After Innocent Man Freed From Death Row, Real Killer Gets Life

Ray Krone was convicted and sentenced to death in 1992 for the murder Kim Ancona in Arizona. Krone's conviction was eventually overturned. He was re-tried and again convicted in 1996. In 2002, DNA testing excluded Krone as the perpetrator of the crime and he was freed. Now another man, Kenneth Phillips, Jr., has pleaded guilty to the offense. On August 18, 2006, Phillips was sentenced to a term of 53 years to life in prison for the murder and sexual assault of Kim Ancona. DNA evidence linked Phillips to the crime. Initially, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office sought the death penalty against Phillips but dropped the request because of mitigating evidence presented by the defense. At the time of his release, Ray Krone was the 100th inmate since 1973 to be freed from death row after being cleared of all charges. There have now been 123 such cases. (Arizona Daily Star and Associated Press, Aug. 19, 2006, Death Penalty Information Center.)

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