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Chicago man exonerated after 17 years in prison shot dead

In this Aug. 31, 2012 photo, Alprentiss Nash, who was been behind bars since his murder conviction in 1995, walks free from the Menard Correctional Center in downstate Chester, Ill., after Cook County prosecutors dropped the case against him. Chicago Police said Wednesday, July 29, 2015, that Nash was fatally shot in Chicago, Tuesday, July 28 after after an argument during "some sort of transaction" between Nash and his attacker. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune via AP)

Chicago • A Chicago man who served 17 years in prison for murder before being cleared of the crime was shot and killed almost three years after being released from prison, police said Wednesday. Alprentiss Nash, 40, was fatally shot Tuesday after an argument during "a drug deal gone bad" between Nash and his attacker, Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. He said a suspect was in custody and charges were pending. The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office said Nash died of multiple gunshot wounds. Nash was convicted in the 1995 murder of Leon Stroud on Chicago's South Side, based on witness testimony, though he always professed his innocence. In 1997, he was sentenced to 80 years in prison. He was released in August 2012 after DNA tests on a ski mask recovered from the scene matched the genetic profile of another man. Nash later received a certificate of innocence and a settlement of more than $200,000 from the state.

The Associated Press