Houston Man Convicted In 1987 Sexual Assault Likely To Be Released On Bond Upon Suspicion Of Wrongful Conviction
The Houston Chronicle is reporting that the prosecutors and defense attorneys will request that Gary Alvin Richard be released on bond next week pending a further investigation. A jury convicted Richard of an attack on a nursing student in 1987 in a trial based largely on bood-type evidence from the Houston Police Department Crime Lab. The Chronicle reports that there were several problems with the conviction including the fact that the victim identified Richard seven months after the crime, there were conflicting conclusions by crime lab analysts, and a rape kit had been destroyed.
Bob Wicoff, Richard's attorney stated that he was troubled by the fact the Rape kit was not preserved:
“The real crime is that another rape kit has been destroyed or discarded,” Wicoff said. “The standards for preserving evidence were less stringent in 1987, but that is no excuse.” Without the rape kit, analysts at a California lab tested Richard’s body fluids and drew conclusions that Wicoff said establish his innocence. “He could not have been the source of the semen at the crime scene,” Wicoff said.
The new evidence derives from saliva samples that were preserved. The Crime Lab representative testified at trial that Richard was non-secretor, meaning his blood type was not shown in the saliva sample. However, upon retesting, it was found that Richard's saliva was secretor, showing his blood type. That blood type did not match the blood type left at the scene. Prosecutors say it is too early to say whether Richard should be cleared of the crime, even though they support his release. The District Attorney in Houston, Pat Lykos, is using Richard's case to call for an independent crime lab separate from the Houston Police Department. Four people have been exonerated due to errors made by the HPD Crime Lab
