John Kogut, 39, John Restivo, 44, and Dennis Halstead, 48 walked out of prison today for the first time in 17 years. Recent advanced DNA testing failed to link them to the crime--the murder of a teenage roller rink worker.

The men were released on bail as the prosecution has not yet decided whether to retry the men. Restivo was represented by Barry Scheck, who" hailed the decision to vacate the convictions."

''Once again, DNA testing has exposed the tragic fact that innocent people are accused, tried and convicted on a regular basis in the American criminal justice system,'' Scheck said.

According to Scheck, there have been more than 130 post-conviction exonerations nationwide based on DNA evidence. Scheck is founder of the Innocence Project at Cardozo Law School in New York City.

Why were the three convicted in the first place?

Kogut confessed to the crime after a lengthy interrogation and implicated Restivo and Halstead, but he later recanted. Two hairs found in Restivo's van were similar to those of the victim.

It is generally conceded today that microscopic comparison of hair samples is a ''junk science'' when used to identify the person from whom a hair came. It can show similiarities but it cannot identify the source of the hair. It's snake oil.

The advanced DNA testing showed that the semen on the victim did not match any of the three convicted young men.
Junk Science and false confessions--two prominent causes of wrongful convictions.