Ajay Dev's Appellant’s Opening Brief (AOB) at the California Third District Court of Appeals has been officially filed. We have posted Ajay’s AOB for those interested in knowing more about his case. We are confident once you read this brief, you will understand why we feel Ajay Dev is innocent and had an unfair trial. The brief is divided into two parts. Part one is the statement of facts – this section provides the facts presented in the trial in a chronological order as to relate what happened. It is supported by testimony and evidence from the trial. The second part contains the legal arguments regarding errors in the trial and argument as to how those errors led Ajay to have an unfair trial.
The exoneration of the falsely convicted has always been an important implication in the court system, but it is exceedingly rare. DNA testing has helped to limit the amount of time and money needed to retry a case, but this type of testing is typically only useful in murder and rape cases where DNA evidence exists.
Still, over 1000 people have been individually exonerated since the benchmark year 1989 (when DNA exoneration began).
“The 300th exoneration is an extraordinary event, and it couldn’t be more fitting that it’s an innocent man on death row who gave a false confession,” said Barry Scheck, a founder of the Innocence Project and one of the lawyers who worked on the case. “People have a very hard time with the concept that an innocent person could confess to a crime that they didn’t commit. But it happens a lot. It’s the ultimate risk that an innocent man could be executed.” from the Washington Post.
The Innocence Project Explained: Damon Thibodeaux is the 300th person to be exonerated with DNA evidence. Damon was sentenced to death for the New Orleans-area murder of his half-cousin Crystal Champagne based largely on his recanted confession. He spent 15 years in prison for the crime before his exoneration through DNA testing on September 28, 2012.
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Patty Pursell compares the accusations against Ajay Dev with the events that actually happened and plots them in a timeline so that everyone can see the ridiculousness of the accusation. She and Peggy Dev also speak to what was Ajay's accuser's motivation.
