Man Freed From Prison After Wrongful Conviction Fatally Shot

By Margaret Paulson in News on Jul 30, 2015 3:50PM

A man who gained a second chance at life three years ago when he was freed from prison after serving 17 years for a murder he did not commit was tragically shot and killed on the Near West Side Tuesday.

Alprentiss Nash, 40, was convicted and sentenced to 80 years in prison for the April 30, 1995 murder of Leon Stroud, despite having a solid alibi and no evidence linking him to the murder. According to the Sun-Times, police sought a quick resolution to the murder of Stroud, a bootlegger, and thus bullied another man into naming Nash, a know drug dealer, as the shooter, despite his solid alibi shopping for clothes at the time of the murder.

In 2012, Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez overturned Nash’s conviction after DNA evidence left on a mask at the scene was finally tested and was not a match for Nash. When he was released from prison on Aug. 30, 2012, Nash vowed to make the most of his second chance:

"I'm on a new journey," he said, according to the Tribune. "As far as my life, it begins now, and I'm thankful."

The state paid Nash $200,000 for its wrongful conviction, and Nash filed a federal lawsuit against the city and several police officers, though the lawsuit remained unresolved at the time of his death.

While adjusting to the outside world is notoriously difficult for exonerees and people who have been imprisoned for several years, Nash had seemed to be doing well. In prison, he earned his GED and was instrumental in working toward his freedom—even writing his own legal brief. Three years after being exonerated, he was making the most of his life: traveling, learning to ski, making up for lost time with family, completing a culinary program and purchasing a car and motorcycle.

But his attorney, Kathleen Zellner, told the Tribune that Nash was robbed last year and his money attracted negative attention. Zellner and Yvette Martin, Nash’s mother, told CBS he had been feeling unsafe in Chicago as of late and talked about moving south and hoping to open a restaurant or buy cattle in Louisiana after his case against the state was settled. He was also having a difficult time finding a job, even with a certificate of innocence.

Upon finding out Nash had been fatally shot, Martin told the Tribune, “I just screamed from my innermost belly because I wanted God to know I hurt.”