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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Murder |
Sentence: |
40 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
0.17 |
Year Crime: |
2014 |
Year Convicted: |
2015 |
Year Cleared: |
2017 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Texas |
County or Region of Crime: |
Nueces |
City of Crime: |
Corpus Christi |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated (Not released due to other charges.) |
Summary of Case: |
"Courtney Hayden was wrongly convicted on November 25, 2015 of murdering her lover Anthony Cane Macias in her town home on April 30, 2014 in Corpus Christi, Texas. Hayden admitted shooting Macias, but she claimed she did so in self-defense. About a week before the shooting Hayden, who was 24, and Macias, 33, robbed a man who she met online who was seeking to date a younger woman. She agreed to meet the man, but requested he bring $10,000. The two met the man at a hotel and when she left to smoke, Macias pointed a gun at the man and demanded the money. He gave them the money and after Hayden gathered her things they left. The prosecution's narrative was that Hayden shot Macias because she was afraid he was going to turn her in. Her defense was that when Macias came to her apartment, supposedly to smoke pot, he had two friends with him and a shotgun. She thought he was going to rob her, and grabbed the shotgun which went off, killing Macias. The medical examiner, Dr. Adel Shaker testified that Macias was shot in the chest from up to three feet away -- which supported the prosecution's narrative. At the start of her trial, Hayden had pled guilty to the robbery and was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined $10,000. After Hayden's conviction of murder by a jury she was sentenced to 40 years in prison. A couple of weeks after Hayden's trial the lead prosecutor faxed a letter to Hayden's lawyer that Dr. Shaker initially believed the shotgun's muzzle was against Macias' chest when it went off. A text from Shaker to prosecutor Jenny Dorsey prior to his testimony said he "could live with three feet" as the location of the shotgun's muzzle when it discharged. Hayden filed a petition for a new trial based on the non-disclosure of the exculpatory evidence. In January 2016 State District Judge Nanette Hasette granted Hayden's petition and ordered a new trial. Hasette also vacated Hayden's guilty plea to robbery and her sentence. Hayden was released on bond pending her retrial. The Nueces County DA's Office declined to retry Hayden on the murder charge. On May 31, 2017 State District Judge Nanette Hasette dismissed the murder charge due to the egregious prosecutor misconduct of failing to disclose the evidence regarding Dr. Shaker's original opinon prior to trial. The Nueces County District Attorney's Office appealed the dismissal. On January 19, 2018 Hayden pled guilty to aggravated robbery in exchange for the DA's Office dropping its appeal of the murder charge dismissal, and she was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Hayden was pregnant, and Judge Hasette denied Hayden's request that she be allowed to remain free until she gave birth to her child." |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
"In January 2016 State District Judge Nanette Hasette granted Hayden's petition and ordered a new trial. Hasette also vacated Hayden's guilty plea to robbery and her sentence. Hayden was released on bond pending her retrial. The Nueces County DA's Office declined to retry Hayden on the murder charge. On May 31, 2017 State District Judge Nanette Hasette dismissed the murder charge due to the egregious prosecutor misconduct of failing to disclose the evidence regarding Dr. Shaker's original opinon prior to trial. The Nueces County District Attorney's Office appealed the dismissal. On January 19, 2018 Hayden pled guilty to aggravated robbery in exchange for the DA's Office dropping its appeal of the murder charge dismissal, and she was sentenced to 12 years in prison." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
25 |
Age When Released: |
25 |
Sex: |
Female |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"Woman in court after judge tosses murder conviction, By Krista M. Tarralva, Corpus Christi Caller-Times, June 1, 2017" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.caller.com/story/news/local/2017/06/01/victims-family-sa/361630001/ |
Information Source 2: |
"Courtney Hayden gets 12 years in robbery case, By Eleanor Dearman, Corpus Christi Caller-Times, January 19, 2018" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.caller.com/story/news/local/2018/01/19/courtney-hayden-gets-12-years-robbery-case/1048455001/ |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org