U.S. man freed on DNA evidence in murder sues police

A Pennsylvania man who was freed from a life prison sentence last year after DNA evidence failed to link him to a 1988 murder filed a civil rights lawsuit against police Wednesday.

Photo: U.S. man freed on DNA evidence in murder sues police

Drew Whitley, 51, had been convicted of second-degree murder in 1989 for the shooting death of Noreen Malloy, 22, outside a McDonald's restaurant she managed.

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. dropped the charges last May after DNA test results showed that hairs said to be from the killer did not match Whitley.

The suit names six detectives, Allegheny County and one of Whitley's former attorneys. Whitley was subject to malicious prosecution and denied a fair trial and was targeted because he is black, the lawsuit claims.

It also claims detectives failed to test his hands for gunshot residue, failed to administer a lie-detector test and ignored his assertions that he had nothing to do with Malloy's death.

They also ignored evidence clearing Whitley, including footprints in the snow at the scene that were smaller than his, a hat found at the scene that was smaller than his head and saliva on a ski mask that did not match Whitley's, according to the suit.