I feel there should be a thread dedicated to this topic.
Wrongfully Convicted Dallas Man Set To Be Released After 34 Years
MARCH 20, 2020
Spencer has maintained his innocence since he was arrested.
In the years that have followed, a growing number of others have joined Spencer in championing his innocence. In 2007, now-retired Dallas County Judge Rick Magnis ruled that Spencer had been unfairly convicted before a higher court overturned that decision.
Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot’s Conviction Integrity Unit took up Spencer’s claims soon after the DA took office.
“We conducted an independent investigation, and when we did that, it was apparent that Spencer was wrongfully convicted,” said Cynthia Garza, chief of the CIU, in a news release.
In March 1987, Jeffrey Young was killed during a robbery, and a witness later claimed she had seen Spencer and another man exiting Young’s stolen car in a dark alleyway. At the time she claimed she could identify Spencer, the witness was at a distance of approximately a football field away, according to court testimony.
There was no physical evidence found that linked either men to the killing or to the vehicle.
That key witness was later found to have given false testimony about her expectation of receiving upwards of $25,000 in reward money, put up by the family of Dallas billionaire Ross Perot, who knew the victim’s family, that would be awarded if the trial ended in a conviction.
Spencer spent the majority of his sentence in a maximum security state prison but is currently being held in the Dallas County jail.
A Dallas man is set to be released from custody on Thursday, more than 30 years after he was convicted for a crime that prosecutors now acknowledge he did not commit.
On Wednesday, the Dallas County District Attorney’s office announced that the conviction of Benjamine Spencer should be vacated. Attorneys for Spencer later stated that their client would be released on Thursday.
Spencer was convicted in 1987 for killing a man during a robbery. He was granted a new trial the following year, was convicted again – this time for aggravated robbery – and was sentenced to life in prison.
Spencer has maintained his innocence since he was arrested.
In the years that have followed, a growing number of others have joined Spencer in championing his innocence. In 2007, now-retired Dallas County Judge Rick Magnis ruled that Spencer had been unfairly convicted before a higher court overturned that decision.
Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot’s Conviction Integrity Unit took up Spencer’s claims soon after the DA took office.
“We conducted an independent investigation, and when we did that, it was apparent that Spencer was wrongfully convicted,” said Cynthia Garza, chief of the CIU, in a news release.
In March 1987, Jeffrey Young was killed during a robbery, and a witness later claimed she had seen Spencer and another man exiting Young’s stolen car in a dark alleyway. At the time she claimed she could identify Spencer, the witness was at a distance of approximately a football field away, according to court testimony.
There was no physical evidence found that linked either men to the killing or to the vehicle.
That key witness was later found to have given false testimony about her expectation of receiving upwards of $25,000 in reward money, put up by the family of Dallas billionaire Ross Perot, who knew the victim’s family, that would be awarded if the trial ended in a conviction.
Spencer spent the majority of his sentence in a maximum security state prison but is currently being held in the Dallas County jail.
MARCH 20, 2020
Spencer has maintained his innocence since he was arrested.
In the years that have followed, a growing number of others have joined Spencer in championing his innocence. In 2007, now-retired Dallas County Judge Rick Magnis ruled that Spencer had been unfairly convicted before a higher court overturned that decision.
Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot’s Conviction Integrity Unit took up Spencer’s claims soon after the DA took office.
“We conducted an independent investigation, and when we did that, it was apparent that Spencer was wrongfully convicted,” said Cynthia Garza, chief of the CIU, in a news release.
In March 1987, Jeffrey Young was killed during a robbery, and a witness later claimed she had seen Spencer and another man exiting Young’s stolen car in a dark alleyway. At the time she claimed she could identify Spencer, the witness was at a distance of approximately a football field away, according to court testimony.
There was no physical evidence found that linked either men to the killing or to the vehicle.
That key witness was later found to have given false testimony about her expectation of receiving upwards of $25,000 in reward money, put up by the family of Dallas billionaire Ross Perot, who knew the victim’s family, that would be awarded if the trial ended in a conviction.
Spencer spent the majority of his sentence in a maximum security state prison but is currently being held in the Dallas County jail.
A Dallas man is set to be released from custody on Thursday, more than 30 years after he was convicted for a crime that prosecutors now acknowledge he did not commit.
On Wednesday, the Dallas County District Attorney’s office announced that the conviction of Benjamine Spencer should be vacated. Attorneys for Spencer later stated that their client would be released on Thursday.
Spencer was convicted in 1987 for killing a man during a robbery. He was granted a new trial the following year, was convicted again – this time for aggravated robbery – and was sentenced to life in prison.
Spencer has maintained his innocence since he was arrested.
In the years that have followed, a growing number of others have joined Spencer in championing his innocence. In 2007, now-retired Dallas County Judge Rick Magnis ruled that Spencer had been unfairly convicted before a higher court overturned that decision.
Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot’s Conviction Integrity Unit took up Spencer’s claims soon after the DA took office.
“We conducted an independent investigation, and when we did that, it was apparent that Spencer was wrongfully convicted,” said Cynthia Garza, chief of the CIU, in a news release.
In March 1987, Jeffrey Young was killed during a robbery, and a witness later claimed she had seen Spencer and another man exiting Young’s stolen car in a dark alleyway. At the time she claimed she could identify Spencer, the witness was at a distance of approximately a football field away, according to court testimony.
There was no physical evidence found that linked either men to the killing or to the vehicle.
That key witness was later found to have given false testimony about her expectation of receiving upwards of $25,000 in reward money, put up by the family of Dallas billionaire Ross Perot, who knew the victim’s family, that would be awarded if the trial ended in a conviction.
Spencer spent the majority of his sentence in a maximum security state prison but is currently being held in the Dallas County jail.
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