{"id":15610,"date":"2023-10-13T17:34:18","date_gmt":"2023-10-13T22:34:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/norwoodlegal.com\/?p=15610"},"modified":"2023-10-16T10:29:46","modified_gmt":"2023-10-16T15:29:46","slug":"another-ada-exoneration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/norwoodlegal.com\/another-ada-exoneration\/","title":{"rendered":"A notorious Oklahoma prosecutor loses yet another case to exoneration"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Barry Scheck (left), co-founder of the national Innocence Project, speaks with Norwood.Law client Perry James Lott in Ada, Oklahoma, after Lott\u2019s 35-year conviction for rape was vacated by a judge on Oct. 10, 2023.<\/em><\/p>

By G.W. Schulz<\/p>

An Oklahoma judge has overturned the rape conviction of a man who served 30 years in prison for rape after a DNA analysis excluded Norwood.Law client Perry James Lott from biological evidence collected in the case. The turn of events occurred after a new district attorney took office in early 2023 and conducted an in-depth review of Lott\u2019s case.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Pontotoc County District Attorney Erik Johnson then appeared at an Oct. 10, 2023, hearing with Norwood.Law and the <\/span>national nonprofit Innocence Project<\/span><\/a> to request that <\/span>Lott\u2019s 1988 conviction be vacated and case dismissed<\/span><\/a>. That means Lott is no longer a convicted sex offender in the eyes of Oklahoma law, cannot be pursued again for the crime, and is exonerated of the offense. Johnson said at the hearing that as district attorney, he was as much responsible for protecting crime victims as he was determining whether evidence favored a defendant.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

It\u2019s been a <\/span>long wait for Lott to arrive at this moment<\/span><\/a>. A forensic scientist wrote in a 2017 affidavit that Lott\u2019s DNA was not present in a rape kit collected following a 1987 sexual assault in Ada, Oklahoma. A relatively small, rural community, Ada today has a population of about 16,500 people. Pontotoc County District Judge Steven Kessinger agreed at the Oct. 10 hearing to vacate the conviction and dismiss the case six years after the DNA affidavit was signed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

As a result of the ruling, Lott becomes the sixth-known person to be exonerated after being sent to prison by Bill Peterson, the long-serving and controversial former district attorney for Pontotoc County, the seat now held by Erik Johnson.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Peterson retired in 2007 after nearly 30 years as the top cop of Pontotoc County. During that time, his record of problematic prosecutions drew national attention to Ada in the form of books, news stories, and podcast episodes. The detailed coverage <\/span>includes a best-selling 2006 book<\/span><\/a> by megastar author John Grisham called \u201cThe Innocent Man,\u201d which <\/span>became a popular 2018 series on Netflix<\/span><\/a>. It is the only nonfiction book ever published by Grisham out of dozens. Bill Peterson <\/span>attempted to sue Grisham over the book<\/span><\/a> but was not successful.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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BREAKING: Perry Lott was just exonerated by DNA after 35 years of wrongful conviction in Oklahoma.\n\n\u201cI have never lost hope that this day would come. I can finally shut this door and move on with my life.\u201dhttps:\/\/t.co\/IOkjN6zFNi<\/a><\/p>\n\u2014 Innocence Project (@innocence) October 10, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote>\n