Former Texas prosecutor disbarred for sending innocent man to death row

Former Texas prosecutor Charles Sebesta has been disbarred due to his acts in a case against Anthony Graves, who spent 18 years in prison, 12 of those years on death row. Graves was convicted of setting a fire that killed six people. There was no physical evidence that linked Graves to the crime. Another man who had been convicted of the crime said he acted alone in setting the fire, and that Graves was not involved, but Sebesta never revealed this to the defense. Sebesta also presented false testimony and made false statements to undermine Graves’ alibi. Sebesta falsely claimed that the alibi witness was a suspect in the murders and could be indicted, which then led to the alibi witness refusing to testify and leaving the court. All of these factors led to the conviction being reversed in 2006, and the case was remanded for a new trial. In 2010, a special prosecutor found there was no credible evidence that Graves was involved in the murders, and Graves was then released.

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