Prosecutors in Denver, Colorado are still considering trying Moses-EL again for the rape.
Man Held Decades in Colorado for Rape He Denies WalksFree
Dec 22 2015
by The Associated Press
A Denver man who spent more than a quarter-century in prison for an attack he denies committing walked free Tuesday, locking arms with his wife as his tearful children applauded and his grandkids embraced a man they had never met.
Clarence Moses-EL, 60, had just
posted a $50,000 bond that a judge required for his freedom after she
overturned his 1988 conviction on rape and assault charges and found that he
would likely be acquitted if his case went to trial again. Moses-EL was
convicted after the victim identified him, saying his face came to her in a
dream.
When police initially asked her who
assaulted her, she named another man, who later confessed to having sex with
her at the same time that night.
Man's Rape Conviction Overturned
After 28 Years
Outside the jail Tuesday, Moses-EL wore
a black suit and tie as he stood beside his wife, Stephanie Burke, moments
after hugging three of his 12 grandchildren for the first time.
Surrounded by his tearful children,
he took a deep breath of the crisp late afternoon air.
"This is the moment of my life,
right here," Moses-EL told reporters. "I'm at a loss for words. I
just want to get home to my family."
Moses-EL has long maintained his
innocence, and his case inspired legislation requiring preservation of DNA
evidence in major felony cases for a defendant's lifetime after police threw
out body swabs and the victim's clothing. Supporters posted bond for his
release after Moses-EL was transferred from the prison where he was housed for
decades..
His spirituality kept him from
losing hope during 28 years of his 48-year sentence, he said.
"And my innocence," he
said. "That's what really kept me going."
But still looming was the prospect
of a new trial. Prosecutors have not decided whether to try Moses-EL again,
saying they are considering the age of the case and the availability of
witnesses. A tentative trial date was set for May, if prosecutors decide to
pursue new charges.
The case involved a woman who was
attacked after she returned home from a night of drinking. When police
initially asked who assaulted her, she named the man who later confessed to
having sex with her.
More than a day after the assault,
while in the hospital, the woman identified Moses-EL as her attacker, saying
his face appeared to her in a dream.
Moses-EL's efforts to appeal his
conviction were unsuccessful and the legal and political system repeatedly
failed him in his decades-long attempt to win his freedom.
He won a legal bid for DNA testing
on the evidence to clear his name, but Denver police threw it away, saying they
didn't see any notice from prosecutors to hold on to it.
In 2008, the governor, a former
Denver prosecutor, objected to legislation that would have given him a new
trial and that received widespread support from lawmakers.
Moses-EL's break came when L.C.
Jackson, whom the victim had initially identified as her rapist, wrote to Moses-EL
in 2013 saying he had sex with the woman that night. Jackson has not been
charged in this case but is imprisoned for two other rapes in 1992.
His attorney, Eric Klein, said it
would be foolish for prosecutors not to dismiss the case against an innocent
man…
