’92 murder conviction vacated
More than 26 years after he was convicted of murder, Johnny Edward Tallbear walked free Monday thanks to DNA testing that prompted prosecutors to dismiss his case.
“I’m so relieved,” the grayhaired man told news reporters outside an Oklahoma County courtroom. “Boy, I’m happy. I’m just happy to be out.”
He was sent to prison after jurors found him guilty of first-degree murder in the 1991 beating and stabbing death of a homeless man known as “Pops.” Tallbear was 34 at the time.
In dismissing the case, prosecutors did not say Tallbear is innocent. Instead, they said the outcome of his trial
may have been different had the DNA testing been available then.
Tallbear, now 61, said he feels great and is ready to eat a “decent meal.” His favorite food is chicken-fried steak with peach cobbler for dessert, he said.
Tallbear entered court Monday morning with shackles around his wrists and ankles. He told District Judge Glenn Jones he faced many “trials and tribulations” in prison.
“I’m an innocent man, judge,” he said.
The judge vacated Tallbear’s 1992 conviction and then dismissed the case.
Tallbear was unshackled in the courtroom and allowed to exit the courthouse a free man. He smiled and waved at reporters as he left the courtroom.
“Many trials and tribulations over the last 27 years,” he told reporters. “I’m just trying to enjoy this moment right now.”
Tallbear, dressed in a striped shirt and blue jeans, said he never thought this day would come.
Every morning while in prison, Tallbear prayed, “What can I do for You today, God?” He said God “guides my footsteps” and allowed him to make it through his time in prison.
After speaking with reporters, Tallbear nearly got on the jail elevator before realizing he could use the public elevators.
DNA testing
DNA testing unavailable at the time of his trial led to the dismissal. The recent testing showed blood evidence at the crime scene matched two unknown men and Tallbear’s DNA was not present.
Tallbear, who always maintained his innocence, sought the help of the Innocence Project. The organization conducted the DNA testing of blood evidence with the consent of prosecutors.
Jurors convicted Tallbear based on a witness account of the slaying.
After being convicted, Tallbear yelled at the jurors, claiming his innocence. The jury chose life in prison without the possibility of parole as punishment.
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals later modified the prison sentence to life with the possibility of parole.
Tallbear said he has forgiven the jurors.
Prosecutors still believe Tallbear was one of two men who fatally assaulted the victim in late 1991.
“We dismissed the case ... based on the advent of DNA evidence that was not available at the time of trial,” District Attorney David Prater told reporters after Monday’s hearing. “Though we’re not in any way agreeing that he’s actually innocent, we’ve agreed on his release and dismissal. ... We don’t believe that it’s appropriate to keep him incarcerated at this time.”
Prater said the DNA testing was done within the past six months.
At trial, prosecutors relied on testimony from Oklahoma City police chemist Joyce Gilchrist, who was fired in 2001 after an FBI investigation questioned the validity of her work.
Gilchrist did not perform DNA testing in Tallbear’s case but did serology testing. She testified she found the blood types of four individuals, including the victim. Gilchrist’s serology results were inconsistent with the recent DNA testing, records show.
At trial, prosecutors said they didn’t know whether Gilchrist’s findings had anything to do with the homicide, documents show.
The recent DNA testing, though, showed Gilchrist provided the jury with inaccurate information.
‘Huge gift’
Tallbear’s attorney, Karen Thompson, thanked prosecutors Monday for allowing the DNA testing and agreeing to dismiss the case. Thompson called Tallbear’s release “a huge gift.”
Thompson, a senior staff attorney with the Innocence Project, disagreed with prosecutors, saying the DNA testing proved Tallbear was innocent and not at the scene of the homicide. She noted that Tallbear used a wheelchair at the time of the homicide.
“It is basically impossible for him physically to have done this crime,” Thompson told reporters.
She also said the witness who identified Tallbear as one of the assailants saw the attack at dusk from the distance of a football field away.
The identity of the slain homeless man has never been officially determined. A prosecutor in 1992 said the victim may have been named “Timothy Rios” based on a card found in his pants.
The prosecutor, though, said the victim was known at homeless shelters as “Pops.” The victim reportedly was found beaten and stabbed in downtown Oklahoma City on Oct. 3, 1991.
No one else has ever been charged in the homicide.