Almost Free December 12, 2008

At any minute,51 year old Ricardo Rachell will walk out of  the Harris County Jail processing Center.

Who knows what will be going through his mind as he steps into the sunlight on this chilly Friday afternoon, thirteen days before Christmas?

Rachell will be a free man for the first time in  five years.

Earlier, State District Judge Susan Brown removed the last  hurdle that was wrongly keeping the convicted sex offender behind bars.

In 2003, Rachell was convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child, an eight year old boy, and sentenced to forty years in prison.

DNA tests now prove that Rachell did not commit the crime.

2 on the beatis waiting outside of the jail,  and hoping for a chance to interview Rachell.

We’ve been told he is reluctant to talk because he has a severe facial deformity.

In the  meantime, I am wondering, what do I ask a man who has spent five years away from his family and friends, locked up for a crime he didn’t commit?

“How does it feel” – that question seems so inadequate.

UPDATE: Harris County and The Texas Department of Corrections are bickering over the time and location of Rachell’s release.  Because a bench warrant was issued in his name so that he could be brought to Houston for this morning’s hearing,  the county may send him back to Huntsville for processing.

DNA Could lead to Inmates Freedom December 11, 2008

(Houston, TX) – Harris County District Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced Thursday that prosecutors will request to have Ricardo Rachell freed and his sexual assault conviction reversed, after DNA tests showed he did not commit the crime.

The request will be made jointly with defense lawyer Deborah Summers. They will ask 185th District Judge Susan Brown, who presided over the trial, to allow Rachell to be released on bond as he begins the legal process required to overturn the 2003 jury verdict.

Brown is scheduled to hear the motion Friday (tomorrow, Dec. 12).

Rachell, 51, has served five years of the 40-year sentence assessed by a jury on his conviction of aggravated sexual assault of an eight-year-old boy in 2002.

“As soon as the evidence was found to exonerate him, we have acted as swiftly as possible to see that justice is done in this case,” District Attorney Magidson said.

The DA’s Office will also support any request by Rachell for a full pardon.

Investigators have reopened the 2002 rape investigation. They have identified a suspect in the case, who has not yet been charged.

Magidson pledged to continue the thorough reviews and investigations prompted by convicts’ DNA testing requests. The Office will also continue its agreement with the Innocence Project for DNA testing in cases presented by the Innocence Project.