DALLAS — A Dallas man who prosecutors say did not commit a 1990 rape for which he served 12 years in prison should be exonerated on the basis of recent DNA testing he did not request, a judge recommended Friday.
The conviction of 57-yearold Michael Phillips should be vacated, said Judge Gracie Lewis of the Dallas County Criminal District Court. The matter now goes to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals; it was not clear when the court would make a ruling.
Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins sought the exoneration after DNA testing identified another man as the culprit in the rape of a 16-year-old girl at a motel where both men lived.
Watkins has an ongoing project of reviewing untested rape kits, even without defendants initiating the request. Should the appeals court decide in Phillips’ favor, it would be the 34th exoneration by Watkins’ Conviction Integrity Unit.
Phillips said during the hearing that he was appreciative.
A district attorney’s office spokesman said the statute of limitations has expired and that the perpetrator who was identified remains free.