DNA Exonerates Another TX Defendant

By TChris, Section Innocence Cases
Posted on Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 01:26:24 PM EST
Tags: (all tags)

Share This: Digg!

Can you imagine spending a quarter century in prison for crimes you didn't commit?

DNA testing last year showed Steven Phillips was innocent of a 1982 sexual assault and burglary. In January, additional testing found that DNA evidence from the rape matched another man, Sidney Alvin Goodyear, who died in prison about a dozen years ago.

Can you imagine, after being convicted despite your innocence, having to decide whether to maintain your innocence on related crimes, a stance likely to result in life imprisonment, or to plead guilty just for the chance to die outside of prison walls? [more ...]

Phillips, who is on parole and lives in a halfway house as part of his probation, still has an extensive criminal record because he pleaded guilty to nine related sex crimes over fear that he would receive a life sentence if convicted, his lawyer said. Prosecutors now believe those sex crimes were also committed by Goodyear.

The Innocence Project again deserves our gratitude for its tireless efforts to free the innocent.

Among those crimes to which he pleaded guilty was a string of assaults in which the perpetrator went into aerobics classes and at gunpoint forced women to undress and perform sexual acts.
About two years ago, an Innocence Project staffer found a 20-year-old newspaper story about a man who committed similar crimes at fitness centers. That man was Goodyear, who died in a Texas prison while serving a 45-year sentence for burglary of a habitation with intent to commit sexual assault with a deadly weapon.

A DNA test last summer excluded Phillips as the rapist from the May 1982 assault and subsequent testing earlier this year on a blood sample from Goodyear's autopsy revealed a match to the dead felon.

The Innocence Project "accuse[d] Dallas police of improperly focusing on Phillips and ignoring evidence that pointed to Goodyear, originally a suspect before police targeted Phillips."

DNA testing has proven the innocence of 18 Dallas County men since 2001, which is a national high, according to the Innocence Project. Texas leads the nation with 32 such exonerations.

This is a too-unusual instance in which the District Attorney's office deserves praise for its willingness to recognize a mistake.

< Sunday Afternoon Open Thread | Epstein On Habeas And Boumediene >

Legal

Nothing on this site should be construed as legal advice. TalkLeft does not give legal advice.

TalkLeft is not responsible for and often disagrees with material posted in the comments section. Read at your own risk.

DNA Exonerates Another TX Defendant | 6 comments (6 topical)

Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment

No, it is not easy to imagine and I am sure (none / 0) (#1)
by PssttCmere08 on Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 01:33:52 PM EST

Phillips is more than glad the truth has finally come to light. I have seen stories on other instances like this where the DA even refuses to believe they can be wrong. Nice that this guy saw the light. And, I wish Phillips much success in the future.

American criminal complicity (none / 0) (#2)
by pluege on Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 01:52:29 PM EST

after 25 years of being falsely imprisoned, I could imagine Phillips having a very jaundiced view of "truth". If he has a means to maintain himself on the outside, I would imagine the whole thing being little more than a change of scenery.

The State has already wasted a substantial chunk of his life, a crime in and of itself that the callous psychotic freaks loose throughout American society that are intent on incarceration no matter what, have no concept of.

Question- do these people have the right to sue? (none / 0) (#3)
by samtaylor2 on Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 02:19:42 PM EST

If they take away your life unjustly, do these men have any right to sue, and if they don't is it or isn't it a good a idea to give it to them?

This is what happens... (none / 0) (#4)
by dianem on Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 02:20:21 PM EST

...when a legal system devolves until it values truth less than procedure. The prosecutor wanted to clear crimes off of his books. He didn't care about evidence, or even if the person really was guilty. He scored points by getting someone to plead guilty to the crimes. Whether they were guilty or not was irrelevant. His job is to get convictions, not to find out who is guilty and who isn't. If he brings charges, it's because he thinks he can get a conviction.

And let's not pretend that defense attorneys are innocent of this mindset, either. Their job is to defend their client, regardless of guilt or innocence. Anything other than the best defense is irresponsible.

The entire system is a game played by prosecutors and defense attorneys with convictions and aquittals (or reduced sentences) as the stakes. Guilt and innocence has fallen by the wayside, as evidenced by the attorney's who recently revealed that they KNEW somebody was innocent but were limited by their ethics and could not reveal this fact. In a fair system, one in which guilt or innocence were the primary concern, there would have been a way to release that man and an ethical obligation on the party of anybody who had exculpatory information to do so.

Sorry is this is unpopular, but you said you wanted "man on the street" opinions, and this is mine.

why should (none / 0) (#5)
by cpinva on Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 02:47:26 PM EST

they be praised for doing the obvious? it's not like they had a lot of choice in the matter.

the real question here is why does dallas have such a high rate of "mistakes"? this is clearly a systemic problem that raises doubts about the fairness and efficacy of the whole process.

: Change you can believe in.... (none / 0) (#6)
by Rojas on Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 03:14:20 PM EST

This was one of those down ticket races that made a difference. The old "republican guard" was swept out of the county in 2006.
There was alot of "hand wringing" when it happened. Perhaps this is why.
The new DA has been working with closely with the IP.