LOS ANGELES (AP) - A man who was imprisoned for more than 13 years for a crime he denies committing has been ordered released while an appeal on his case is pending.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Suzanne H. Segal granted Danny Larsen's release Tuesday in Los Angeles.
The 45-year-old Larsen was convicted in 1999 of possessing a concealed knife after two police officers testified to seeing him throw it under a car in a bar parking lot. He was sentenced to 27 years-to-life in prison under California's three strikes law.
The California Innocence Project took on the case and in June 2010, a federal judge reversed the conviction and found him innocent. However, because the filing was late, Larsen's attorneys are waiting for a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on whether the tardiness can be excused.
The Associated Press