.
At his trial, medical experts attributed the infant’s injuries to “shaken baby syndrome.” But two have now repudiated some of their testimony and say the evidence isn’t clear.
Prosecutors haven’t decided whether to seek a new trial.
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