ERNEST SONNIER; (TEXAS); 23 YEARS BEHIND BARS; EXONERATED AFTER DNA TESTS RELEASED IN COURT; WRONGLY CONVICTED OF A 1986 RAPE;

"IN ADDITION TO THE VICTIM’S IDENTIFICATION THE JURY WAS GIVEN FAULTY FORENSIC TESTIMONY SKEWED TO BOLSTER THE PROSECUTION’S CASE. A HOUSTON CRIME LAB ANALYST TESTIFIED NARROWLY ABOUT THE RAPE KIT SLIDES, WHICH EVIDENCE DID NOT MATCH SONNIER’S BLOOD TYPE, AND AFFIRMED A PROSECUTION EFFORT TO EXPLAIN AWAY THE LACK OF A MATCH BY SUGGESTING THAT THE VICTIM’S BLOOD TYPE COULD HAVE MASKED THE PERPETRATOR’S. IN FACT, LAB RECORDS CONTAIN NO INDICATION OF SCIENTIFIC TESTING OR RESULTS TO SUPPORT THIS THEORY. THE ANALYST ALSO FAILED TO DISCLOSE THAT ADDITIONAL SEMEN EVIDENCE FROM THE VICTIM’S CLOTHING WAS TESTED, AND THAT ALL OF IT FAILED TO MATCH SONNIER’S BLOOD TYPE JURORS WERE LEFT WITH AN INCOMPLETE AND MISLEADING PICTURE OF THE AVAILABLE EVIDENCE. MOREOVER, SONNIER’S ATTORNEY DID NOT CALL A SINGLE WITNESS IN HIS DEFENSE."

THE DEFENCE RESTS: PAUL B. KENNEDY; (The Defence Rests contains "the musings, ramblings, rantings and observations of Houston DWI Attorney Paul B. Kennedy on DWI defense, general criminal defense, philosophy and whatever else tickles his fancy.")

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(SEE HOUSTON CHRONICLE STORY FOLLOWING THIS POST)

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"Ernest Sonnier who was released from prison last August when evidence surfaced that he had been wrongly convicted of a 1985 rape was exonerated when DNA tests results were released in court today," Paul Kennedy's post, published on May 25, 2010, under the heading, "Convicted rapist exonerated by DNA," begins.

"The tests results excluded Mr. Sonnier from being involved in a second rape that resulted in a murder. Mr. Sonnier had been a suspect in that case," the post continues.

"For all the talk in law school and the media about how a trial acts as a crucible of truth, Mr. Sonnier's case is a terrifying tale of just what happens when the police are allowed to run the crime "lab" that tests physical evidence in criminal cases. The following excerpt is from The Justice Project's report of the Sonnier case:

Sonnier’s conviction was based largely on misleading forensic testimony and a mistaken eyewitness identification. The victim picked Sonnier out of a photo lineup almost six months after the crime occurred and later identified him in a live lineup. At trial, the victim again identified Sonnier as her attacker, but conceded that the photo of Sonnier looked more like her assailant than did the man in the courtroom.

In addition to the victim’s identification the jury was given faulty forensic testimony skewed to bolster the prosecution’s case. A Houston Crime Lab analyst testified narrowly about the rape kit slides, which evidence did not match Sonnier’s blood type, and affirmed a prosecution effort to explain away the lack of a match by suggesting that the victim’s blood type could have masked the perpetrator’s. In fact, lab records contain no indication of scientific testing or results to support this theory. The analyst also failed to disclose that additional semen evidence from the victim’s clothing was tested, and that all of it failed to match Sonnier’s blood type Jurors were left with an incomplete and misleading picture of the available evidence. Moreover, Sonnier’s attorney did not call a single witness in his defense.

Unfortunately with Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley presiding over the Texas Forensic Science Commission you have the equivalent of the fox guarding the hen house. Mr. Bradley has a vested interest in preserving the status quo and not looking into "old cases" for the more we find out about the shoddy "science" used to deprive people of their freedom (and lives, in the case of Cameron Willingham), the more the public will question the win at all costs mentality that infects too many prosecutors across this state and this country."

The post can be found at:

http://kennedy-law.blogspot.com/2010/05/convicted-rapist-exonerated-by-dna.html

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DNA tests clear Houston man of 1986 rape
By BRIAN ROGERS
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
May 25, 2010, 7:12PM

HOUSTON CHRONICLE STORY;

A Houston man freed last year after spending 23 years in prison for a rape he did not commit cleared another hurdle Tuesday in his quest to be declared “actually innocent.”

DNA test results released in court Tuesday show that Ernest Sonnier, 47, was not involved in a second rape, which ended in a murder for which he was a suspect in 1985, said Alba Morales, the Innocence Project staff attorney handling the case. She said the test excluded Sonnier from being involved.

In the rape for which he was convicted, DNA testing over the past two years implicated two convicted felons as the perpetrators of the 1985 crime, Morales said.

Sonnier was released last Aug. 6 on a personal recognizance bond that included travel restrictions, including wearing an ankle monitor. State District Judge Michael McSpadden ruled Tuesday that Sonnier can travel freely and no longer must wear the monitor.

He continues to wait for a final ruling on his innocence, as prosecutors continue to investigate the case. He is scheduled to return to court for a hearing in September.

The rape for which he was convicted occurred Christmas Eve 1985, when two men approached a woman at an Alief gas station, forced her into her car by threatening to kill her and drove toward San Antonio. During a seven-hour drive, the men took turns raping the woman. The victim escaped the next morning after the men stopped the car.

Although two men committed the crime, Sonnier was the only person charged. He was convicted a year later and sentenced to life in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;