DALLAS — A man who served 21 years in prison has been exonerated following support from the Innocence Project and the Dallas County District Attorney's Office.
Mallory Vernon Nicholson, 75, was convicted in September 1982 of burglary of a habitation and two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child. Nicholson’s case was brought to the Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU) for re-investigation by the Innocence Project.
District Attorney John Creuzot announced Thursday that the District Court was signing the orders on the State’s motions to dismiss the two indictments of sexual abuse of a child, as well as an indictment of burglary of a habitation.
Judge Chika Anyiam made the exoneration official in a hearing Thursday morning.
Before the hearing, Nicholson spoke with the media.
"It was a pretty devastating ordeal," Nicholson said of his prison sentence. "But, I put it in God's hand and I did it one day at a time hoping that this day would finally arrive. And it has, so I'm thankful to God."
In addition to his exoneration, Nicholson is entitled to receive $80,000 for every year he spent behind bars, according to state law, a spokesperson for the Texas Comptroller's Office said.
Nicholson will also get a lump sum payment of $25,000 for every year he has spent as a registered sex offender.
Court documents said that evidence of another suspect was suppressed by the State and not shared with defense attorneys during the 1982 trial for Nicholson.
There was no physical evidence linking Nicholson to the crimes and he was convicted solely on eyewitness testimony, the district attorney's office said in a news release.
Nicholson was released from prison in June 2003 after serving 21 years of his 55-year sentence. His defense attorney argued during his trial that he was mistakenly identified.
The suspect was consistently described in initial investigative documents as a 14-year-old teen boy nicknamed “Coco” who lived across the street from where the offense occurred, the release said. Nicholson was 35 years old at the time.
For background on the case, click here.
After the exoneration hearing ended, the head of the DA's Conviction Integrity Unit got emotional while apologizing to Nicholson in court, according to WFAA's Chris Sadeghi:
“I’ve said it before, there’s no time limit on seeking justice,” Creuzot said in a press release. “We owe it to Mr. Nicholson to clear his name fully and completely. Our job at the district attorney’s office is not just to seek convictions but to ensure that justice is done. I am proud to say that today justice has, in fact, been done in the case of Mallory Nicholson – who is an innocent man.”
This is the 30th exoneration since the CIU’s creation in 2007 and the 42nd overall exoneration for Dallas County since 2001, according to the DA's office.
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