Decades after exoneration, state to pay man for mistake
It’s been more than two decades since Thomas Webb III exited the Cleveland County Courthouse a free man.
After being wrongfully convicted in 1983 of raping a Norman woman, Webb spent 13 years in prison before DNA evidence proved his innocence.
On May 24, 1996, his day of freedom finally came. As he left the courthouse, Webb raised his arms and praised God, shouting, “Hallelujah!” It was a huge victory.
Now, Webb, 57, had another long-awaited victory — $175,000 in compensation for Oklahoma’s mistake.
“After almost 21 years of rejection, frustration, disappointment and disillusionment, the state of Oklahoma has finally agreed to compensate me,” Webb posted on Facebook. “I thank God, my higher power. … Many of you are witnesses to this journey and you can all see that it was God and not me.
“May my life, and how God uses it, continue to bring hope and inspiration.”
On March 29, an Oklahoma County judge
approved the settlement of a tort claim filed by Webb. By law, $175,000 is the maximum compensation available for a wrongful conviction in Oklahoma.
“It was the right thing to do,” Attorney General Mike Hunter said last week.
“In this case, DNA testing proved that Mr. Webb was innocent,” Hunter said. “When the state makes mistakes, the state ought to recognize those mistakes and there ought to be some accountability.”
After Webb’s release, he and his wife fought for change in state law to allow those wrongfully imprisoned to be compensated.
However, after the law was changed in 2003, Webb applied and was denied. The AG’s office found the law didn’t apply retroactively.
Hunter said Webb’s attorney recently requested that his office reconsider. After a new claim was filed and examined, Hunter found “an appropriate exercise of justice” was to compensate Webb.
“We determined … that there was authority for the law to be applied retroactively,” Hunter said. “We felt strongly that the law supported Mr. Webb receiving the money and, on behalf of the state, I’m just sorry for him that this happened and I’m sorry that this is all we can do.”
Webb’s attorney, Rand Eddy, said his client is grateful.
“For Mr. Webb, just the fact that the state of Oklahoma is compensating him is a symbol of justice for him and vindication that means as much as any amount of money could,” Eddy said.
The attorney said he believes more money should be available. He said the fairest way would be to have a jury decide damages.
“There’s nothing that can really be done about that unless they pass a different law in Oklahoma. Some states have better laws. Some states have worse laws on compensation for exonerees,” Eddy said.
The federal government and 32 states have compensation statutes of some kind, according to the Innocence Project.
Webb was the first person to be exonerated in Oklahoma through DNA evidence. Including Webb, 12 people have been exonerated in Oklahoma by DNA testing, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.
Registry data dating back to 1989 shows there have been 443 exonerations nationwide specifically related to DNA.
Original charge
Webb was charged with first-degree rape and other offenses after a University of Oklahoma student identified him as the man who broke into her apartment early March 20, 1982. Webb was accused of raping the 20-year-old woman at knifepoint and stealing money from her purse. He was convicted and sentenced to 55 years in prison.
In 2014, many years after Webb was freed, Cleveland County prosecutors charged a Mississippi man in the 1982 rape. Even with the new DNA match, the case had to be dismissed in 2015 based on the statute of limitations. Webb was frustrated.
“I am confused, disappointed and angry,” he posted on Facebook in May 2015. “This was the second chance they had to bring justice to two lives. The first time they convicted the wrong person and now they release the right person.”
Webb currently works for Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores in shipping and receiving, according to the Facebook page. He also became good friends with the victim who misidentified him, according to his attorney.
Webb is active on Facebook, frequently posting about God, his sobriety and enjoying life. He spent his birthday this year in California.
“First time ever being in California and it is absolutely beautiful. My God is real in my life and recovery,” he posted in March.
Webb declined an interview last week but, when he was freed, told The
Oklahoman about becoming a Christian shortly after arriving in prison. About a year before his release, Webb married a woman he met through a prison ministry.
After they married, his wife, Cynthia Gail Webb, cashed in her retirement to hire a lawyer and arrange the DNA testing in his case, he told NBC last year. Evidence from the OU student’s robe still existed, NBC reported.
After his release, emotional trauma from being locked up put strain on their marriage and led him to alcoholism, he told NBC. After being denied compensation in 2003, he gave up fighting, eventually turning to drugs and becoming homeless, NBC reported.
In 2007, Webb was charged in Oklahoma County with meth possession. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to probation. In 2009, his wife divorced him.
“(I) used alcohol, marijuana and meth until it completely destroyed my life,” he posted on Facebook.
In January, he posted about being “four years clean.” He currently lives in Oklahoma City.
He plans to use the money to pay back Cynthia Webb for her help in getting him out of prison, his attorney said.
In this case, DNA testing proved that Mr. Webb was innocent... When the state makes mistakes, the state ought to recognize those mistakes and there ought to be some accountability.” Attorney General Mike Hunter