Dallas man cleared in slayings expects to get $2M from state

DALLAS (AP) — A 62-year-old man who spent more than 25 years in a Texas prison before being cleared in the deaths of two people is expecting to receive over $2 million in state compensation for his wrongful conviction.

KXAS-TV reports that it may take several months before Steven Mark Chaney is compensated.

He told the station Thursday from his Dallas home that his life for years had been “held in suspension” before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday declared his innocence in the 1987 slayings of John and Sally Sweek.

A bite mark was found on John Sweek’s arm and Chaney was convicted largely on the testimony of forensic experts who said he was the one who likely bit Sweek.

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Prosecutors say such forensic analysis has since been discredited.

Chaney was released from prison in 2015 but not fully cleared until Wednesday.