The Innocents (1964)
by Edward D. Radin

Excerpt on

Kenneth Massey
 

When police in Iowa arrested William G. Karston for the the murder of a farmer, among the many crimes he confessed to was the holdup of a drugstore in El Paso, Texas. Kenneth Massey had already served twenty-two months of a fifteen-year sentence after being mistakenly identified for Karston. Ironically, at his insistence, he had been given a lie-detector test at the time of his arrest, and although the test showed he had no connection with the holdup, the jury preferred the testimony of the eyewitness. He was given an unconditional pardon and released in December, 1954.

APPENDIX

KENNETH MASSEY, El Paso, Texas
Trial, January, 1953, District Court; convicted by jury, armed robbery; sentence, 15 years. Pardoned by Governor Allan Shivers, November, 1954. Actual culprit confessed. Imprisoned 22 months. No compensation.