Exonerated of Rape Conviction, Man Is Freed After 26 Years

By JEFF CARLTON, Associated Press
January 4, 2008

DALLAS, Texas — Three times during his nearly 27 years in prison, Charles Chatman went before a parole board and refused to acknowledge he was a rapist. His steadfastness was vindicated yesterday, when a judge released him because of new DNA evidence showing he indeed wasn't. The release of Mr. Chatman, 47, added to Dallas County's nationally unmatched number of wrongfully convicted inmates.

"Every time I'd go to parole, they'd want a description of the crime or my version of the crime," Mr. Chatman said. "I don't have a version of the crime. I never committed the crime. I never will admit to doing this crime that I know I didn't do."

District Judge John Creuzot, whom defense lawyers credited with shepherding Mr. Chatman's case for exoneration through the legal system, recommended that Texas's Court of Criminal Appeals find Mr. Chatman not guilty. With several relatives dabbing at their eyes with tissues and cheering, Mr. Chatman was released.

"I really can't tell you how I feel," his aunt Ethel Barley said. "But I can tell you it is a different feeling than I have had in a long time, just to be holding his own hand."

Before the crime is officially cleared from Mr. Chatman's record, the appeals court must accept the recommendation or the governor must grant a pardon. Either step is considered a formality after Mr. Creuzot's ruling.

Mr. Chatman became the 15th inmate from Dallas County since 2001 to be freed by DNA testing. He served more time than any of the other inmates, four of whom were in court yesterday to show their support.

Dallas has freed more inmates after DNA testing than any other county nationwide, Natalie Roetzel of the Innocence Project of Texas said. Texas leads the country in prisoners freed by DNA testing, releasing at least 30 wrongfully convicted inmates since 2001, according to the Innocence Project.

One of the biggest reasons for the large number of exonerations is the crime lab used by Dallas County, which accounts for about half the state's DNA cases. Unlike many jurisdictions, the lab used by police and prosecutors retains biological evidence, meaning DNA testing is a viable option for decades-old crimes.

District Attorney Craig Watkins also attributes the exonerations to a past culture of overly aggressive prosecutors seeking convictions at any cost.

Mr. Watkins has started a program in which law students, supervised by the Innocence Project of Texas, are reviewing about 450 cases in which convicts have requested DNA testing to prove their innocence.

"It is time we stop kidding ourselves in believing that what happened in Dallas is somehow unique," the founder of the Innocence Project of Texas, Jeff Blackburn, said. "What happened in Dallas is common. This is Texas."

The hearing attracted a standing-room-only crowd that included Mr. Watkins, who was greeted warmly by two wrongly convicted Dallas men who have since won their freedom.

Also there was state Rep. Terri Hodge, a member of the criminal jurisprudence committee, who promised unspecified reforms when the Legislature convenes in 2009.

Mr. Chatman was 20 when the victim, a young woman in her 20s, picked him from a lineup. Mr. Chatman said he lived five houses down from the victim for 13 years but never knew her.

She identified him in court as the attacker, and serology tests showed that the type of blood found at the crime scene matched that of Mr. Chatman — along with 40% of other black males. Mr. Chatman said he was working at the time of the assault, an alibi supported by his sister, who was also his employer.

Nevertheless, Mr. Chatman was convicted of aggravated sexual assault in 1981 and sentenced to 99 years in prison. Mr. Chatman said he believes his race led to his arrest and conviction. The jury, he said, had one black member.

"I was convicted because a black man committed a crime against a white woman," Mr. Chatman said. "And I was available."

Mr. Chatman said he wants to work with the Innocence Project of Texas to support other people exonerated or wrongly convicted.

Exonerated of Rape Conviction, Man Is Freed After 26 Years

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