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Man freed on DNA evidence after 15 years in jail

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A man who was released from prison after 15 years because DNA evidence did not prove his guilt said Friday it feels "incredible" to have his freedom.

One of Bruce Godschalk's lawyers said his client is both "the luckiest man in the world" and "the unluckiest."

Godschalk was arrested in 1987 for two rapes committed at an apartment complex near King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. The arrest was based on confessions that he later said were coerced. He also confessed to an instance of indecent exposure at the complex, which he also later denied.

Though prosecutors said Godschalk provided "specific, accurate details" of all three incidents, Godschalk said in court that he "was just guessing." Friday, he said the detective interrogating him asked leading questions and supplied him with answers.

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"It was a multiple question-type thing," Godschalk said Friday. "He basically told me what he wanted to hear, what he needed. He led me through it, step by step."

The victim of one of the rapes and the person who witnessed the exposure both identified Godschalk, and a man who said he shared a jail cell with him told police about incriminating statements Godschalk had made about the crimes.

He was sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in prison.

Last summer Godschalk's mother died. He broke down Friday as he told reporters, "What kept her alive was knowing I was innocent, and knowing one day I would come home."

In 1995, Godschalk requested DNA testing of the evidence, a procedure that was not available when he was jailed. Prosecutors at first refused, but were later ordered by a judge to conduct the tests.

But he waited months for the results. Finally, a frustrated Godschalk asked for help from the Innocence Project at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York.

Results came back February 1, indicating Godschalk could not have been the source of the incriminating evidence.

"While the evidence leading to the defendant's conviction is compelling, the DNA evidence is also compelling," District Attorney Bruce Castor wrote to the judge. "The commonwealth believes the interests of justice will best be served by dismissing the charges against the defendant."

David Rudovsky, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who represented Godschalk, and Innocence Project head Barry Scheck called for a full investigation into what went wrong.

"This case has uncovered all the flaws in the criminal justice system," said Rudovsky. "It demonstrates how the system can desperately fail."

The defense team is also looking into possible civil rights violations within the district attorney's office.

"We have to look into the possibility of filing a federal civil rights action," said Scheck. "If that happens, and if this case one day gets to a jury, let me ask you: How much is one year in jail worth?

Now that he is released, Godschalk said he understands the true meaning of freedom. "There's nothing like it," he said.

He plans to move away from Pennsylvania -- which he called an "unjust, evil" place -- and resume his former career as a landscaper.

But as for the immediate future, Godschalk said, he relished the thought of a simple beer and a steak that "came from a real cow."