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Apr 16, 2008 5:05 pm US/Central
DNA Frees Dallas Co. Man After 23 Years In Prison
DALLAS (CBS 11 News/AP) ―
A 49-year-old man who spent nearly 23 years in prison for a rape he did not commit has been set free after a court hearing in Dallas.
A judge on Wednesday overturned the burglary and rape convictions of Thomas Clifford McGowan, who was convicted in separate trials in 1985 and 1986. He was serving life sentences in both cases.
"Words cannot express how sorry I am for the last 23 years," said state district Judge Susan Hawk, moments after overturning his convictions. "I believe you can walk out of here a free man."
A DNA test earlier this month showed that McGowan was not the source of the male DNA collected as part of a rape kit in May 1985. Lawyers say he was convicted largely on eyewitness misidentification by the victim.
"I've been living a life of a living hell and my nightmare is finally over with," McGowan said after the hearing. "This is the first day of my life. I'm going to go forward."
McGowan's saga began in May 1985 when a woman identified in court papers as "Ms. C" came home to her Richardson apartment and stumbled upon a burglar. The man bound her hands with his belt, raped her at knifepoint and then loaded his car with several items stolen from her apartment, according to court documents.
Police eventually presented the woman with a live lineup that included three suspects and three fillers. She did not identify any of the men as her attacker.
The woman was later shown a photo array of seven men. She picked out McGowan's photo, saying she "thought" he was the attacker. But police told her she had to be certain, that she "couldn't just think it was him," she testified in court. It was then that she said McGowan was "definitely" the attacker, according to court documents.
McGowan, wearing a button-down shirt and slacks, looked trim and relieved. He said he prayed frequently and was benefiting from some "powerful forces." While in prison, one of McGowan's sisters died, and he said he missed watching his sibling's children grow up.
"I know God forgives, so hey, I've got to forgive, too," McGowan said. "It's not going to benefit me to be harboring anger or resentment." Wednesday afternoon Richardson Police Department Chief Larry Zacharias released a statement that said, in part – "The Richardson Police Department has always made every effort to investigate a criminal case in a thorough and complete manner. Part of our effort during the McGowan investigation was to seek DNA analysis. Unfortunately, the bio-forensic technology in 1985 was not as advanced as the current technology and the sampling obtained from the crime scene was too small to obtain a DNA identifier."
The Innocence Project, a New York-based legal center that specializes in overturning wrongful convictions, took on McGowan's case last year.
DNA results showed that neither McGowan nor the victim's boyfriend were the source of the male DNA collected in the case. The DNA from McGowan's case yielded a full profile that is now being run through state and federal databases, assistant prosecutor Mike Ware said. If a match is found, it could identify the true rapist.
"He has lost nearly his entire adult life to a wrongful conviction that could have -- and should have -- been prevented," Innocence Project Co-Director Barry Scheck said.
Hawk's ruling must now be affirmed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
McGowan is the 16th Dallas man since 2001 to have his conviction cast aside because of DNA testing. That's the most of any county in the nation.
Unlike many jurisdictions, the crime lab used by police and prosecutors in Dallas retains biological evidence, meaning DNA testing is a viable option for decades-old crimes.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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