LOS ANGELES — A California appeals court has reversed the rape conviction of former San Francisco 49er Dana Stubblefield, ruling that a prosecutor made racist remarks during the Black man's trial.
The former soccer player was found guilty of raping a developmentally disabled woman in 2015 and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison in October 2020, with prosecutors promising her a babysitting job. He claimed to have lured a woman to his home.
The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that prosecutors violated the California Racial Justice Act of 2020, passed during summer protests over the police killing of George Floyd. The measure prohibits prosecutors from seeking convictions or imposing sentences based on race.
Before this law, defendants who wanted to challenge a conviction based on racial bias had to prove there was “intentional discrimination,” a legal standard that is difficult to meet. It was.
The Court of Appeal said prosecutors had used “racist language” in calling for Stubblefield's conviction to be overturned.
Kenneth Rosenfeld, Stubblefield's lead attorney, said the case was “infected with massive errors from the moment it began trial.”
Prosecutors said Stubblefield contacted the then-31-year-old woman on a babysitting website in April 2015 and arranged an interview.
The interrogation lasted about 20 minutes, according to a Morgan Hill Police Department report. She then received an email from Stubblefield saying he wanted to pay her for her time that day and returned home.
The woman reported to police that Mr. Stubblefield raped her at gunpoint, then gave her $80 and let her go. The report said DNA evidence matched that of Stubblefield.
Monday at the practice field at 49ers training camp in Stockton, California.
July 29, 2002. AP
During the trial, prosecutors argued that police never searched Stubblefield's home or introduced a gun into evidence because he was a well-known black man, according to the appeals decision. He said it was because it would “cause a storm of controversy.”
The appeals court said Mr. Stubblefield's race was a factor in law enforcement's decision not to search the home, saying that if Mr. Stubblefield had not been black, the search would have taken place and the gun would have been found. He said he hinted that he was deaf. The reference to the controversy also links Stubblefield to recent racially-based events following the killing of Floyd.
The defense argued there was no rape, and Stubblefield claimed the woman agreed to sex in exchange for money.
“We had a biased judge in this case who didn't allow the defense evidence, the fact that she was a sex worker, to be heard in front of the jury,” Rosenfeld said. He called the incident a “trading opportunity” between Mr Stubblefield and the woman.
He will be held until a hearing next week, where his lawyers will ask a judge to approve a motion for his release. Prosecutors have several options, including appealing to the state Supreme Court or asking the court to put the decision on hold so they can refile the case.
The Santa Clara District Attorney's Office said it was “considering the comments.”
Stubblefield began his 11-year career as a lineman in the NFL with the 49ers as the league's Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1993. He then won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award in 1997 before leaving the team to play for Washington. He returned to the Bay Area to finish his career, playing for the 49ers from 2000 to 2001 and the Raiders in 2003.
