Dallas / Fort Worth Local News

DALLAS (CBS 11 News / AP) ― A judge recommended a new trial Friday for a man who spent the last 21 years in prison for capital murder after a DNA test refuted the testimony of a key witness who prosecutors say lied to hide his own guilt.

But the case is complicated by the Dallas County District Attorney's office's intent to retry the defendant, Clay Reed Chabot. Prosecutors say Chabot did not receive a fair trial in 1986 but insists he is guilty of murdering a 28-year-old Garland woman over a drug deal gone bad.

Chabot, 48, will remain behind bars at least until an Oct. 26 bond hearing. He will receive a new trial if the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin accepts state District Judge Lana Myers' recommendation.

Mike Ware, a Dallas County assistant district attorney, said a DNA test in June does not exonerate Chabot, even though the results exclude him from the rape of the victim.

The test shows that the state's key witness in the 1986 trial, Gerald Pabst, participated in the rape and "lied about his own role in the murder," Ware said. Those lies were crucial in convicting Chabot, Ware said.

Prosecutors oppose any bond.

"We have agreed Chabot should get a new trial and that's a reflection of our respect for due process," said Ware, who noted the gun used in the slaying belonged to Chabot. "This does not mean Chabot was not the shooter in this case and does not prove he was not an active participant in the brutal assault."

Vanessa Potkin, Chabot's lawyer, said she believes Chabot will be vindicated. That could happen in at least two ways: an acquittal in a new trial or if the district attorney's office dismisses the charges after its investigation.

"It's a huge step for Clay Chabot toward securing his freedom and bringing an end to this 21-year nightmare he has endured because of one man's lies," said Potkin, an attorney with the Innocence Project, a legal center specializing in overturning wrongful convictions. "The DNA in this case not only revealed that the state's case was built on lies but has also identified the rapist in this case -- and the murderer."

Pabst testified in the 1986 trial that Chabot raped and murdered Galua Crosby. She was found dead with her hands and feet bound. She had been shot in the head three times and raped.

Pabst said he helped tie up Crosby, but that Chabot raped and killed her. Chabot told police he had not been involved in Crosby's death and was home with his family.

Chabot was convicted of the rape and murder, and Pabst was released for time served on a misdemeanor theft charge, according to the district attorney's office.

Chabot requested a DNA test in 2002 and in 2004 received help from the Innocence Project.

Following the DNA test, Pabst was arrested in July in Ohio and indicted in Dallas on a capital murder charge. He remains in the county jail in lieu of a $500,000 bond. Pabst's attorney did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.

Texas leads the nation with 29 DNA exonerations, two more than Illinois, according to the Innocence Project. Thirteen men in Dallas County, the most of any county in the nation, have been exonerated by DNA evidence since 2001.

But this case differs from some DNA because the district attorney's office plans to retry the case. Potkin said that development is "somewhat surprising."

But the district attorney's office, which will also prosecute Pabst, said Chabot belongs behind bars.

"I wish this was clean but it's not, and so it's a hard case," Ware said.

Both Chabot and Pabst are from Ohio, near Cleveland. Pabst lived near Chabot's brother Mark, who was in the courtroom Friday testifying that he would supervise Clay Chabot if he posts bond.

"To us it was a miracle," Mark Chabot said. "We always felt he was innocent."

Also in the court was Susan Campbell of Dallas, the sister-in-law of the victim. She said she believes Chabot is guilty and would like to see both Chabot and Pabst in prison.

"It's unfortunate he is going to get another trial," Campbell said. "For the family, it's like having someone die all over again."

(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)