On March 12, the Monterey County Superior Court upheld the murder conviction of longtime NCIP client Jack Sagin despite the absence of his DNA from every single item of evidence in the crime scene. DNA from many others was found at the scene, including the DNA profile of an unknown male found under the victim’s fingernails. Mr. Sagin is NCIP’s longest represented client and has served 32 years of a life sentence without the possibility of parole. NCIP is appealing the ruling.
NCIP attorney Kelley Fleming and Shearman & Sterling Associate Emily Griffen talk with Jack Sagin at his evidentiary hearing on April 5.
In 1986, Mr. Sagin was convicted of the murder of Paula Durocher, who was found stabbed to death inside her Monterey home. When police arrived at the crime scene, there was no sign of forced entry. There was a bloodstained towel on the victim’s legs and nothing but the murder weapon was missing from the home. Defensive wounds and the disarray around the victim’s body indicated Ms. Durocher struggled with her attacker.
Mr. Sagin’s attorneys argued that under California’s recently enacted newly discovered evidence standard (which NCIP helped to pass last year), his conviction should be vacated and charges dismissed because had the newly discovered DNA evidence been available at his 1986 trial, it more likely than not would have changed the outcome.
Lead NCIP attorney Melissa O’Connell said, “The court erred in its ruling and a grave injustice continues. Jack Sagin is innocent. Under the new standard, the evidence we presented clearly showed that Jack Sagin was not present in a brutal crime scene where DNA was left behind. Cases like Jack’s are the reason why California changed its standard for introducing newly discovered evidence – to give innocent men and women an opportunity for justice. We will appeal this ruling and we feel certain that the Court of Appeals will apply the law correctly and find justice for Jack.”
Months after the murder, Mr. Sagin was arrested for an unrelated matter. While incarcerated, Mr. Sagin was housed in a cell next to two known jailhouse informants. Both informants told police that Mr. Sagin confessed to Ms. Durocher’s murder. Despite a lack of any physical evidence connecting Mr. Sagin to the crime, he was convicted of first-degree murder largely based on the allegations and testimony of the jailhouse informants. Mr. Sagin has insisted on his innocence from the moment of his arrest.
Source: Nic Cour, Monterey County Weekly. Jack Sagin turns from his seat in Monterey County Court to look at his family members in the audience before a bailiff forbade them from communicating.
Mr. Sagin became one of NCIP’s first clients in 2002 and NCIP attorneys have devoted thousands of hours to securing his release. In 2009 the Monterey Superior Court granted NCIP’s motion for post-conviction DNA testing of evidence collected from the crime scene and the victim’s body. The DNA test results showed Mr. Sagin’s DNA was absent from every single piece of evidence. The DNA of an unknown man was found under the victim’s fingernails and DNA from four other men was discovered on other items of evidence including the bloodstained towel. Law firm Shearman & Sterling LLP joined Mr. Sagin’s legal team in 2011 and, since that time, Mr. Sagin’s case has been litigated in the Monterey County Superior Court and the Sixth District Court of Appeals.
Mr. Sagin was jointly represented by NCIP attorneys Linda Starr, Melissa O’Connell, and Kelley Fleming, and pro bono attorneys Emily Griffen and Lisa Valenti-Jordan of law firm Shearman & Sterling LLP. The setback in Mr. Sagin’s case is not the first, and his legal team will continue their 15-year fight for justice.
Emily Griffen, counsel at Shearman & Sterling, noted, “Several attorneys at Shearman & Sterling have worked on Jack’s case over the years, and the more time we spent studying the facts of this case and the evidence presented at trial, the more certain we became that Jack is innocent of this crime. We will continue to fight for Jack’s freedom.”
“Mr. Sagin’s case demonstrates the dangers of unregulated use of jailhouse informants,” said NCIP Legal Director Linda Starr. Incentives for jailhouse informants to lie in order to receive payment or lenient treatment in their own cases make them prone to misuse by law enforcement. In 15% of wrongful conviction cases overturned through DNA testing, statements from informants were critical evidence used to convict an innocent person.
NCIP is currently working on legislation to limit the use of jailhouse informants through California Assembly Bill 359 authored by Assembly member Reggie Jones-Sawyer, which puts a cap on rewards given to informants and requires prosecutors to keep databases that track informant work.
