Texas man convicted in '81 stabbing death freed

CORSICANA, Texas (AP) -- A 58-year-old Texas man who served nearly 30 years in prison for a murder conviction has been freed after DNA testing pointed to another suspect.

Randolph Arledge was allowed to go free Monday by a judge in Corsicana, about 50 miles southeast of Dallas. Arledge was convicted in 1984 of stabbing a woman more than 40 times and leaving her body on a dirt road. He was given 99 years.

But prosecutors and Arledge's attorneys with the Innocence Project agreed Arledge should be released after DNA tests on a hairnet found in Carolyn Armstrong's car turned up a near-perfect match for another man, who's still at large.

Judge James Lagomarsino agreed with the attorneys' recommendations.

Arledge also served a sentence for armed robbery during part of his time in prison.

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