Oct 26, 2007 6:40 pm US/Central
DNA Clears Another Dallas Co. Wrongful Conviction
Release Marks 13th Cleared Wrongful Conviction From Dallas County
by Steve Pickett
DALLAS (CBS 11 News) ―
Another person who was wrongfully convicted of a crime in Dallas County was cleared today.
Eugene Henton was convicted of rape in 1984.
That year, when he was 17, he accepted a plea bargain for a crime he did not commit.
It was a four-year deal. "Told I would receive a life sentence if I didn't plead guilty to this," he said today. "I had no knowledge of the system, and I thought a life sentence was a life sentence."
So he pleaded guilty and served 18 months. After he was released, he soon got into trouble again. He was sentenced to 20 years for assault and 40 years for dealing drugs. Both penalties were made harsher by his rape conviction.
But now, DNA has proven what Henton knew all along. He didn't commit the rape.
This morning, a judge cleared that conviction from his record and set him free.
He's the thirteenth person cleared by DNA after a wrongful conviction in Dallas County. District Attorney Craig Watkins, who took office on January 1, has been very aggressive in working to clear those convictions.
The Innocence Project of Texas has worked to clear many of those wrongful convictions, and group was involved in this one, too. Jeff Blackburn is the group's chief counsel. "A defective conviction, a false conviction , a wrongful conviction is something Dallas can't tolerate," he said, "and I think that's a clear message that comes out of here, no matter who it's for."
Henton, who became fluent in Spanish and Arabic while he was in prison, says he's not holding a grudge. "I'm not angry. Actually, I'm thankful for the time I've had because I went through a transformation.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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