DNA tests clear man convicted in 1996 rape

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updated 8:30 p.m. ET April 15, 2008

MOUNT CLEMENS, Michigan - A Detroit man who served 12 years in prison for rape was freed after DNA tests cleared him of the crime.

Authorities on Monday dropped charges against 29-year-old Nathaniel Hatchett. He had received a 25- to 40-year sentence after being convicted of raping, carjacking, kidnapping and robbing a woman in 1996.

Detroit police found Hatchett driving the woman's car and arrested him. He admitted stealing the car after it had been sitting near his house for a couple of days but said police duped him into confessing to other crimes.

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Hatchett was freed in part through DNA evidence with help from the Cooley Innocence Project at Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan.