An Arizona death row inmate convicted and sentenced to death in the 1994 death of a 4-year-old was released from prison on Thursday.

Barry Lee Jones spent 29 years in prison after being convicted of murder, child abuse and sexual assault in the death of his girlfriend’s daughter. A Pima County judge ordered Jones’ release after approving an agreement between the defense team and the prosecutor’s office, but the prosecutor’s office said a medical review of the case found that Jones had injured the girl. said it was not substantiated. Jones pleaded guilty to a minor murder charge.

In early May 1994, Jones drove the child and mother to a hospital in Tucson, but the child was pronounced dead on arrival. Her death was determined to be due to a laceration of the small intestine due to “blunt trauma to her abdomen”.

Authorities had previously accused Jones of beating and sexually assaulting the girl. The Arizona Attorney General’s office agreed that Ms Jones’ first-degree murder conviction should be set aside, but it was not possible because Ms Jones, who was caring for a child at the time, had let her die. He said the evidence still supported the second-degree murder conviction. as a result of her injury.

A federal judge sought Jones’ release in a July 2018 ruling, concluding that Jones’ previous attorney had failed to properly investigate whether the girl’s injuries were sustained while she was alone with Jones. .

Experts said the child may have had previous injuries. Although Jones remained in prison, his judge’s ruling was upheld by an appeals court.

But the U.S. Supreme Court overturned that ruling a year ago, and Justice Clarence Thomas said federal courts are generally barred from accepting new evidence about the ineffective assistance of lawyers who might help prisoners. It is said that

Mr. Jones is still in custody, so his attorney signed a deal with prosecutors to release him. Under the agreement, after the conviction and death sentence were overturned, Mr. Jones pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in connection with his failure to seek medical attention for the girl. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison and his term will be granted.

“Mr. Jones’ attorney, Cary Sandman, said, “Ms. Jones was put on death row in Arizona despite compelling evidence that she was innocent of the charge of assaulting a girl. for nearly 30 years,” he said, adding that his client had not sexually assaulted the girl.

Now that Jones’ death sentence has been overturned, there are 110 people on death row in Arizona.