LOS ANGELES (AP) 69制片厂制作传媒 A California appeals court has overturned the rape conviction of former San Francisco 49er Dana Stubblefield after determining prosecutors made racially discriminatory statements during the Black man's trial.
The retired football player was in October 2020 after being convicted of raping a developmentally disabled woman in 2015 who prosecutors said he lured to his home with the promise of a babysitting job.
The Sixth Court of Appeals found Wednesday that prosecutors violated the California Racial Justice Act of 2020, a law passed during a summer of protest over the police killing of George Floyd. The measure bars prosecutors from seeking a criminal conviction or imposing a sentence on the
Prior to the law, defendants who wanted to challenge their convictions on the basis of racial bias had to prove there was 69制片厂制作传媒減urposeful discrimination,69制片厂制作传媒 a difficult legal standard to meet.
The appeals court said prosecutors used 69制片厂制作传媒渞acially discriminatory language69制片厂制作传媒 that required them to overturn Stubblefield's conviction.
The case was 69制片厂制作传媒渋nfected with tremendous error from the minute we started the trial,69制片厂制作传媒 said Stubblefield's lead attorney, Kenneth Rosenfeld.
In April 2015, Stubblefield contacted the then-31-year-old woman on a babysitting website and arranged an interview, prosecutors said.
According to a report by the Morgan Hill Police Department, the interview lasted about 20 minutes. She later received a text from Stubblefield saying he wanted to pay her for her time that day, and she went back to the house.
The woman reported to the police that Stubblefield raped her at gunpoint, then gave her $80 and let her go. DNA evidence matched that of Stubblefield, the report said.
During the trial, prosecutors said police never searched Stubblefield's house and never introduced a gun into evidence, saying it was because he was famous Black man and it would 69制片厂制作传媒渙pen up a storm of controversy," according to the appellate decision.
By saying Stubblefield69制片厂制作传媒檚 race was a factor in law enforcement69制片厂制作传媒檚 decision not to search his house, prosecutors implied the house would've been searched and a gun found had Stubblefield not been Black, the appeals court said. The reference to controversy also links Stubblefield to the events after the recent killing of Floyd based on his race.
Defense attorneys said there was no rape, and Stubblefield said the woman consented to sex in exchange for money.
69制片厂制作传媒淭he trial had a biased judge who didn't allow the evidence from the defense, the fact that she was a sex worker, to be heard in front of a jury,69制片厂制作传媒 Rosenfeld said. He called the incident a 69制片厂制作传媒渢ransactional occasion69制片厂制作传媒 between Stubblefield and the woman.
He remains in custody until a hearing next week, during which his attorneys will ask a judge to approve a motion to release him. Prosecutors have several options, including asking the court to stay their decision so they can appeal to the state's Supreme Court, or refile charges.
The Santa Clara District Attorney's Office said it was 69制片厂制作传媒渟tudying the opinion.69制片厂制作传媒
Stubblefield began his 11-year lineman career in the NFL with the 49ers in 1993 as the league69制片厂制作传媒檚 defensive rookie of the year. He later won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1997 before leaving the team to play for Washington. He returned to the Bay Area to finish his career, playing with the 49ers in 2000-01 and the Raiders in 2003.
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