Johnny Pinchback

Time Served: 27 Years

Source: Associated Press
CHARGE
Aggravated Sexual Assault
CONVICTED
1984
SENTENCE
Life
RELEASED
2011
COUNTY
Dallas
EXONERATED
2011

Background

On March 22, 1984, two teenage girls were confronted by a man with a gun as they walked along Illinois Avenue in Dallas. The man took them to a nearby vacant lot where he sexually assaulted them. The man fled on foot and the victims went to a nearby home and called police.

A few days later, the two were at the apartment where one of them lived when they noticed a man in the parking lot who they believed was the man who attacked them. They recorded the license plate number of the man’s car and called police.

Arrest & Trial

Police spoke with the owner of the vehicle who said he had loaned the car to 28-year-old Johnny Pinchback. When Johnny learned that police were looking for him, he went to authorities. After briefly questioning him, Johnny was released. On April 4, police presented a photo line-up to the two girls and both identified Johnny as their attacker.

On October 5, 1984, Johnny was convicted based almost solely on the identifications of the victims. He was found guilty of two counts of aggravated sexual assault and was sentenced to 99 years in prison.

After his conviction, Johnny learned the name of a man that his friends claimed had confessed to committing the sexual assaults. A motion for a new trial was filed based on newly discovered evidence, but was rejected. Johnny lost his appeals and in October 2007 wrote a letter to the Innocence Project of Texas. In May 2009, IPTX launched an investigation of his case.

Release

On July 13, 2010, the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office joined with IPTX to request DNA tests of remaining physical evidence. The testing found a small amount of seminal fluid and isolated a male DNA profile from the fluid that was different from Johnny’s, proving that he was not the rapist. On May 12, 2011, Johnny was released from prison.

Exoneration

In June 2011, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals vacated the conviction and the charges were dismissed.

Source: Associated Press

Media Coverage

Systemic Failures Have Wrongly
Imprisoned Thousands of
Innocent Texans.

The Generosity of Their Fellow Citizens Can Provide Them
The Freedom They Deserve.

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