Three years after Dennis Perry was freed from prison, a new suspect has been charged in connection to a 1985 killing of a couple at a Black church. Erik Kristensen Sparre was jailed on suspicion of felony murder and aggravated assault in the killings of Harold and Thelma Swain. Perry was sentenced to life in prison for the killings until DNA evidence exonerated him after 20 years in prison.
On March 11, 1985, Harold and Thelma Swains attended a meeting at Rising Daughter Baptist Church. Another churchgoer noticed a man standing at the entrance to the church. The stranger said he wanted to talk with Harold Swain, 66. Swain went to speak with him, and witnesses reported hearing gunshots. Thelma Swain went to aid her husband and was also killed. The murderer escaped into the night, witnesses report.
The case went cold but was reopened in 1998. Dennis Perry was arrested and then convicted of the crime. However, perry’s advocates pointed to several irregularities in the case. “He was tried on a death penalty offense, he could have been executed, he had to waive his right to appeal a wrongful and unjust conviction to stay alive,” said an attorney working with Perry. “And then it took 20 years after that for his conviction to be overturned. There are so many lessons to be learned from this case.”
After he was convicted in 2003, Dennis Perry spent 20 years in prison. In 2020 new evidence came to light that convinced a superior court judge to order a retrial. The Judge dismissed all charges against Perry and ordered the prosecution to drop the case. The Georgia Innocence Project tested hairs found in the hinge of a pair of eyeglasses left next to the crime scene. They said the DNA matched Sparre, who had once been considered a suspect in the original case.
Perry had this to say “This indictment has been hanging over my head for over 20 years, and it’s such a relief to finally not have to worry about being accused of this awful thing.” He maintained his innocence the entire time he was jailed. In a statement, he said that he “knew that eventually someone else would see the truth.” Perry has no hard feelings for the people who put him behind bars. He said “I can put my trust back in the system now. I didn’t, but I can now because of what Keith Higgins and Judge Scarlet have done.”
Journalists began to dig into the case. They found that Sparre’s alibi that he was working at a grocery story when the killings occurred, was a fabrication. Doubts were also raised after it was revealed that jurors were never told a key witness was paid a $12,000 reward before testifying. Sparre had denied any involvement in the case previously.
Susan Clare, Perry’s attorney said “Today is a is a great day. And we’re celebrating with Dennis that the world finally knows what has been obvious to us for so long, which is that Dennis is innocent.“ Perry will not be compensated because Georgia is one of 13 states that prohibits restitution for wrongful incarceration or conviction.
However, another attorney mentioned that they might sue the state. This would enable him to seek restitution for his unjust conviction. “Once we’ve all reviewed it, then we’ll get together and discuss it and make a decision as to whether or not there’s going to be a prosecution against anyone else in the case,” the lawyer said. Public opinion is no doubt on Perry’s side.