CLEVELAND — Isaiah Andrews, a Cleveland native who spent more than four decades in prison for a murder he did not commit, has died at the age of 83.
The Ohio Innocence Project confirmed Andrews passed away Sunday at a local hospital. Officials say his health had been declining for some time.
While living on Euclid Avenue in 1975, Andrews was arrested and charged with aggravated murder in connection with the death of his wife, Regina. He was subsequently convicted and sentenced to life behind bars, but maintained his innocence throughout and filed numerous appeals to that end.
Finally, in May of 2020, Andrews' conviction was vacated after 45 years and a new trial ordered. The second jury acquitted him of all charges, and just this past March, he returned to the Cuyahoga County Justice Center where the state of Ohio officially declared he should not have been incarcerated and was innocent in his wife's slaying. Her real killer has never been caught.
Andrews' wrongful imprisonment was the third-longest in the history of the United States, according to the Ohio Innocence Project. Since his release, he had lived in the Exoneree House in Cleveland's suburbs, and was with a volunteer when he died.
"Isaiah died knowing he was loved," Kelly McLaughlin of X-Freedom Housing, partner of OIP, said in a statement. "Isaiah died knowing he was free."
Funeral arrangements for Andrews have not yet been announced.