By Kevin McGill
Associated
Press
A black man wrongfully convicted as a teenager of rape in New Orleans more than 36 years ago was released Thursday after a judge overturned his conviction.
Sullivan Walter, now 53, pulled out a handkerchief to wipe away tears as a state district judge formally overturned his burglary rape conviction.
Judge Darryl Derbigny expressed anger that blood and semen evidence that could have exonerated him never made it to the jury.
“To say that this was excessive is an understatement,” Derbigny condemned Walter.
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After appearing in court in New Orleans, Walter was taken to the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in San Gabriel, where he was officially released.
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Prosecutor Jason Williams' office has joined defense attorneys working with the New Orleans criminal justice advocacy group
Innocence Project
to get the conviction vacated.
Walter was 17 years old when he was arrested in connection with a rape in New Orleans.
The rapist entered the house of the victim, identified in the file as LS, in May 1986, put a knife to her throat and threatened to harm his 8-year-old son, who was sleeping during the incident.
Emily Maw, an attorney with Williams' office, outlined the issues in the case in court, noting that there was reason to believe
the victim, the only witness, had misidentified Walter.
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"There were some red flags that the eyewitness testimony may well have been unreliable," Maw told Derbigny.
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Those “red flags” were detailed Thursday in a joint defense and prosecutors presentation before the hearing.
“In this case, LS was asked to make an interracial identification of someone who, on every occasion he was able to observe him
, was masked, in an unlit room, at night,
and/or threatened her not to look at him.
Additionally, LS
was not shown a set of photos with Mr. Walter until more than six weeks after the crime
,” the motion reads.
More significantly, no evidence was presented regarding the characteristics of Walter's blood that did not match semen collected from the victim after the rape.
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The filing also recounts years of mistakes by Walter's previous attorneys, including failing to point out conflicting statements by a police officer who worked on the case and errors during the appeal process regarding blood and semen tests. .
When he was acquitted Thursday, Walter had been serving a total sentence of 39 years: four on a robbery charge unrelated to the rape case, and 35 years on multiple counts in the rape case.
Lawyers said the rape victim is now deceased.
Maw said in court that authorities had contacted the victim's son, who was not present, and that he had expressed regret on behalf of his mother about the wrongful conviction.
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The legal director of the
Innocence Project
of New Orleans, Richard Davis, said that the fact that Walter was black was a factor in the wrongful conviction.
“The lawyers and authorities involved acted as if they believed they
could do whatever they wanted to a black teenager from a poor family
and that they would never be scrutinized or held accountable,” Davis condemned in a written statement.
He added: "It's not just about individuals and their decisions, but about the systems that allow this to happen."
