ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A man seeking a pardon from Governor Larry Hogan after spending 32-years behind bars for a double murder he says he didn't commit, got his wish Friday.
For the past 40-years John Huffington's fate has hung in the balance of a court room.
In November of 1981 he was convicted of murdering Diane Becker and Joseph Hudson in Abingdon.
That verdict was overturned by the Maryland Court of Appeals in 1982, forcing a new trial.
Two years later Huffington was again found guilty and sentenced to decades in prison.
His lawyers blamed the outcome on retired former Harford County State's Attorney Joseph Cassilly.
In October of 1999 it was revealed an FBI agent who testified against Huffington at trial was unqualified.
One of the key pieces of evidence in the case was a sliver of hair with the question being who it belonged to.
The FBI agent swore under oath it was Huffington's but the U.S. Department of Justice said DNA examination was not the expertise of that agent.
According to Huffington's attorneys Casilly knew this to be the case but withheld it from the defense during trial.
Huffington's team later asked for further analysis of the hair. Casilly's office denied the request and even went as far to seek court approval to destroy the hair.
A judge overturned Casilly and ordered the hair to undergo DNA testing.
In May 2013 Huffington got his prior convictions tossed out when the test showed the hair wasn't his. Two months later he was finally released from prison.
Still not out of the woods, Huffington was ordered to stand trial a third time. In 2017 his lawyers finally agreed to an Alford Plea, which does not admit guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence to convict.
A judge eventually sentenced Huffington to time served and unsupervised probation, allowing him to remain free.
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In October of 2021 the now Supreme Court of Maryland ruled to disbar Cassilly in large part over his dishonesty in Huffington's case.
Hogan signed a full pardon just days before he leaves office. With that, Huffington's name is now unconditionally cleared from each of his prior convictions.
“Thank you, Governor Hogan, for granting me a full innocence pardon and for clearing my name,” Huffington said. “I have fought for over 40 years for this day and I feel a deep sense of closure and vindication. This pardon officially acknowledges that I was wrongly convicted and imprisoned for crimes I never committed.”
Huffington now works as corporate social responsibility director for Holdings Management Company and is Vice President for the Kinetic Capital Community Foundation. He also volunteers for charities that focuses on assisting those recently released from jail.
