CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has vacated the capital murder conviction of Joe David Padron, agreeing that false testimony led to his wrongful conviction for a 2002 double homicide.
The court's ruling comes after Nueces County District Court Judge Inna Klein determined that prosecutors presented false testimony during Padron's original trial.
Padron, who was initially sentenced to life in prison for the shooting deaths of two men in a Corpus Christi drug house, served 19 years before being released on bail in 2023, pending the court's decision.
Mike Ware, Executive Director of the Innocence Project of Texas and Padron's attorney, emphasized the significance of the court's decision. "Both Judge Klein and the Court of Criminal Appeals recognized that two of the prosecution’s witnesses gave false testimony causing Mr. Padron’s wrongful conviction. Although nothing can give back the time he spent wrongfully imprisoned, we are hopeful that this ruling will give Joe David and his family some sense of justice and the peace they deserve," Ware said.
The case's exoneration was bolstered by additional evidence, including testimony that one of the actual perpetrators of the murders confessed, specifically named the three other perpetrators he committed the murders with, and that Padron had nothing to do with the crime, according to a statement released by Ware.
Ware previously told 6 Investigates that the DA's office did not have any physical evidence linking Padron to these crimes, instead, it used testimony from a witness who changed his story after prosecutors offered him a plea deal on a separate case.
There are laws in place that limit the scope of testimony from witnesses such as these. Those same laws require the prosecution to inform the jury of any deals made to secure testimony.
These laws were not in place during Padron's trial in 2004.
"Unfortunately none of those laws were in place back in 2004 when this took place but there are a number of laws now in place that, that kind of evidence wouldn't have been allowed today," Ware said.
We are innocent until proven guilty, our prosecutors are not supposed to cheat, we're not supposed to re-write testimony, we are not supposed to say hey going to give you this deal if you change the truth.
In September 2023, James Sales, the original prosecutor on the case, said he believed Padron was guilty and said it has always been his practice as a prosecutor to disclose any plea agreement made during witness testimony.
In a dissenting opinion issued by three judges, it distinguishes Padron's claim is not an "actual innocence" claim.
"The convicting court has not recommended that we grant relief under this so-called 'actual innocence' theory, and the Court today does not do that," according to the opinion.
An "actual innocence" claim would require new evidence that, by clear and convincing evidence, would cause a jury to have a reasonable doubt about the defendant's guilt. In this case, the relief is being granted solely on the grounds of potentially false testimony from jailhouse snitches.
Padron, who maintained his innocence throughout his imprisonment, expressed relief and concern for the victims' families. "I feel excited and relieved. I'm glad that justice has prevailed," he said. "The families of the victims deserve to know the truth. They have been forgotten in all of this."
The Innocence Project of Texas, which has now exonerated or freed forty people since 2006, played a crucial role in Padron's case. Padron also credited his original post-conviction attorney, Danice Obregon, for her persistent efforts.
