Kalvin Michael Smith, the Winston-Salem man freed last November after 20 years in prison, was shot last night, according to police.

Smith was convicted in the brutal 1995 beating of Jill Marker at the Silk Plant Forest, but the police investigation leading to the conviction was widely undermined through successive reviews by the Winston-Salem Journal, a citizens committee and former Assistant FBI Director Chris Swecker.

Winston-Salem police officers responding to a call for a reported shooting found Smith lying on the sidewalk on the 900 block of North Jackson Avenue suffering from a gunshot wound, according to a police press release. Smith was reportedly transported to a local hospital and treated for his injuries. His condition was listed as critical but stable.

Police are investigating the incident and asking anyone with information to call the department at 336.773.7700 or CrimeStoppers at 336.727.2800.

Residents in the area where Smith was found last night, led by Reynoldstown Neighborhood Association Chair Estella Brown, have been working with the police and the Nation of Islam to curb illicit drink houses in recent months.

Previous coverage of Kalvin Michael Smith in Triad City Beat here and here.

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