Published on: Friday, July 16, 2021
Oklahoma man confesses that he and two friends abducted a convenience-store clerk, raped her, and stabbed her to death, after which they doused her body with gasoline and burned down an abandoned house with her body in it. Almost no evidence connected him to the crime beyond his confession, which contradicted almost all of the facts of the case (including that she was shot to death and her body had not burned). Nevertheless, he is convicted twice and sentenced to death twice. Tenth Circuit: The man demonstrated his innocence, and the state suppressed important evidence—the conviction can't stand.
The case is Fontenot v. Crow, No. 19-7045 (10th Cir. July 13, 2021).