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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Rape and Robbery (including burglary) |
Sentence: |
Life Imprisonment |
Years Imprisoned: |
20.75 |
Year Crime: |
1987 |
Year Convicted: |
1988 |
Year Cleared: |
2015 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Texas |
County or Region of Crime: |
Harris |
City of Crime: |
Houston |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Gary Alvin Richard was wrongly convicted of rape and aggravated robbery in an incident that occurred in January 1987 in Houston, Texas. Seven months after the attack, in August 1988, the woman saw Richard at a store and identified him as her attacker. Police arrested Richard and charged him with aggravated sexual assault, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery. Richard's prosecution was based on his identification by the victim, and testimony by a Houston Police Department Crime Laboratory supervisor James Bolding that the woman's assailant was a "non-secretor" because his semen gave no indication of his blood type, and that Richard was likewise a "non-secretor" -- which is shared by 20% of the population. After his conviction by a jury Gary Richard was sentenced to life in prison. In October 2007 an independent investigation of the Houston PD Crime lab, led by former U.S. Justice Department official Michael Bromwich, discovered lab notes from Richard's case that showed the semen from the woman's rape kit came from a non-secretor, but the notes also showed that Richard does display his blood type in his body fluids, meaning he was not the source of the deposited by the woman's assailant. Those notes were not disclosed to Richard's trial lawyer. The crime scene evidence had been destroyed, so new testing was ordered of Richard's bodily fluids, and the results released on April 24, 2009, confirming that he is a secretor -- while the woman's assailant was a non-secretor. On April 29, 2009, without opposition by the Harris County DA's Office, a Harris County judge recommended the granting of Richard's habeas corpus petition and the vacating of his conviction based on the new forensic evidence, and he was immediately released on a personal recognizance bond. After he was released Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos said that "Richard's case highlights the need for an independent crime lab run by scientists, not police." (Man walks free after 22 years, ABC-13 (Houston), April 30, 2009) On July 1, 2015 the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the lower court's ruling and granted Richard's habeas corpus writ and set-aside his conviction based, stating: "Relying on a laboratory analysis of Applicant's blood sample, the State concedes that the testimony was false and material to the conviction, and the trial court recommends that relief be granted."" |
Conviction Caused By: |
"Eyewitness identification by the victim, and erroneous testimony by a Houston Crime Lab technician that Richards' blood type was the same as the woman's assailant." |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On April 29, 2009, without opposition by the Harris County DA's Office, a Harris County judge recommended the granting of Richard's habeas corpus petition, and he was immediately released on bail. On July 1, 2015 the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the lower court's ruling and granted Richard's habeas corpus writ and set-aside his conviction based, stating: "Relying on a laboratory analysis of Applicant's blood sample, the State concedes that the testimony was false and material to the conviction, and the trial court recommends that relief be granted."" |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
31 |
Age When Released: |
53 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Judge orders man freed after 22 years in prison, By Roma Khanna, Houston Chronicle, April 29, 2009" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6399888.html |
Information Source 2: |
"Another evidence mistake from HPD crime lab surfaces: New tests show man jailed in 1987 attack is innocent, defense attorney says, By Roma Khanna (Staff), Houston Chronicle, April 24, 2009" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Another-evidence-mistake-from-HPD-crime-lab-1734297.php |
Information Source 3: |
"Man walks free after 22 years, ABC-13 (Houston), April 30, 2009" |
Information Location 3: |
http://abc13.com/archive/6789190/ |
Information Source 4: |
"Ex parte Gary Alvin Richard, No. WR-20,460-02 (Court of Criminal Appeals, 7-21-2015) (Granting habeas corpus petition based on new forensic evidence establishing Richard's conviction was based on "material, false testimony given by a prosecution witness at trial.")" |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=df82ddd8-73ac-4ecf-91e6-cbbb03aa6600&coa=coscca&DT=OPINION&MediaID=3b77aedd-c287-424f-8dba-e66ec53ed15b |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org