A Los Angeles judge on Monday overturned the conviction of a man who has spent the last quarter-century in prison for a murder he insists he did not commit, concluding that the prosecution's star witness lied.
The ruling comes after the witness recently recanted his testimony and could lead to freedom for Willie Earl Green, a former chauffeur who was sentenced to 33 years to life in a 1983 execution-style slaying at a South Los Angeles crack house.
Los Angeles County prosecutors must decide whether to appeal the decision, retry Green or free him. Considering the judge's conclusion that the star witness was unreliable, prosecutors would probably have a difficult task if they chose to retry the case.
Legal experts say that the case underscores the perils of relying heavily upon eyewitness identification in criminal trials. Researchers have found that faulty identifications are the biggest factor in wrongful convictions. Yet judges rarely overturn convictions based on allegations of improper identifications.
During his two-decade quest for a new trial, Green won the support of the forewoman of the jury that convicted him and the legal backing of Centurion Ministries, a nationally known group that advocates the release of the wrongfully convicted.
The ruling "has quenched Willie Green's almost 25-year thirst for justice, and we are thrilled by the judge's courageous decision," said Centurion's executive director, Jim McCloskey, who investigated Green's case and pressed for a retrial. "I can't wait to tell Willie."
In his written decision, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Stephen A. Marcus stopped short of declaring Green factually innocent. But Marcus concluded that Green's attorneys had found important new evidence that probably would have swayed jurors when evaluating the credibility of the trial's sole eyewitness, Willie Finley.
Among the judge's findings: Finley lied when he said he wasn't high on cocaine when the murder occurred; his vision was impaired from a beating by one of the attackers; and police improperly tainted the identification by telling Finley about a theft Green had previously committed against the victim.
"It is important to note that this case did not involve overwhelming evidence of [Green's] guilt and, therefore, the testimony of Willie Finley, the star witness, is critical to the result of the case," Marcus wrote.
