Pittsburgh-Based Lawyer Helps Overturn Wrongful Murder Conviction 30 Years After Trial

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A Pittsburgh lawyer was part of an effort to convince a judge to overturn a murder conviction and set a prisoner free.

Andrew Swainson was locked up for over 30 years for a drug-related murder in Philadelphia.

However, since the trial, it's been learned there were a lot of flaws in the case.

Evidence was withheld, there were secret, alternative suspects, and false theory that Swainson attempted to flee the United States.

Craig Cooley, a local lawyer, worked with The Innocence Project to overturn the conviction.

"Somebody got away with murder," Cooley said. "It's basically a two-headed sword where Andrew Swainson suffered a remarkable injustice and the victim's family, Stanley Opher's family, must now go home and say, 'we have no idea who murdered our son, our friend, our cousin,'"

Cooley said he worked on the case for 13 years in order to gather enough evidence to get the conviction overturned.