Ex-49er has rape conviction overturned
A judge has granted the release of former San Francisco 49er Dana Stubblefield after his 2020 rape conviction was vacated by a California appeals court last December.
A judge has granted the release of former San Francisco 49er Dana Stubblefield after his 2020 rape conviction was vacated by a California appeals court last December.
The Sixth Court of Appeals overturned the conviction of the Stubblefield, who is Black, after determining that prosecutors had made racially discriminatory statements during his trial. However, Stubblefield remained in prison because a lower court judge said he didn’t have the jurisdiction to grant bail or release.
After the state attorney general’s office and the appeals court weighed in, Santa Clara Superior Court Judge Hector Ramon granted Stubblefield’s release Friday from the state prison where he has served close to four years of a 15-year sentence.
“Finally, an innocent man is no longer sitting in a cage away from his family,” said Stubblefield’s defense attorney Kenneth Rosenfeld in a statement.
Stubblefield was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison in October 2020 after being convicted of raping a woman in 2015 who prosecutors said he lured to his home with the promise of a babysitting job. Defense attorneys argued that no rape occurred, and Stubblefield said the woman consented to sex in exchange for money.
Deputy District Attorney Tim McInerny objected to Stubblefield’s release at Friday’s hearing and said his office plans to re-file charges, The Mercury News reported.
“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,” Assistant District Attorney Terry Harman said in a statement. “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.”
The Sixth Court of Appeals found that prosecutors violated the California Racial Justice Act of 2020, a law passed during a summer of protest over the police killing of George Floyd. The measure bars prosecutors from seeking a criminal conviction or imposing a sentence on the basis of race.
