CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — In 2004, Joe David Padron was convicted of capital murder for the shooting deaths of two 19-year-old men in what police believed to be a drug and gang-related dispute that happened at a house in Corpus Christi in 2002.
He spent more than 20 years behind bars, but was released on bail in 2023 thanks, in part, to an investigation and recommendations by the Innocence Project of Texas.
Since its founding in 2006, the Innocence Project of Texas has seen over 30 men and women exonerated and freed in our state.
They hope that Padron, who has always maintained his innocence, can soon be added to that list.
Following his conviction, those representing Padron have argued that he was not given a fair trial, citing false testimony from jailhouse informants and unreliable eyewitnesses.
They even brought in an eyewitness identification expert.
“Doctor and Professor Nancy Franklin, one of the world’s foremost experts, investigated the case and testified that the eyewitness identification of Mr. Padron was probably the most unreliable one she has ever seen, for a number of different reasons,” Executive Director of the Innocence Project of Texas Attorney Mike Ware said.
3NEWS was there last October as 214th District Court Judge Inna Klein recommended that Padron’s conviction be overturned and ordered that he wear an ankle monitor and be released on $100,000 bail.
His case was then sent to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin for consideration, however, they asked for something more.
“So, they remanded it back with instructions for the judge to order the eyewitness to give more testimony,” Klein said.
Judge Klein was told via a Zoom hearing on Wednesday that the eyewitness in this 22-year-old case is in federal prison and has asserted his fifth amendment right not to testify any further.
As for what happens next, Judge Klein is expected to send this new information back to the Court of Criminal Appeals, where a final determination will likely be made.