{"id":11806,"date":"2010-09-24T10:15:28","date_gmt":"2010-09-24T15:15:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=11806"},"modified":"2010-09-24T11:14:56","modified_gmt":"2010-09-24T16:14:56","slug":"fingerprint-could-prove-innocence-for-deaf-inmate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2010\/09\/24\/fingerprint-could-prove-innocence-for-deaf-inmate\/","title":{"rendered":"Fingerprint could prove innocence for deaf inmate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fingerprint could prove innocence for deaf inmate<\/strong><\/p>\n

By JEFF CARLTON Associated Press Writer \u00a9 2010 The Associated Press<\/p>\n

September 23, 2010<\/p>\n

DALLAS \u2014 A deaf man convicted of sexual assault of a child \u2014 even though the
\nfingerprint of a convicted child rapist was found at the crime scene \u2014 could
\nwalk free after a court hearing next week, his attorney said Thursday.<\/p>\n

Stephen Brodie, who has spent 10 years behind bars, is expected to have his
\nguilty verdict set aside at a hearing Monday. The Dallas County district
\nattorney’s office confirmed it is supporting Brodie’s claim of innocence in
\nthe 1990 sexual assault of a 5-year-old girl in Richardson, a suburb of
\nDallas.<\/p>\n

Police in Richardson learned that a fingerprint at the crime scene matched a
\nman who pleaded guilty to the sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl but
\ncontinued to insist they’d arrested the right man. That same convicted sex
\noffender also was the chief suspect in about a dozen similar sexual assaults
\nof young girls terrorizing the Dallas area in the early 1990s, according to
\nDallas police.<\/p>\n

“It’s pretty ludicrous,” said Michelle Moore, Brodie’s attorney. “I don’t
\nreally have a good answer for it.”<\/p>\n

Richardson Police Chief Jim Spivey did not respond to an interview request
\nfrom The Associated Press. His department is fighting an AP open records
\nrequest for its files, arguing there is no legitimate public interest in the
\ncase. The request is pending before the state attorney general’s office.<\/p>\n

If he is freed, Brodie, 39, would be the second exoneration case in two
\nyears involving Richardson police. The first was Thomas McGowan, who was
\nfreed in 2008 after serving 23 years of a life sentence for a rape he did
\nnot commit.<\/p>\n

Although Dallas County has exonerated 20 wrongly convicted people in recent
\nyears through DNA testing \u2014 more than any other county nationally and all
\nbut two states \u2014 the Brodie case does not involve DNA. Instead, it is the
\ncounty’s first potential exoneration involving a false confession, Moore
\nsaid.<\/p>\n

In 1991, Brodie was a teenager and petty criminal when he was arrested for
\nstealing quarters from a soda machine at a community swimming pool. During
\nquestioning, the police shifted to a more serious matter: the unsolved
\nsexual assault of a 5-year-old girl.<\/p>\n

A man had entered the little girl’s home through a window and forced her to
\nleave with her blanket and pillow. He assaulted her in a nearby yard,
\naccording to a police report. There were about a dozen similar unsolved
\ncases in the Dallas area.<\/p>\n

Brodie, left permanently deaf after a bout with spinal meningitis as a
\ntoddler, was questioned for 18 hours over eight days, according to court
\nrecords. At least 4 1\/2 hours of questioning over four sessions were
\nconducted without an interpreter.<\/p>\n

He eventually confessed to assaulting the little girl, court documents show.
\nHe also repeatedly denied it. In addition, he confessed to a number of
\nfictitious crimes the detectives made up to test his credibility.<\/p>\n

In a recent jailhouse interview, Brodie told the AP he was intimidated and
\nnot savvy enough to request an attorney.<\/p>\n

At least one detective did not find him credible, but he was from a
\ndifferent department. Dallas Detective Steven Nelson questioned Brodie and
\nconcluded he was confessing to made-up crimes and had no knowledge about the
\nactual crimes. Nelson, in an affidavit, said he informed Richardson police
\nBrodie was not a suspect.<\/p>\n

There was no physical evidence linking Brodie to the crime. Moore said
\nprosecutors failed to notify Brodie’s lawyer about forensic testing on hair
\nfound at the crime scene that excluded Brodie as the source.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, Richardson police charged Brodie with sexual assault of a child
\neven though neither a hair found on her blanket nor the fingerprint were a
\nmatch.<\/p>\n

Brodie’s attorney unsuccessfully fought at trial to suppress his client’s
\nconfession. Figuring a guilty verdict was certain and knowing it was
\npunishable by up to 99 years, Brodie cut a deal.<\/p>\n

He pleaded guilty to assaulting the girl in exchange for a five-year prison
\nsentence. After serving that sentence, he served two more totaling an extra
\nfive years for twice failing to register as a sex offender.<\/p>\n

While Brodie was in prison, Richardson police learned the fingerprint on the
\nwindow matched Robert Warterfield, according to court documents and police
\nrecords. In April 1994, Warterfield pleaded guilty to the sexual assault of
\na 15-year-old girl and received 10 years probation. He eventually was
\nsentenced to 10 years in prison for violating his probation. He is now free
\nand works for a yard service in Stephenville, according to the Texas sex
\noffender registry.<\/p>\n

Richardson police say the fingerprint is a coincidence and that Warterfield
\n“somehow touched the frame when he was wandering around in the neighborhood
\nfour days prior to this offense,” according to police records.<\/p>\n

A man who identified himself as Warterfield’s father declined to comment
\nThursday or say whether his son has an attorney.<\/p>\n

In a 1994 appeal, Brodie’s attorney cited the fingerprint on the window. But
\nJudge Lena Levario denied the appeal, ruling that Brodie’s confession
\noutweighed the fingerprint evidence. Levario is the judge presiding at the
\nhearing Monday.<\/p>\n

Source:
\n http:\/\/www.chron.com\/disp\/story.mpl\/ap\/tx\/7215232.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fingerprint could prove innocence for deaf inmate By JEFF CARLTON Associated Press Writer \u00a9 2010 The Associated Press September 23, 2010 DALLAS \u2014 A deaf man convicted of sexual assault of a child \u2014 even though the fingerprint of a…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[4621,5662,6431,19,6435,6433,6434,6430,5661,5671,6437,2312,5667,1754,5670,6432,17,6436],"class_list":["post-11806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-article","tag-brodie","tag-court","tag-dallas-dfw","tag-dallas-county","tag-detective-steven-nelson","tag-dna","tag-evidence","tag-fingerprint","tag-michelle-moore","tag-police-chief-jim-spivey","tag-richardson","tag-sex-offender","tag-sexual-assault","tag-stephen-brodie","tag-stephenville","tag-texas","tag-thomas-mcgowan"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-34q","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11206,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2010\/07\/26\/deaf-inmate-says-fingerprint-proves-his-innocence\/","url_meta":{"origin":11806,"position":0},"title":"Deaf inmate says fingerprint proves his innocence","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"July 26, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Deaf inmate says fingerprint proves his innocence By JEFF CARLTON (AP) July 14, 2010 DALLAS \u2014 Through a sign-language interpreter at the Dallas County Jail, Stephen Brodie cops to all sorts of crimes save the one that put him behind bars for 10 years: sexual assault of a 5-year-old girl.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11841,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2010\/09\/28\/judge-exonerates-deaf-man-wrongly-convicted-in-1990-sex-assault-of-richardson-girl\/","url_meta":{"origin":11806,"position":1},"title":"Judge exonerates deaf man wrongly convicted in 1990 sex assault of Richardson girl","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"September 28, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Judge exonerates deaf man wrongly convicted in 1990 sex assault of Richardson girl Monday, September 27, 2010 By JENNIFER EMILY \/ The Dallas Morning News jemily@dallasnews.com A deaf man wrongly convicted in the 1990 sexual assault of a Richardson girl is a step closer to freedom after a state district\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11842,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2010\/09\/28\/man-wrongly-convicted-in-90-sex-assault-will-be-released-today\/","url_meta":{"origin":11806,"position":2},"title":"Man wrongly convicted in ’90 sex assault will be released today","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"September 28, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Man wrongly convicted in '90 sex assault will be released today Tuesday, September 28, 2010 By JENNIFER EMILY \/ The Dallas Morning News jemily@dallasnews.com Stephen Matthew Brodie spent nearly 20 years trying to convince authorities that he was wrongly convicted of sexually assaulting a Richardson girl in 1990. On Monday,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11904,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2010\/10\/05\/dallas-county-exoneration-shows-changes-needed-to-deal-fairly-with-the-deaf-lawyers-say\/","url_meta":{"origin":11806,"position":3},"title":"Dallas County exoneration shows changes needed to deal fairly with the deaf, lawyers say","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"October 5, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Dallas County exoneration shows changes needed to deal fairly with the deaf, lawyers say October 2, 2010 By JENNIFER EMILY \/ The Dallas Morning News jemily@dallasnews.com There's no doubt Stephen Matthew Brodie's deafness contributed to his wrongful conviction nearly two decades ago for the sexual assault of a 5-year-old Richardson\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12285,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2010\/11\/09\/buy-book-tested-about-12-exonerees-including-stephen-brodie-deaf\/","url_meta":{"origin":11806,"position":4},"title":"Buy Book “Tested” about 12 Exonerees including Stephen Brodie (Deaf)","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"November 9, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Buy Book \"Tested\" about 12 Exonerees including Stephen Brodie (Deaf) I would like to make announcement that i would like for all deaf community\u00a0to buy the book called TESTED. If you would like to order the book go on\u00a0http:\/\/www.TESTEDTHEBOOK.com and you will see the buy the book. My name is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/tested_Exonerees_Book.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":26681,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2014\/03\/14\/dallas-police-nab-one-suspect-seek-a-second-in-rape-of-hearing-impaired-13-year-old\/","url_meta":{"origin":11806,"position":5},"title":"Dallas police nab one suspect, seek a second in rape of hearing-impaired 13-year-old","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"March 14, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Dallas police nab one suspect, seek a second in rape of hearing-impaired 13-year-old by TANYA EISERER @tanyaeiserer March 12, 2014 DALLAS \u2014 A 19-year-old man has confessed to the rape of a 13-year-old hearing-impaired girl, according to arrest affidavit obtained by News 8. Jarvis Fisher of Dallas is being held\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11806"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11806\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11814,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11806\/revisions\/11814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}