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Maurice Caldwell with his mother, before her death in 2009. |
Santa Clara, CA – Maurice Caldwell was released from the San Francisco County Jail Monday after spending 20 years in prison for a homicide that he did not commit. On Friday, March 25, a San Francisco Superior Court judge ordered the release of Mr. Caldwell and Monday, the California Department of Corrections and the San Francisco County Jail cleared his release from custody.
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Charles Haines issued the order after San Francisco County prosecutors said they would not retry Mr. Caldwell. Haines set aside Mr. Caldwell’s 1991 conviction last December and ordered a new trial after lawyers for the Northern California Innocence Project (NCIP) at Santa Clara University School of Law demonstrated evidence of actual innocence and that Mr. Caldwell’s defense attorney at trial was incompetent.
Mr. Caldwell, who has fought to prove his innocence after he was convicted and sentenced to life behind bars, has been represented by NCIP since January 2008.
Mr. Caldwell was convicted of a San Francisco murder based on the testimony of a single eyewitness, Mary Cobbs, who originally told police that the shooters did not live in the area and that she did not know their names or nicknames. During an initial interview, police brought Mr. Caldwell, who had been the witness’ neighbor, to her door. Cobbs did not identify him at the time, but two weeks later picked him out of a photo lineup identifying him by his nickname "Twan."
New evidence NCIP unearthed shows her testimony was wrong and as a result Mr. Caldwell has been locked up for a crime he did not commit. It also shows that the actual perpetrators were never apprehended and went on to commit more crimes.
Friday Judge Haines granted a motion brought by the San Francisco Public Defender’s office and NCIP lawyers to bar the state from introducing a transcript of the now deceased Cobbs’ testimony as a violation of due process. Without her testimony, the state had no evidence to prosecute the case and dismissed the charges.
NCIP took Mr. Caldwell’s case three years ago and located two witnesses who saw the murder and said Mr. Caldwell was not involved in any way, and a statement from another man that he was the real killer. That man is now serving a life sentence in a Nevada prison for a subsequent murder.
“It is tragic that it has taken 20 years to finally win his release,” said NCIP Legal Director Linda Starr, who represented Mr. Caldwell with NCIP attorney Paige Kaneb. “In the meantime, the actual perpetrators have committed more crimes, including another homicide. Had law enforcement followed up on information they had at the time of this shooting, they could have not only apprehended the actual killers but also prevented the subsequent homicide.”
The case is yet another example of how eyewitness identification can go wrong and lead to the conviction of the innocent. Eyewitness misidentification is the single largest source of wrongful conviction in the United States, Starr explained. “Eyewitness misidentifications play a role in more than 75 percent of convictions overturned through DNA testing,” she said. “Unfortunately, it played a role in Maurice Caldwell’s case as well.”
For his part, Mr. Caldwell is just happy he’ll get his freedom back.
“All the things I dreamed about when I was young, I can now bring to life,” said Mr. Caldwell. “I can’t find a way to say what this means to me and what NCIP means to me. I’m just sorry my mother isn’t here to see this day finally come.”
About the Northern California Innocence Project
The Northern California Innocence Project (NCIP) at Santa Clara University School of Law operates as a pro bono legal clinical program, where law students, clinical fellows, attorneys, pro bono counsel, and volunteers work to identify and provide legal representation to wrongfully convicted prisoners.
NCIP exonerates the innocent, educates future attorneys, and is dedicated to raising public awareness about the prevalence and causes of wrongful conviction. We promote substantive legislative and policy reform through data-driven research and policy recommendations aimed at ensuring the integrity of our justice system. For more information, see ncip.scu.edu.
About Santa Clara University School of Law
Santa Clara University School of Law, founded in 1911 on the site of California’s oldest operating higher-education institution, is dedicated to educating lawyers who lead with a commitment to excellence, ethics, and social justice. One of the nation’s most diverse law schools, Santa Clara Law offers its 975 students an academically rigorous program, including graduate degrees in international law and intellectual property law; combined J.D./MBA degree; and certificates in intellectual property law, international law, and public interest and social justice law. Santa Clara Law is located in the world-class business center of Silicon Valley, and is distinguished nationally for our top-ranked program in intellectual property. For more information, see law.scu.edu.
