Your assist helps us to inform the story
From reproductive rights to local weather change to Huge Tech, The Unbiased is on the bottom when the story is creating. Whether or not it is investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our newest documentary, ‘The A Phrase’, which shines a lightweight on the American ladies combating for reproductive rights, we all know how vital it’s to parse out the information from the messaging.
At such a essential second in US historical past, we want reporters on the bottom. Your donation permits us to maintain sending journalists to talk to either side of the story.
The Unbiased is trusted by People throughout the whole political spectrum. And in contrast to many different high quality information retailers, we select to not lock People out of our reporting and evaluation with paywalls. We imagine high quality journalism needs to be out there to everybody, paid for by those that can afford it.
Your assist makes all of the distinction.
Shut
Learn extra
A California appeals court docket has overturned the rape conviction of former San Francisco 49er Dana Stubblefield after figuring out prosecutors made racially discriminatory statements throughout the Black man’s trial.
The retired soccer participant was sentenced to fifteen years to life in jail in October 2020 after being convicted of raping a developmentally disabled lady in 2015 who prosecutors mentioned he lured to his house with the promise of a babysitting job.
The Sixth Court docket of Appeals discovered Wednesday that prosecutors violated the California Racial Justice Act of 2020, a legislation handed throughout a summer season of protest over the police killing of George Floyd. The measure bars prosecutors from looking for a legal conviction or imposing a sentence on the idea of race.
Previous to the legislation, defendants who wished to problem their convictions on the idea of racial bias needed to show there was “purposeful discrimination,” a troublesome authorized commonplace to fulfill.
The appeals court docket mentioned prosecutors used “racially discriminatory language” that required them to overturn Stubblefield’s conviction.
The case was “contaminated with great error from the minute we began the trial,” mentioned Stubblefield’s lead lawyer, Kenneth Rosenfeld.
In April 2015, Stubblefield contacted the then-31-year-old lady on a babysitting web site and organized an interview, prosecutors mentioned.
In keeping with a report by the Morgan Hill Police Division, the interview lasted about 20 minutes. She later obtained a textual content from Stubblefield saying he wished to pay her for her time that day, and he or she went again to the home.
The girl reported to the police that Stubblefield raped her at gunpoint, then gave her $80 and let her go. DNA proof matched that of Stubblefield, the report mentioned.
Through the trial, prosecutors mentioned police by no means searched Stubblefield’s home and by no means launched a gun into proof, saying it was as a result of he was well-known Black man and it might “open up a storm of controversy,” in line with the appellate choice.
By saying Stubblefield’s race was a think about legislation enforcement’s choice to not search his home, prosecutors implied the home would’ve been searched and a gun discovered had Stubblefield not been Black, the appeals court docket mentioned. The reference to controversy additionally hyperlinks Stubblefield to the occasions after the latest killing of Floyd primarily based on his race.
Protection attorneys mentioned there was no rape, and Stubblefield mentioned the girl consented to intercourse in alternate for cash.
“The trial had a biased choose who did not permit the proof from the protection, the truth that she was a intercourse employee, to be heard in entrance of a jury,” Rosenfeld mentioned. He known as the incident a “transactional event” between Stubblefield and the girl.
He stays in custody till a listening to subsequent week, throughout which his attorneys will ask a choose to approve a movement to launch him. Prosecutors have a number of choices, together with asking the court docket to remain their choice to allow them to enchantment to the state’s Supreme Court docket, or refile costs.
The San Francisco District Legal professional’s workplace didn’t reply to an emailed request for remark.
Stubblefield started his 11-year lineman profession within the NFL with the 49ers in 1993 because the league’s defensive rookie of the 12 months. He later gained the NFL Defensive Participant of the Yr honors in 1997 earlier than leaving the crew to play for Washington. He returned to the Bay Space to complete his profession, taking part in with the 49ers in 2000-01 and the Raiders in 2003.
