A Dallas man who spent 34 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of aggravated assault was exonerated Thursday by a Dallas County judge who ruled that he is innocent.
"I don't think I can muster the words to explain what I was feeling or how I still feel right now but it became more real to me, my freedom," Benjamine Spencer told NBC 5.
A district judge approved a motion by the Dallas County District Attorney’s office to dismiss the case against Spencer, 59, who was initially convicted in 1987 of murder in the carjacking and death of Jeffrey Young.
“This day has been a long time coming. I am relieved and humbled to help correct this injustice,” said Dallas County Criminal District Attorney John Creuzot.
Spencer, who has maintained his innocence, saw his 1987 conviction later overturned. In 1988, he was tried again, convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the aggravated robbery of Young.
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“Benjamine Spencer is actually innocent; there exists no credible or physical evidence that he was in any way involved in this crime,” said Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Garza, who leads the office's Conviction Integrity Unit.
Prosecution witnesses, including a jailhouse informant seeking leniency, gave false testimony, Creuzot said. He added that prosecutors at the time also failed to provide the defense with evidence that would have excluded Spencer from the crime, including fingerprints.
Spencer was released on bond in 2021 after the district attorney's office found that his constitutional rights were violated and that he did not receive a fair trial due to false witness testimony and the withholding of evidence.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned his conviction earlier this year, sending the case back to Dallas County.
Alan Ledbetter, the jury foreman who helped convict and sentence Spencer in the 1988 trial, said he feels deceived.
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"Deceit, and overwhelmed at how difficult it is to right a wrong in our judicial system," said Ledbetter.
Ledbetter says he began to change his mind about Spencer's guilt when he was informed about the new information in the early 2000s.
Cheryl Wattley, a professor at UNT Dallas School of Law and founder of the Joyce Ann Brown Innocence Clinic, represented Spencer for 23 years.
"When you get to stand beside a man who's had that journey and you get to know that you had just a little piece, a little part in walking him through to the day of celebration, it helps to give meaning to your life," said Wattley.
On Thursday night, Spencer, his wife, his attorneys, law students, and Ledbetter attended a reception at the UNT Dallas School of Law to celebrate the exoneration.
Spencer is among the top 60 longest-serving inmates to be declared innocent of the crime, according to data kept by the National Registry of Exonerations.
Young's murder remains unsolved.
