After 23 years in prison, 41-year-old Lamonte McIntyre was recently released, according to the Associated Press.

Unbelievably, the Kansas City native spent over two decades behind bars for a double murder he didn’t commit.

After being released he said, “First day out, I celebrate it with my family I was able to breathe and relax. That felt nice. So much tension in a place, having this burden on you. I was able to relax just enjoy my family.”

The tension wasn't just on McIntyre those 23 years — it was also on his mom. She told the AP that she carried guilt and anger during those years, believing that a choice she made landed her son in prison.

McIntyre’s mother, Rose, said that the white detective on her son’s case, Roger Golubski, requested regular sexual favors from her. She refused.

“I do believe that if I had complied with his request for me to become his ‘woman,’ that my son would likely not be in prison,” Rose said in a 2014 affidavit.

Golubski wasn't alone in being accused of abuse of power.

The prosecutor on the case, Terra Morehead, stands accused of intimidating any witness who did not point to McIntyre as the murder.

And, it gets even more twisted. Prior to her involvement in the case, Morehead was in a romantic relationship with the judge, J. Dexter Burdette. Neither one of them, at the time, felt the need to disclose the true nature of their relationship.

Sadly, none of these revelations were a surprise to the black Kansas City community. To them, this is the norm.

One of the witnesses threatened by Morehead, Niko Quinn, signed an affidavit admitting to her dishonesty on the stand during McIntyre’s 1994 case.

She said she felt she had no choice but to lie on the stand because Morehead threatened to take away her children and have her locked up if she didn't do as was she told. Another witness, Ruby Mitchell, was fearful of Golubski, who forced her to do a sexual act and repeatedly called her, prompting a move and a phone number change.

“He had total power, and I was terrified that he would try to force me again to provide sexual favors,” Mitchell said. “I also knew that there was no one I could complain to, as Golubski was known to be very powerful in the community and in the police department.”

And it was widely known in the department that Golubski preyed upon black sex workers and drug addicts, even fathering children with some of them, Ruby Ellington, a retired Kansas City police officer said.

“Roger Golubski’s involvement with them was no secret,” Ellington said. “It was simply accepted as part of what Roger Golubski was able to do without repercussion.”

Thank God the truth is out and McIntyre is free, but the nefarious detective, prosecutor and judge are still on the loose, living their best lives, and currently in little danger of facing any consequences for their actions.

A group called The Midwest Innocence Project is investigating a dozen plus cases similar to McIntyre’s, in an attempt to right wrongs, and to make sure such race-driven corruption ceases in Kansas City.