Johnny Lee Gates was convicted in 1977 of the rape and murder of 19-year-old Katharina Gertrude Wright. He initially confessed to the crime, although the confession was inconsistent with the physical evidence found at the crime scene. Also, a witness said that she saw a white man running from the building where the crime occurred and Gates is an African American. Additionally, there was semen from contributor  with blood Type B that was found on the victim’s robe, but Gates and the victim both had blood Type O. The court ordered that evidence be turned over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for testing and that the state pay for the testing.

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