Jan. 9 (UPI) — The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a death row inmate in Texas who was convicted based on potentially faulty forensic evidence.
The high court vacated a ruling by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which denied Ariel Escobar’s request to reconsider his case. In 2011, Escobar was convicted in the killing of 17-year-old Bianca Maldonado in Austin, Texas.
“The judgment is vacated, and the case is remanded to the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas for further consideration in light of the confession of error by Texas in its brief filed on September 28, 2022,” the Supreme Court ruling reads.
The Austin Police Department handled DNA evidence from the crime scene, which is crucial in Escobar’s conviction. The department’s forensic laboratory was later closed after a state investigation revealed a history of bias and unsatisfactory work.
With the court’s decision, Escobar’s case goes back to the Texas appeals court.
“It would be shocking to the conscience to uphold the conviction,” said state district Judge David Wahlberg when recommending a new trial last year.
Wahlberg specifically cited the results of testing on stains on a shirt and a doorknob lock, which were requested nine months before Escobar’s 2011 trial. The results of the test were not received until 2017. The judge said this violated due process as the results could have been used by Escobar’s defense team.
In 2016, the Texas Forensic Science Commission investigated the police department’s laboratory, finding that analysts did not follow proper scientific procedures and maintained poor quality control.
The court of appeals argued that Escobar’s legal team did not provide evidence that evidence in Escobar’s case was particularly compromised.
The Supreme Court agreed. Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch did not take part in the decision.
Escobar was accused and convicted in the killing of Maldonado. He was sentenced to death in 2011.
Maldonado was found stabbed to death and sexually assaulted in an apartment complex where Escobar also lived. Expert witnesses testified that Maldonado’s blood was found on Escobar’s shirt, while Escobar’s blood was found on Maldonado’s door. Blood was also found in a vehicle Escobar was driving and investigators did not rule out the possibility that it was Maldonado’s.
There were no witnesses to the killing and there was no evidence of forced entry at the scene. Maldonado and Escobar had no known relationship.
