Anthony McKinney got a life sentence for running down the street.

The suburban Chicago street down which he ran, on Sept. 15, 1978, took him near the spot where security guard Donald Lundahl had earlier been shot to death. Police, still on the scene investigating, arrested McKinney, 18, who said he was running from gang bangers. With no physical evidence linking him to the crime, they ended up letting him go.

But they did not forget him. Eventually, police turned up two men who said they had witnessed the crime, one of whom said that from 50 yards away, he saw McKinney,...

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