Before she left office in 2022, former Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson made an unexpected decision.
She told the state鈥檚 highest criminal court that Tarrant County prosecutors lied to the jury in a death penalty case 鈥� and the man sentenced to death deserved, at least, a new punishment trial.
In siding with Paul Storey鈥檚 defense team, Wilson renewed efforts to get him another chance at sentencing.
His lawyers are now asking for the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider Storey鈥檚 case, but Wilson's successor, DA Phil Sorrells, seemed to walk back his office's support of Storey.
, Sorrells asked the court to reject Storey鈥檚 appeal. Texas courts have already ruled against him, and the Supreme Court declined to hear his case in 2022, Sorrells wrote.
鈥淪torey has given this Court no reason to upend those decisions or to revisit its original denial [...] in this case,鈥� the filing reads.
Storey was sentenced to death in 2008 for killing Jonas Cherry during a robbery. Then-Tarrant County prosecutor Christy Jack told the jury during Storey鈥檚 trial, 鈥淚t should go without saying that all of Jonas鈥檚 family and everyone who loved him believe the death penalty is appropriate.鈥�
That sentence is the crux of Storey鈥檚 case.
Cherry鈥檚 parents maintain they have always opposed the death penalty. They have since fought to get Storey off death row, in 2017, days before he was scheduled to die.
四虎影院 asked the Tarrant County DA鈥檚 Office for an interview about this new filing. A spokesperson did not respond. Christy Jack and her co-prosecutor, Robert Foran, have denied wrongdoing.
One of Storey鈥檚 attorneys, Mike Ware, said he鈥檚 disappointed the Tarrant County DA鈥檚 Office has taken this stance.
"They have, in my opinion, gotten bogged down in what I would call procedural minutiae,鈥� Ware said. 鈥淭hat has nothing to do with truth, justice, or the integrity of the criminal justice system.鈥�
Sorrells鈥� new filing does not refute the accusations of wrongdoing in Storey鈥檚 case, Ware pointed out.
The filing does make it clear a previous district attorney made that accusation. Otherwise, it argues Storey has gotten his due process, and the Supreme Court should not take up his case.
Storey's case has moved up and down the court system for years. In 2018, a Tarrant County judge ruled but Texas鈥� highest criminal court, the Court of Criminal Appeals, .
In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Storey鈥檚 case, although wrote a statement in his favor.
鈥淧rosecutors not only failed to disclose Cherry鈥檚 parents鈥� unwavering desire that Storey not be sentenced to death, but also misled the jury in summation to successfully secure a death sentence,鈥� Sotomayor wrote.
A few months later, Wilson asked the state Court of Criminal Appeals to help Storey.
鈥淯nder these most extraordinary circumstances, Storey should, at the very least, be granted a new punishment trial,鈥� she . 鈥淛ustice demands it.鈥�
This past June, two years after Wilson filed her motion, the Court of Criminal Appeals denied Wilson鈥檚 request without explanation.
That has led Storey back to the U.S. Supreme Court. In October, he filed a petition for the justices to hear his case. The state confessed to wrongdoing, and prosecutors鈥� attempts to make it right should be taken seriously, Storey鈥檚 attorneys argued.
鈥淲hen that position of respect and credibility is abused with a lie that is perpetrated solely to win the case, then it's up to the appellate courts, when this is pointed out and made abundantly clear, to set it right,鈥� Ware said.
The parents of Storey鈥檚 victim, Glenn and Judith Cherry, have also continued to support Storey鈥檚 efforts to get off death row. They filed a brief on his behalf with the Supreme Court.
鈥淜illing Storey will not bring Jonas back. Nor will it bring the Cherrys any closure,鈥� the brief reads. 鈥淢oreover, the Cherrys do not want to see Storey鈥檚 mother suffer through losing a child like they have.鈥�
Ware anticipates the Supreme Court will decide whether to take on Storey鈥檚 case sometime in the spring.
Got a tip? Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org. You can follow Miranda on X @MirandaRSuarez.
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