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Mamadou Diallo, 61, walked free from jail on Wednesday after a New York district attorney dropped all assault charges pending against him, the New York Daily News reports.

It was an act of defense that landed Diallo in jail in May; he fatally struck his wife’s attempted rapist with a tire iron after the attacker broke into their Bronx apartment.

Diallo, who works as a cab driver, was at work when his wife called him for help. When he returned, he found Earl Nash, 43, attacking his wife. Diallo was initially charged with manslaughter, but the charges were lowered to assault.

“I’m happy for the American justice, and it’s the best way in the world, that’s what I say,” Diallo said as he spoke to reporters outside the courthouse.

His wife, Nenegale Diallo, was overcome with emotion and echoed her husband’s sentiments: “I think they did the right thing because he was defending me, that’s what a husband does.”

Supporters of Diallo have been fighting for his release since May, meeting with the Bronx district attorney’s office to have all charges dropped. Advocates argued that the circumstances left him with no choice.

Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said the decision was made after a lengthy investigation and talks with Nash’s family, according to The Daily News.

Nash’s family wrote a letter to Clark saying their loved one was not the same man they remembered. Nash battled with drug addiction, schizophrenia, and had been arrested on several occasions.

“This case was a tragedy for all whose lives intersected in that Bronx building on the night of May 30,” Clark said. “We have determined that no grand jury action is warranted. We are dismissing the charges against Mamadou Diallo.”

SOURCE: New York Daily News | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty, Twitter

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New York Man Freed After Attacking Wife’s Attempted Rapist  was originally published on newsone.com