Man wrongly convicted of murder still fighting for freedom outside prison walls

CHARLOTTE — Next month will mark two years since a North Carolina man was freed after spending 25 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit.

Dontae Sharpe was a teenager when he was sentenced to life in prison for a murder in his hometown of Greenville, North Carolina.

[ALSO READ: Mecklenburg County man released from prison after wrongful conviction]

Dontae Sharpe Dontae Sharpe breathes the air outside the Pitt County Courthouse after a judge determined he could be set free, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019 in Greenville, N.C. Sharpe, a North Carolina man who maintained his innocence even as he served a life sentence for a murder he didn’t commit said Thursday that he got his strength in prison from God and his mother. (Deborah Griffin/The Daily Reflector via AP)

Sharpe was convicted of murder in 1995 for the death of 33-year-old George Radcliffe in a drug deal that happened a year earlier.

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Sharpe currently lives in Charlotte, but his fight for freedom isn’t finished. His story is going to be the subject of a BBC documentary.

>> In the video at the top of this page, Sharpe speaks with veteran crime reporter Mark Becker about the key piece of freedom that he is missing since his release from prison in 2019.

(WATCH BELOW: Ronnie Long granted pardon by Cooper 44 years after crime he did not commit)

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