HOUSTON — A man who was exonerated in a murder case in 2021 is now accused of shooting a man to death in an apparent road rage incident.
Lydell Grant in 2012 was wrongfully convicted in the 2010 stabbing death of a man outside a Montrose bar. In May 2021, he was exonerated in that case after the Innocence Project of Texas got involved with his case. Grant was awarded $80,000 a year for each of the seven years he was wrongfully imprisoned.
On April 7, police said Grant shot a man to death after a car crash he caused when he ran a stop sign on Hiram Clarke Road near Highway 90. He's since been charged with murder and is being held on a $1 million bond.
If convicted, Grant could lose the compensation he's been getting from the state.
"When I heard about the story, I thought it was just tragic, but I didn't know it would be Lydell that would be arrested for the case," said Anthony Graves, who spent 18 years on death row for a crime he did not commit. "I've seen a lot of injustice, a lot of inhumanity."
Grant was wrongfully convicted in the 2010 murder of Aaron Scheerhoorn and was declared actually innocent. He was awarded $673,333 from the state, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.
Graves said Grant will continue to receive the money unless he is convicted.
“He should have his day in court, we should not rush to judgment because we did that with him before and he was wrongfully convicted," Graves said.
But he worries there's already been a rush to judgment for Grant.
Grant's accused of shooting 33-year-old Edwin Arevalo to death outside a southwest Houston gas station.
“I hope Mr. Lydell Grant is fixing to not get caught up in the politics because I see it coming," Graves said. "I hope that family can have their day in court.”
Grant's next court date is scheduled for May 25. He's set to appear before a judge for arraignment.