A district court judge has granted the Dallas County district attorney’s motion to exonerate a a man convicted of on burglary and sexual assault charges in 1982.
Mallory Vernon Nicholson, 75, was convicted in September 1982 of burglary of a habitation and two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child. Nicholson was released from prison in June 2003 after serving 21 years of his 55-year sentence but remains on sex-offender parole.
According to a press release from the Innocence Project, no physical evidence connected Nicholson to the crime, and he maintained his innocence for decades.
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The Innocence Project said in a news release that at trial, Nicholson presented alibi evidence to support the fact that he had been with family at his wife’s funeral, which took place 45 minutes outside of Dallas at the time of the crimes.
The decision to vacate the conviction was based on newly-discovered evidence that the State had withheld at his original trial, the Innocence Project said.
“I’ve said it before, there’s no time limit on seeking justice,” said Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot. “We owe it to Mr. Nicholson to clear his name fully and completely. Our job at the district attorney’s office is not just to seek convictions but to ensure that justice is done. I am proud to say that today justice has, in fact, been done in the case of Mallory Nicholson – who is an innocent man.”
According to the Innocence Project, the action by the court officially exonerates Nicholson of this crime after 40 years, the Innocence Project said.
