Tampa Tribune

Florida Judge Overturns Death Row Inmate's Conviction

    A new trial has been ordered for Florida death row inmate Rudolph Holton.  Hillsborough Circuit Judge Daniel Perry stated that prosecutors inadvertently withheld police reports and other evidence favorable to Holton, and that such errors and omissions warranted a new trial.  Since Holton's first trial, witnesses have admitted lying about seeing him with the victim the night she was murdered.  A key state witness, a jailhouse snitch who testified that Holton confessed to him, has also recanted.  In addition, a hair found on the victim, which was used at trial to link Holton to the victim, has undergone new DNA testing.  The tests show that the hair does not belong to Holton. 

    Prosecutors may appeal Perry's decision, go forward with a new trial, or drop the charges against Holton.  "If the state wants to retry this, they've got real problems," said Holton's defense lawyer Martin McClain.  "I don't think the state has any evidence on which a conviction can be based."