Houston prosecutors will ask a court Thursday to formally exonerate a Texas man after DNA tests ruled out his guilt in a rape for which he served 17 years in prison. George Rodriguez was freed in 2004 after an court appeals found that faulty scientific evidence had been used against him in his 1987 trial. Prosecutors didn't retry him, citing concerns about having the victim who had identified Rodriguez as one of her two attackers in a police lineup-- testify again.State officials had denied his request for a pardon, but Harris County District Attorney Patricia Lykos agreed to review his case after she took office in 2009.New DNA tests on the forensic evidence in the case came back February 22 and conclusively ruled out if Rodriguez was innocent or not.The Harris County District Attorney's office will ask a judge to formally declare Rodriguez innocent at a Thursday hearing.
No comments:
Post a Comment