DALLAS (AP) — A North Texas district attorney says he will seek the exoneration of a 57-year-old Dallas man who served 12 years in prison in a rape case involving a 16-year-old girl.
Michael Phillips pleaded guilty to the rape in a 1990 plea deal and hasn’t actively insisted on his innocence or sought DNA testing. In a statement issued Thursday, though, Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins says Phillips was tested as part of his review of untested rape samples. He contends DNA testing shows Phillips to be innocent and identified another man as the culprit.
Watkins says he’ll seek Phillips’ exoneration at a Friday court hearing in Dallas.
Phillips, who is black, says his attorney had warned him to not risk a jury trial for the rape of a white teenager.
