Dana Stubblefield has been granted his release from custody more than four years after the former NFL star was convicted of rape and more than six weeks after that conviction was reversed by a California appellate court because of “racially discriminatory language” used by the prosecution during the trial.
California Superior Court Judge Hector Ramon made the ruling Friday in Santa Clara, allowing Stubblefield his freedom, without having to post cash bail, as the next steps are determined. Stubblefield is required to wear an ankle monitor, can not possess firearms and is not allowed to contact his accuser.
“He has simple conditions that are pretty common,” Allen Sawyer, who represented Stubblefield, along with fellow attorney Kenneth Rosenfeld, told The Times by phone after the hearing. “He has to show up to court dates if there are any future court dates, which we don’t even know if there will be. But as this finalizes and we march toward a retrial or the D.A.’s office comes to their senses and does not retrial Mr. Stubblefield, … he’s released on his own recognizance.”
Santa Clara County assistant district attorney Terry Harman told The Times in a statement following Friday’s hearing:
“A jury unanimously found Mr. Stubblefield guilty of raping a woman at gunpoint, he was given an appropriate sentence, and we felt that justice had been served. That justice has been interrupted and although we are disappointed that the judge released Mr. Stubblefield from custody while we await a decision from the California Supreme Court, we remain focused on the sexual assault that occurred, the victim, and the need for accountability and community safety.”
Stubblefield — a former defensive player of the year who spent his 11 NFL seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, Washington Redskins and Oakland Raiders — was charged in May 2016 with raping a woman at gunpoint the previous year. During his trial, Stubblefield’s defense argued that the sex was consensual.
In October 2020, Stubblefield was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison after a jury found him guilty of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and false imprisonment, and that he had used a firearm in committing the first two offenses.
The 6th District Court of Appeal reversed Stubblefield’s conviction late last year based on the California Racial Justice Act of 2020, which prohibits judges, attorneys and aw enforcement officers, among others, from exhibiting “bias or animus towards the defendant because of the defendant’s race, ethnicity, or national origin.”
The appellate court’s decision was based on language used in the prosecution’s closing argument
After Friday’s hearing, Stubblefield had to return to Corcoran State Prison to complete some paperwork. But Sawyer said he expects Stubblefield to be back in Santa Clara by Friday evening.
“We expect him to be home tonight,” Sawyer said. “As my partner said, he’ll be having a late dinner with his kids tonight.”