COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 16 (UPI) -- Gary Lamar James could be freed from prison in Lima, Ohio, cleared of a 1976 murder.
James passed a Ohio State Highway Patrol lie-detector test Tuesday, prompting Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien to say "in the interest of justice" he will seek dismissal of all charges against James stemming from a Columbus bank robbery and murder of a security guard on Dec. 21, 1976.
James, 50, could be released from prison Thursday.
"I can't believe it," James told The Columbus Dispatch. "I thought it would come."
O'Brien also said he will drop an appeal against co-defendant Timothy Howard, who was freed April 23 when his conviction was overturned by former Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Michael H. Watson.
Fingerprints and conflicting witness statements made to the FBI were not made available to defense attorneys during separate trials for Howard and James in 1977.
