Dana Stubblefield out of prison after rape | College News

Dana Stubblefield was granted his release from custody more than 4 years after the previous NFL star was convicted of rape and more than six weeks after that conviction was reversed by a California appellate court docket as a result of of “racially discriminatory language” utilized by the prosecution during the trial.

California Superior Court Judge Hector Ramon made the ruling Friday in Santa Clara, permitting Stubblefield his freedom, with out having to post money bail, whereas authorities weigh whether or not to refile fees. Stubblefield is required to put on an ankle monitor, can not possess firearms and isn’t allowed to contact his accuser.

“We expect him to be home tonight,” Allen Sawyer, one of the attorneys who represented Stubblefield, advised The Times by telephone. “As my partner said, he’ll be having a late dinner with his kids.”

Santa Clara County assistant district legal professional Terry Harman launched a assertion to The Times :

“A jury unanimously found Mr. Stubblefield guilty of raping a woman at gunpoint, he was given an appropriate sentence, and we felt that justice had been served. That justice has been interrupted and although we are disappointed that the judge released Mr. Stubblefield from custody while we await a decision from the California Supreme Court, we remain focused on the sexual assault that occurred, the victim, and the need for accountability and community safety.”

Stubblefield, a former defensive participant of the 12 months who spent 11 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, Washington Redskins and Oakland Raiders, was charged in May 2016 with raping a lady at gunpoint the earlier 12 months. During his trial, Stubblefield’s protection argued the intercourse was consensual.

In October 2020, Stubblefield was sentenced to fifteen years to life in prison after a jury discovered him guilty of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and false imprisonment, and that he used a firearm in committing the primary two offenses.

The Sixth District Court of Appeal reversed Stubblefield’s conviction in December primarily based on the California Racial Justice Act of 2020, which prohibits judges, attorneys and law enforcement officers, amongst others, from exhibiting “bias or animus towards the defendant because of the defendant’s race, ethnicity, or national origin.”

The appellate court docket’s determination was primarily based on language used within the prosecution’s closing argument, citing considerations over Stubblefield’s standing as a well-known Black man as a purpose police didn’t search his home for a gun.