(KRON) — Former San Francisco 49ers star Dana Stubblefield’s rape conviction was overturned by an appellate courtroom on Thursday, courtroom paperwork present. Stubblefield was convicted in 2020 of raping a girl who interviewed to babysit his children in Morgan Hill in 2015.
Stubblefield’s attorneys used the California Racial Justice Act of 2020 to overturn the conviction. He had been sentenced to fifteen years to life in jail.
Stubblefield, 54, performed within the NFL from 1993-2003, spending seven of these seasons with the San Francisco 49ers and one with the Oakland Raiders. His spectacular listing of accolades consists of an NFL Defensive Rookie of the 12 months award, an NFL Defensive Participant of the 12 months award and a Tremendous Bowl title.
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Case Background
In April 2015, the sufferer, a 31-year-old intellectually disabled lady dwelling along with her mom in Hollister recognized within the lawsuit as Jane Doe, was contacted by Stubblefield by way of the web site SitterCity.com. They organized to satisfy at Stubblefield’s home in Morgan Hill for an interview.
In accordance with courtroom paperwork, she arrived and stayed on the home for 23 minutes. After she left, she obtained a textual content from Stubblefield asking her to return again so he may pay her for time. She stayed for an additional half-hour and left once more, confirming that she would babysit his children the next Saturday.
Court docket paperwork famous that Doe’s mental incapacity difficult the case.
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“Doe’s scores in IQ tests were in the second percentile, and she suffered from a language disorder that hampered her ability to speak and testify clearly. Her responses to questions were often nonresponsive, unintelligible, or syntactically fractured. At times, she could not verbally express her response, so she wrote it on paper,” paperwork mentioned.
In accordance with Doe’s testimony, the 2 mentioned fee and providers throughout her first go to to his dwelling. When she returned minutes later, Stubblefield allegedly locked the door and took her right into a darkish room.
The ex-NFL star is accused of pointing a gun at her, threatening to kill her, and having intercourse along with her after she advised him “no.” He gave her $80 in money. Doe left the house and drove straight to a Morgan Hill police station.
Doe testified that she didn’t know who Stubblefield was, and even what the NFL or 49ers have been. Nonetheless, she had made Fb posts up to now discussing soccer, the 49ers and the Miami Dolphins.
Doe took a sexual assault examination, which aligned with what she advised police about getting raped. Stubblefield’s DNA was discovered on her breast. Police interviewed Stubblefield in 2016, and he mentioned that he by no means had intercourse with a babysitting candidate. He lated argued in courtroom that Doe consented to intercourse in change for cash.
Two different ladies have accused Stubblefield of sexual assault up to now, courtroom paperwork say.
Overturning the Conviction
The courtroom overturned the conviction on account of the truth that police by no means searched Stubblefield’s Morgan Hill dwelling and by no means discovered any weapons.
The prosecutor gave three causes as to why the house was by no means searched: as a result of Doe hadn’t recognized Stubblefield, as a result of Stubblefield is a star, and since he’s African-American. The trial occurred weeks after the homicide of George Floyd, and the prosecutor mentioned looking out Stubblefield’s dwelling would “open up a storm of controversy.”
Stubblefield claims that the prosecutor’s assertion used his race towards him and appealed to racial biases.
“The statement implied the house might have been searched and a gun found had Stubblefield not been Black, and that Stubblefield therefore gained an undeserved advantage at trial because he was a Black man,” courtroom paperwork acknowledged.
The courtroom decided that the conviction was “legally invalid” because of the Racial Justice Act. The Santa Clara County District Lawyer’s Workplace can now determine whether or not to re-prosecute the case.
