North Carolina governor grants pardon to man freed in 2016

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has pardoned a man who had spent nearly 24 years in prison after allegations he sexually assaulted his 9-year-old daughter. The man, Howard Dudley, was freed in 2016 after his daughter recanted her testimony. The News & Observer of Raleigh reported that the governor’s pardon makes Dudley eligible to file a claim for compensation under state laws for people wrongly convicted of felonies. Dudley maintained his innocence from the start. He was convicted in 1992 of first-degree sexual offense and taking indecent liberties with a minor. A judge in 2016 vacated Dudley’s convictions and ordered his release, calling the daughter’s recantation credible and believable.