Supreme Court Upholds Death Sentence for Hispanic Man Despite Disputed DNA Evidence

• Supreme Court Denies New Trial to Areli Escobar
• DNA Evidence Deemed Unreliable
• Prosecutors Supported Rehearing

Areli Escobar, a Hispanic man sentenced to death in Texas for the rape and murder of 17-year-old Bianca Maldonado, will not receive a new trial.

The US Supreme Court rejected his appeal on Monday, even though the same prosecution office that initially secured his conviction later supported reviewing the case.

Escobar was convicted in 2011 for the 2009 crime.

The events occurred in an Austin apartment complex where both he and the victim lived.

Forensic Lab Failures Cast Doubt on Areli Escobar’s Conviction

During the trial, prosecutors relied heavily on DNA evidence processed by the Austin Police Department’s crime lab.

However, a later audit exposed serious issues within the lab, including inadequate staff training and flawed procedures.

The lab was eventually shut down due to these systemic failures.

In 2020, Judge David Wahlberg of the Travis County District Court ruled that Areli Escobar deserved a new trial.

“The State’s use of unreliable, false, or misleading DNA evidence to secure (Areli Escobar’s) conviction violated basic concepts of justice,” the judge wrote.

The Travis County District Attorney’s Office, now under José Garza, also withdrew its support for the conviction.

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Garza was elected on a platform of police accountability and transparency.

Despite this, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals twice rejected Escobar’s appeals.

First after the district judge’s recommendation.

And again even after the US Supreme Court requested reconsideration.

On Monday, the nation’s highest court affirmed the Texas court’s ruling, without offering any explanation.

The Escobar case stood in contrast to that of Richard Glossip.

Glossip, a death row inmate in Oklahoma, recently had his conviction overturned due to similar concerns over flawed evidence and prosecutorial misconduct.

In Glossip’s case, the Oklahoma Attorney General admitted to serious errors and supported the reversal.

The Supreme Court ultimately ruled that Glossip’s constitutional right to a fair trial had been violated.

The American Bar Association also filed an amicus brief supporting Escobar, urging the Supreme Court to take up his case.

“This case involves a remarkable confession of error by the prosecution, based on the state court’s findings that the petitioner’s conviction relied on false, misleading, and unreliable DNA evidence,” the ABA stated.

Texas has not yet set an execution date for Areli Escobar.

For now, he remains on death row—without the chance for a new trial—despite significant concerns surrounding the evidence that led to his conviction.

SOURCE: EFE / AP

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