On Thursday, April 5th, the Santa Clara County Superior Court granted a petition for writ of habeas corpus filed by the Northern California Innocence Project, and vacated the charges against Ken Foley.
In 1995 Foley was convicted of burglary in the second degree for the alleged armed burglary of a truck in Santa Clara County. He was sentenced to 25 years to life. Foley maintained his innocence and claimed that the victim mistakenly identified him as one of the burglars. At Foley’s trial, Luke Gaumond testified he was the actual burglar. But the prosecution attacked Gaumond’s credibility as a witness and Foley was ultimately convicted. For the past 12 years, Luke Gaumond has continued to try and help Foley, by contacting his trial counsel, who in turn contacted the District Attorney’s office. The District Attorney’s office re-investigated the case and agreed to have Foley re-sentenced.
The Northern California Innocence Project at Santa Clara University School of Law, represented by legal director Linda Starr and law student Sadie Wathen filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus on Foley’s behalf, arguing that his entire conviction should be reversed, based upon newly discovered evidence of Foley’s innocence, the failure of the prosecution to turn over exculpatory information, and the failure of defense counsel to fully investigate, resulting in Ineffective Assistance of Counsel.
In a document filed with the court, the District Attorney agreed that Foley’s petition for writ of habeas corpus should be granted, saying they agreed that a strong showing of actual innocence had been made.
Please congratulate Sadie on her outstanding work in this case.
