Dennis Maher spent over 19 years in prison before he was exonerated in 2003 of two rapes. It took another nine years for his record to be completely expunged. Last month, Maher’s name was finally cleared.
Maher was exonerated in 2003 after DNA testing excluded him as the perpetrator of two 1984 sexual assaults. Since then, Maher settled a lawsuit with the city of Lowell, Massachusetts and recovered his honorable military record. However, Maher’s criminal record still included the arrests and rape charges which made certain tasks like applying for a passport difficult.
Now Maher finally has closure and he is planning to take a trip to Toronto later this year with his wife and two children. He told the Lowell Sun, “I could be a bitter and miserable person who expects that the world give me everything. But what happened, I put in the past. Now, you’ve seen my wife, my family, my house, and my children. I wouldn’t have any of that if I’d gone the other way.”
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