Betty Tyson, who was accused of participating in the 1973 murder of a visiting businessman in Rochester and was imprisoned for 25 years before being freed, died on Thursday at the age of 75.

Eve Ensler, a playwright and author V, who knew her said, “She was a very compassionate and a very caring person. She had an ability to transform any situation, to turn poison into medicine, to turn pain into celebration, to find a way in any system to outsmart it and not be beaten down by it.

Also read | Hurricane Hilary raises ‘catastrophic’ flood warning in Southern California | Watch Videos

Who was Betty Tyson?

Betty Tyson was 75 years old. Tyson was finally freed from prison in May 1998. She had spent 25 years in prison when she was finally freed, giving her the regrettable distinction of being New York’s longest-serving prisoner. She persistently insisted that she was innocent throughout the while she was incarcerated. 

She remarkably rose to respect and popularity among both her fellow inmates and the prison personnel while confined within the gates of Bedford Hills Correctional Facility.

Also read | Britney Spears and Sam Asghari are no longer on talking terms: Report

Tyson recently had a major heart attack and was on a life support at Strong Memorial Hospital.

The exoneration of Betty Tyson drew attention from all around the country, garnering headlines in significant newspapers and substantial coverage on television shows, including an episode of ABC’s “20/20.”

Ms. Tyson was well-known within the walls of Bedford Hills, the only maximum-security prison for women in the state, for her desire to help freshly imprisoned women get through the difficulties of prison life.

Also read | Who was Maria Gonzalez? 11-year-old Pasadena girl found raped and murdered at home

Karen Thomas, who was Tyson’s roommate at Bedford Hills said, “She was honest and kind and she cared about people who knew a lot less about how to cope and I was one of those people who knew jack about how to cope in prison. She was savvy and she was kind enough to share that. I would have known a lot less about how to get by. There was something about her that I trusted her, and what she was telling me was not self-serving.”