A Texas man wrongfully convicted of a murder committed in the 1980s and who served 34 years in prison was exonerated Thursday and said he can’t get those years back but is happy and positive about life.
“I’m excited that this day has finally come,” Benjamin Spencer, 59, said.
A Dallas County judge granted the district attorney’s motion to dismiss a robbery charge against Spencer, who was originally convicted of murder in the 1987 carjacking and death of Jeffrey Young.
“Today is a good day,” said Cheryl Whatley, Spencer’s attorney who has worked on his cases for more than 20 years. “I’m trying hard not to cry.”
Whatley praised Dallas County Criminal District Attorney John Creuzot for seriously reviewing discredited evidence in the case.
“I’m relieved and honored to help right this injustice,” Creuzot said.
Creuzot said prosecution witnesses, including a jailhouse informant seeking lenient punishment, testified falsely, adding that prosecutors at the time also failed to provide the defense with evidence, such as fingerprints, that would have cleared Spencer of the crime.
Spencer, who maintained his innocence, later had his 1987 conviction overturned, but was later tried again, convicted of robbery against Young, and sentenced to life in prison.
He was released on bail in 2021 after the local prosecutor’s office determined that his constitutional rights had been violated and that he did not receive a fair trial due to perjury and destruction of evidence.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned his conviction earlier this year and remanded the case back to Dallas County.
“There is no credible evidence or physical evidence that he was in any way involved in this crime,” said Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Garza, who heads the office’s Conviction Integrity Unit.
According to data kept by the National Wrongful Conviction Records, Spencer is one of 60 people whose prison sentences have been exonerated.
Under Texas law, he is eligible to receive a lump sum and pension of up to $80,000 for each year he serves, Whatley said.
Whatley said Spencer tries to live life with integrity and “is trying to be an example that others can be inspired by.”
