27 January 2006
Innocence Project #174 Arthur Mumphrey, Texas, 1986.
http://www.innocenceproject.org/case/display_profile.php?id=177
Arthur Merle Mumphrey was set free by a Texas judge on January 27,
2006, after postconviction DNA testing showed that he did not rape a
13-year-old girl in 1986. Mumphrey was convicted of the crime based on
the testimony of a co-defendant. He had served 18 years in prison.
Mumphrey’s brother Charles had confessed to committing the rape during
the police investigation of the 1986 rape, but recanted his confession
at Arthur’s trial, saying he had been lying in order to take the rap
for Arthur.
THE CRIME
On February 28, 1986, a 13-year-old girl was walking down the railroad
tracks toward town in the Dugan neighborhood of Conroe, TX, a small
city about 50 miles northwest of Houston. Two African-American men
began walking behind the victim and talking to her. One of them grabbed
her, lifted her off the ground, and carried her into a wooded area.
There, both men raped the girl, holding a knife to her throat. Other
people were walking along the tracks, and the men told the victim that
they would kill her if she screamed. The men were drinking wine during
the attack. Eventually the men released the girl and she fled the area.
THE INVESTIGATION & TRIAL
The victim was examined at the hospital on the same night. Doctors
noted signs of sexual assault and collected a rape kit.
A police investigation led to the questioning of Steve Thomas, who
admitted that he committed the rape and told police that Arthur
Mumphrey was the second rapist. Thomas agreed to testify against
Mumphrey in exchange for a 15-year sentence.
During the investigation, Mumphrey’s 15-year-old brother Charles
confessed to police that it was he, not Arthur, who had committed the
rape. The police told Charles that they knew he was lying because he
did not know enough about the details of the rape. Police threatened
Charles with a perjury charge. Charles eventually changed his story and
told police he falsely confessed in order to take the rap for Arthur
because Charles, as a juvenile, would get a lighter sentence.
At trial, Thomas said he committed the crime with Arthur Mumphrey and a
witness testified that Thomas told him about the crime later that
February night while Mumphrey was standing four feet away. The witness
testified that Mumphrey was quiet while Thomas described the rape. The
witness also said that both men were drunk. Charles Mumphrey testified
about his original statement at trial, and said he had lied in order to
attempt to take the rap for his brother.
The victim testified at trial about the attack. She said she did not
look into the faces of either man and was unable to identify Arthur
Mumphrey as one of the perpetrators.
POSTCONVICTION APPEAL
Arthur Mumphrey was released on parole in 2000 after serving 14 years
in prison, but was readmitted in 2002 for a violation of the conditions
of his parole.
In 2002, Mumphrey hired Houston defense attorney Eric Davis to pursue
his innocence claims. Davis began to seek DNA testing on the rape kit
evidence collected from the victim in Mumphrey’s case. After twice
being told by officials at the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS)
that the evidence was not stored in the department’s custody, Davis
reached a supervisor and requested a third search. The evidence was
found in a refrigerator at a DPS storage facility.
A motion for DNA testing was granted in the fall of 2005 and results
showed that semen on the rape kit and on the victim’s underwear was
left by both Steve Thomas and an unknown male. Arthur Mumphrey could
not have been the source of the second profile.
On January 27, 2006, Arthur Mumphrey was released on his own
recognizance after having served 18 years in prison for a rape he did
not commit.