Ray Gray, convicted of Detroit murder 48 years ago, released after deal with Wayne County

DETROIT (FOX 2) - After almost 50 years behind bars, Ray Gray walked out of prison as a free man on Tuesday after a deal was reached between the prosecutor's office and Gray.

Gray entered a no contest plea to second-degree murder charges for the 1973 death of a man in a Detroit apartment. Gray was 21 when he was sentenced to life in prison and is now 68, one of Michigan's longest-service inmates in custody.

Gray was convicted in 1974 in a bench trial and ordered to life in prison.

For the past 35 years, he's been married to Barbara Rinehart who was his art instructor at Jackson Prison. 

"There was never any physical evidence. One woman said he did it, one said she wasn't sure and one, Barbara Hill, said he didn't do it," Rinehart said.

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On Tuesday, after nearly five decades of proclaiming his innocence, Gray was released.

"One of the happiest days of my life," he said on Tuesday. "I feel blessed and grateful for the people. The people made it happen."

Gray, an accomplished artist, said that is what saved him in his nearly 50 years in prison. When he was released, he said he wanted some seafood from Red Lobster, a cell phone, and head to the art store.

"Art was sort of like my salvation, like a religion - it helped me," he said.

Gray was not exonerated of the crime as the conviction integrity unit of the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said they were not able to prove his innocence.

"Given the passage of time, the ensuing inability to substantiate the claim of innocence, eyewitness Marie Clark’s trial identification testimony and her recent interview identifying Ray Gray as one of the two robbers, this is not an exoneration. However, this case does present many questions that cannot be answered," said Prosecutor Worthy in a press release.

Former reporter Bill Proctor has worked on Gray's case since 2006 and maintains that Gray did not commit the murder.

"I know he's innocent because I talked to the killer. The killer gave me information about what happened that night and it had nothing to do with Ray Gray except for the unfortunate fact that the killer, his partner, and a woman - who could be a co-conspirator - all stopped in to say hello to ray on the way to the crime," Proctor said.

A no contest plea does not admit guilt but does not contest the charge of the crime, which Gray has said he didn't commit.  

"Given the amount of time served and the possibility of innocence, we agreed to allow Mr. Gray to enter a no contest plea to Second-Degree Murder with a sentence agreement to time served of, years. We wish him well," Worthy said.

Another man later admitted to the crime but Gray remained in prison.

He gained an ally in the deputy director of the Detroit Crime Commission, Ellis Stafford, who called for his release last November.

"He didn't do it. He didn't do it," said Stafford.

Stafford was with the Michigan State Police for 23 years. He and a former FBI agent have investigated Gray's case, interviewed him and even had him sit for a polygraph.

"Crime Commission paid for the polygraph and Ray passed with flying colors," Stafford said. 

Gray said knowing that so many people were fighting for him helped him while in prison.

"I knew what the truth was and I knew that the truth would eventually get out," he said. "Today is a beautiful day."

Ray Gray