Man freed from death row after 15 years

RALEIGH -- Glenn Chapman waved to reporters today as he was released from Central Prison after 15 years on death row.

He was taken to the office of the N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers, where his attorneys will allow him to talk to media. He was also allowed to eat a bologna and cheese sandwich-- a snack he's wanted for quite some time.

"I'm at a loss for words," Chapman said on his way to the academy's kitchen.

Catawba County District Attorney James Gaither Jr. today dismissed double murder charges against Glenn Edward Chapman, now 40.

In 1994 Chapman was sentenced to death in the slayings of Betty Jean Ramseur and Tenene Yvette Conley in Hickory. Their bodies were found in abandoned houses in August 1992.

Superior Court Judge Robert C. Ervin ordered a new trial for Chapman in November, saying evidence had been withheld, a lead investigator gave false testimony at trial, and his trial attorneys didn't represent him properly.

Ervin, who issued a 186-page ruling, said that Chapman's trial attorneys missed critical evidence, including that one victim was alive after Chapman last saw her and may have died of a drug overdose.

One of the two defense attorneys, Tom Portwood, admitted that he was an alcoholic who drank every evening during several death penalty trials. He died in 2003.

The judge also said that investigators with the Hickory Police Department had covered up evidence that proved Chapman's innocence, including information that a witness had identified someone other than Chapman in a photo lineup.

The lead investigator lied on the stand, Ervin said. The investigator, Dennis Rhoney, is no longer with the Hickory Police Department.

Frank Goldsmith, an attorney representing Chapman on appeal, said Chapman is scheduled to be released this afternoon.

"We're clearly very happy," Goldsmith said.

Marcie Young of The Charlotte Observer contributed to this report.