After being imprisoned on a life sentence for a rape he did not commit, a Tarrant County man is close to being given the justice that has eluded him for almost 25 years. David Lee Wiggins was convicted for the 1988 sexual assault of a 14-year-old Fort Worth girl who said the attacker broke into her home. Although the rapist reportedly put a towel over the girl's face, she said she removed it three times and later identified the man as Wiggins.
Even though motions for DNA testing were filed before and after his trial, they were denied because the judge and prosecutors didn't believe the technology was good enough at the time to get results using the limited amount of biological material available.But Wiggins kept saying he was innocent. After his attorney filed for post-conviction DNA testing in 2007, the Tarrant County district attorney's office agreed, but a nationally recognized laboratory "issued three reports with mixed results," the office said in a news release.The Innocence Project of Texas kept trying on Wiggins' behalf. In August 2010, the organization sought more-sophisticated testing.This month, results from a California lab excluded Wiggins as the rapist.The DA's office announced this week that it is recommending Wiggins' immediate release on bond pending a final hearing by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. A bond hearing is set for Friday in 213th District Court.This is Tarrant County's second DNA exoneration since 2001, and prosecutors are continuing to research other cases. During that time, 32 Dallas County convictions have been proved wrongful.The DA's office and the Innocence Project should be commended for persisting to find the truth in cases where doubts are strong and new testing of evidence can help achieve justice, even when it's long delayed.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
