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DNA cuts short a life term

A Plant City man serves 24 years after a 1982 conviction, but new evidence helps free him.

By Times Staff Writer
Published December 22, 2006

BARTOW - Twenty-four years into a life sentence, a Plant City man won his ticket home Thursday with the help of new DNA evidence.

Tony Knighten, 48, was convicted in Polk County in October 1982 on two counts of sexual battery with force and one count of burglary with an assault.

Authorities accused him of entering a mobile home and assaulting two women. At his trial, a prosecutor said two hairs found at the scene had been shown by microscopic examination to be like the defendant's, Polk County state attorney spokesman Chip Thullbery said Thursday.

DNA testing was not available at the time.

A recent test proved the hairs did not belong to Knighten, Thullbery said.

The hairs were not the only evidence used at trial. But Thullbery said the age of the case and trouble finding one of the victims led prosecutors to offer Knighten a plea deal for a lesser crime rather than retry his case.

On Thursday, he pleaded no contest to one count of burglary of an occupied structure with an assault or battery. A judge sentenced him to 20 years in prison, which he already has served.

"It is not our position that the DNA results exonerate the defendant," Thullbery said, noting that the two victims identified Knighten as their attacker.

Knighten is expected to be released from the Polk County jail in the coming days. He also served five years in prison for a 1979 sexual battery in Hillsborough County.

His wife Brenda, who lives in Plant City, did not want to comment about Knighten's release without his permission. A family friend said the decision was overdue.

"It's sad that this happens," said Roberta Lemke of Gulfport. "Now what's this man supposed to do? He's not young anymore."

[Last modified December 22, 2006, 05:51:19]