‘System worked’: Man gets prison release after 48 years

DETROIT (AP) — A Detroit man who has spent 48 years in prison for a fatal robbery has pleaded no contest to second-degree murder. It’s part of an extraordinary compromise that settles Ray Gray’s claim of innocence and allows him to go free. The 69-year-old Gray wasn’t exonerated Tuesday. But the deal erases his previous first-degree murder conviction and life sentence and immediately qualifies him to go home. In 1973, Gray was convicted in the fatal shooting of a drug dealer. For decades, he has challenged the conviction with claims of his innocence. Gray’s latest filing reveals that a witness now says two other people were responsible. Prosecutor Kym Worthy agreed to set aside the original conviction and allow a no-contest plea to second-degree murder.