The Korey Wise Innocence Project at the University of Colorado Boulder Law School announced April 24 it was successful in getting the conviction of Cass Garner officially vacated. Late yesterday, Garner was released from prison within hours of the court’s ruling, according to KWIP. Garner had been imprisoned for 15 years.
Garner was convicted in connection with a 2009 nonfatal shooting at a local bar — the same night he was there celebrating his birthday, according to the announcement. He maintained his innocence.
KWIP noted the court order comes after the prosecution formally conceded several key claims raised in Garner’s petition for post-conviction relief. Earlier this month, KWIP attorneys Kathleen Lord and Jeanne Segil presented evidence during a hearing that challenged the reliability of the eyewitness identifications used to convict Garner.
Soon after the shooting incident, none of the three victims — who were brothers — identified Garner in photo lineups, according to KWIP. However, nearly three years later at trial, all three testified that he was the shooter.
Lord and Segil enlisted nationally recognized experts in human memory and eyewitness identification, both of whom concluded that the identifications made at trial were unreliable.
“This is why we do this work,” Segil said in a press release. “Today validates that what we do makes a difference for people.”