In re Rogers

In this original habeas corpus action the Supreme Court granted Petitioner habeas corpus relief insofar as the petition sought relief from the judgment of death after accepting the finding of the referee that a prosecution witness had falsely identified Petitioner as the man who sexually assaulted her, holding that the false testimony was material.Petitioner was convicted of first degree murder and second degree murder and sentenced to death. Petitioner later filed a habeas corpus petition alleging, among other things, that a penalty phase witness had misidentified him as the man who assaulted and raped her. The Supreme Court appointed a referee who conducted an evidentiary hearing, after which the referee found that, during the penalty phase, the witness had testified falsely when she identified Petitioner as her assailant. Noting that the Court generally accepts the referee's findings, the Supreme Court granted Petitioner relief on the basis of false evidence by overturning his sentence of death, holding that the false testimony undermined this Court's confidence in the outcome of the trial and that Petitioner was entitled to relief on this claim as to the penalty verdict. View "In re Rogers" on Justia Law