GEORGETOWN, Texas—A major milestone for Greg Kelley was reached on Monday when a Williamson County judge ruled Kelley is innocent of the crime that sent him to prison three years ago.
"It's one giant step for him to be fully exonerated," said Keith Hampton, Kelley’s attorney.
In 2014, the former Leander High School football player was convicted of sexually assaulting a 4-year-old boy and was later sentenced to 25 years.
Kelley has since maintained his innocence, and Monday’s court filings by Judge Donna King are a triumph in his efforts to clear his name.
"Judge King has found that Greg Kelley has met his burden of proving that he is actually innocent, and she's making that recommendation to the nine judges of the Court of Criminal Appeals,” Hampton said.
In her writ, Judge Donna King affirms that Kelley was denied due process, describing the 2013 Cedar Park police investigation as reckless police misconduct and listing multiple examples of how the original detective failed.
King also slammed Kelley's former trial lawyer, Patricia Cummings, by characterizing her defense strategy as "deficient."
The state district judge also said that Cummings’ representation "fell below an objective standard of reasonableness and there is a reasonable probability that…the result of the proceeding would have been different."
"It is very significant that a judge is talking to nine other judges in language that they are familiar with, and it is forcefully written," said Hampton.
During the new investigation into the case called on by the Williamson County District Attorney, a Texas Ranger identified three possible suspects in the original crime, including Kelley.
The other two are former clients of Cummings.
In her findings, Judge King maintains Cummings' previous relationship with them kept her from pursuing them as suspects while representing Kelley.
According to the judge, Cummings failed to attempt an alternate suspect defense because "pursuit of an alternate suspect in this case would have meant suggesting to the jury that one of her former clients could have been the perpetrator."
"I think it's clear that no reasonable juror could find Mr. Kelley guilty today, knowing what we know now comparing it to what we knew at the time of trial,” said Shawn Dick, the Williamson County District Attorney.
Dick is one of the main reasons that Kelley’s case received a new hearing in August after he determined that the initial investigation was insufficient.
He has referred to Kelley’s original trial as “a complete failure of the justice system.”
Though two other suspects remain in the new investigation, the district attorney doubts anyone will be held accountable for the crime.
"In many ways this crime is going to go unsolved, and so yes it's very frustrating and very unsatisfying,” Dick said. “Certainly there are lots of things we wish would've happened four years ago, and they didn't happen."
Kelley's pursuit of total exoneration is far from over—his fate is now in the hands of the Court of Criminal Appeals, but with the judge's recommendation, Kelley has reason to be optimistic.