{"id":11842,"date":"2010-09-28T03:39:10","date_gmt":"2010-09-28T08:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=11842"},"modified":"2010-09-28T03:57:02","modified_gmt":"2010-09-28T08:57:02","slug":"man-wrongly-convicted-in-90-sex-assault-will-be-released-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2010\/09\/28\/man-wrongly-convicted-in-90-sex-assault-will-be-released-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Man wrongly convicted in ’90 sex assault will be released today"},"content":{"rendered":"

Man wrongly convicted in ’90 sex assault will be released today<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tuesday, September 28, 2010<\/p>\n

By JENNIFER EMILY \/ The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n

jemily@dallasnews.com<\/p>\n

Stephen Matthew Brodie spent nearly 20 years trying to convince authorities
\nthat he was wrongly convicted of sexually assaulting a Richardson girl in
\n1990.<\/p>\n

On Monday, a state district judge finally agreed. But instead of a joyous
\nreunion with his father \u2013 his only family \u2013 the 39-year-old’s “reward” was
\none more long night behind bars.<\/p>\n

Paperwork that would have expedited Brodie’s release on bond Monday didn’t
\nreach Texas prison system officials until after their 5 p.m. closing time,
\nmeaning he won’t gain his freedom until today.<\/p>\n

That snafu was just the latest in a long line of procedural and legal
\nsetbacks for Brodie, who is deaf.<\/p>\n

He had been held in prison on a Lamar County charge of failing to register
\nas a sex offender when he was released there on probation. But since he
\ndidn’t commit the initial crime, there was no need to register.<\/p>\n

His father, J. Steve Brodie, waited hours Monday for his son’s release.
\nAlthough he was disappointed, he said the delay was merely “a stumble” in
\nthe long wait to clear his son’s name.<\/p>\n

“I can live with that,” said the father. “There’s a brighter tomorrow.”<\/p>\n

In an interview inside the Dallas courtroom of State District Judge Lena
\nLevario, who moments earlier had declared him innocent, Stephen Brodie said
\nthrough an interpreter that he was always confident of his exoneration.<\/p>\n

“I could feel God has already set up a time that I would be released,” said
\nBrodie, who smiled and wiped away tears as Levario declared his innocence.
\n“I feel like a burden has been lifted.”<\/p>\n

Guilty plea<\/p>\n

Brodie originally pleaded guilty in 1993 to the abduction and assault of a
\n5-year-old girl in exchange for a five-year sentence. He had come to
\ninvestigators’ attention when he was arrested and confessed to breaking into
\na soft drink machine not far from the girl’s home.<\/p>\n

During Monday’s three-hour hearing, Levario heard from prosecution and
\ndefense witnesses about problems with the investigation.<\/p>\n

Evidence showed that shortly after Brodie’s plea, police matched a
\nfingerprint found on a window screen at the girl’s house to a suspected
\nserial rapist, Robert Warterfield, who was convicted of a similar crime.
\nAlso, Brodie’s attorney was not told that a hair found on the girl’s blanket
\ndid not match Brodie or anyone in the girl’s family.<\/p>\n

It is unclear whether Dallas County prosecutors knew about the hair and did
\nnot tell Brodie’s attorney as required by law. Richardson police said they
\nturned over all evidence to prosecutors. Meg Brooks, the original prosecutor
\nin the case who is now a prosecutor in Travis County, could not be reached
\nfor comment.<\/p>\n

Retired Richardson police Officer Kevin Hughes, who reviewed the case after
\nthe fingerprint match was found, said he had “reservations” in the 1990s
\nabout Brodie’s guilt. Hughes said questions he raised with his superiors
\nabout the fingerprint and whether Brodie’s confession was real were
\ndismissed. His bosses also refused to allow him to send the window screen to
\nthe FBI.<\/p>\n

Brodie also confessed to a crime that Dallas police made up when they were
\nquestioning him about other cases, a point that would raise doubts about
\nwhether his confession to an actual crime was legitimate. Testimony at
\nMonday’s hearing showed that an American Sign Language interpreter was not
\nalways present during Brodie’s 18 hours of interrogation by police over
\neight days.<\/p>\n

There were other problems with the investigation as well, including evidence
\nthat police told Brodie the time of day the crime happened, details of how
\nthe attacker got into the girl’s home and what the attacker did. But even
\nso, Brodie incorrectly described the crime to police. Only two of the 45
\ndetails Brodie provided were correct, according to testimony.<\/p>\n

For Monday’s hearing, Dallas County prosecutors Mike Ware and Terri Moore
\nand Brodie’s attorney, Michelle Moore, subpoenaed Warterfield, the man whose
\nprint was found on the window. He invoked his constitutional right not to
\ntestify.<\/p>\n

Jim Hammond, an investigator with the district attorney’s office, said that
\nwhen he met with Warterfield at his Stephenville home, Warterfield said “he
\nhad been expecting us.” Hammond testified that he told Warterfield that he
\nwas trying to figure out the truth of what had happened.<\/p>\n

“He said it wouldn’t be in his best interest,” Hammond said.<\/p>\n

Warterfield has not been charged, but authorities say they plan to continue
\ntheir investigation.<\/p>\n

Richardson police Detective Jonathan Wakefield wouldn’t say whether the
\ndepartment now agrees that Brodie is innocent, saying “we’re going to abide
\nby the court’s decision.” Asked about testimony regarding problems with the
\ninvestigation, Wakefield said there are “multiple views and opinions” about
\nhow it was handled.<\/p>\n

Timing questioned
\nThe father of the victim said that his family has struggled coming to terms
\nwith Stephen Brodie’s innocence.<\/p>\n

“Our family feels a lot of empathy for Mr. Brodie. My daughter cried
\ntonight,” said the father, who is not being identified to protect the
\nvictim’s identity.<\/p>\n

But the man questioned the timing of Brodie’s release, saying it was close
\nto the November election in which Dallas County District Attorney Craig
\nWatkins faces Republican Danny Clancy. The man said the district attorney’s
\noffice has had the information used to release Brodie for months.<\/p>\n

“We feel it is a shame Mr. Brodie had to remain in jail until four weeks
\nbefore the election for what we feel are political reasons,” he said.<\/p>\n

But a spokesman for Watkins’ re-election said that was not the case.<\/p>\n

“District Attorney Watkins … never considers those things,” Eric Celeste
\nsaid. “It was only about serving justice.”<\/p>\n

Watkins, who has routinely blamed prior district attorneys’ administrations
\nfor problems in the Dallas County justice system, said that police and
\nprosecutors need to learn from this case and move forward.<\/p>\n

“We need to get past placing blame,” Watkins said. “We need to recognize a
\nmistake was made” and change how interrogations are done.<\/p>\n

If the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals approves Levario’s ruling, Brodie
\nwill become the third man in Dallas County cleared without DNA evidence. He
\nwould also become the second exoneration in Richardson and the second Dallas
\nCounty case in which a defendant was exonerated after pleading guilty to a
\ncrime.<\/p>\n

The county also has 20 DNA exonerations \u2013 more than any other county in the
\nnation since 2001, when Texas began allowing post-conviction genetic
\ntesting.<\/p>\n

Brodie’s father said he never doubted his son’s innocence and he was
\ndetermined to win his release.<\/p>\n

He wrote letters to groups across the country seeking help for his son, and
\nfinally got Dallas County prosecutors to look into the case.<\/p>\n

“As I approached my 75th birthday, I thought I’d better do something to try
\nand get him out,” the father said. “It worked.”<\/p>\n

Source:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/sharedcontent\/dws\/news\/localnews\/crime\/stories\/DN-brodie_28met.ART1.State.Edition2.3329818.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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…<\/p>\n

Read more 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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":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":11842,"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":11842,"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":14270,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/05\/06\/service-for-delaine-dekalb\/","url_meta":{"origin":11842,"position":5},"title":"Service for DeLaine DeKalb","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"May 6, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"DATE: Saturday, May 7, 2011 TIME: 3:00 PM Memorial Service set for Delaine Dekalb New Life Deaf Fellowship 6917 Brentwood Stair Rd. Fort Worth, TX 76112 Speaking in behalf of DeLaine's family, (her brother) Stephen M. Brodie, (her mother) Camille DeKalb, (her son) James H. Wall, (her daughter) Kelly DeKalb\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\/2011\/05\/DeLaine3.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11842","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=11842"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11842\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11847,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11842\/revisions\/11847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}