Slain Police Officer, Exonerated Convict
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The front page of the December 13, 2008 Houston Chronicle, in bold headlines, presented a stunning paradox: two tragic, conflicting faces of crime in Harris County. The first face was captured in the headline “A Touching Tribute to Slain Policeman.” The second face was captured by the headline “Freed by DNA to Life as an Innocent Man.” The two faces inevitably evoked a torrent of conflicting emotions in the average reader.
The slain police officer, Timothy Abernethy, was senselessly gunned down while protecting a crime-ridden neighborhood in northwest Houston. A well-respected law enforcement officer and a deeply loved father and husband, the 13-year police veteran was simply trying to protect and serve the community he loved when an ex-felon on parole reportedly shot him in the head at point-blank range in the dangerous Luxor apartment complex.
The cold blooded and senseless nature of Abernethy’s murder shocked and outraged Houston residents who have seen their unfair share of horrendous violence. Letters to the Chronicle editor about the Abernethy killing reflected the community demand for swift justice and absolute retribution for a killer who has a troubled history of violence and criminal behavior. Just hours before killing Abernethy the accused killer was trying to break into the apartment of an estranged girlfriend. This media revelation served only to fuel the community anger against the accused killer.
The man recently freed following DNA exoneration is Ricardo Rachell who was convicted six years ago for the sexual assault of an 8-year-old boy. Terribly disfigured by a shotgun blast to the face, Rachell had always vehemently claimed he was innocent during his six-year wrongful incarceration. He wrote letters to lawyers and judges pleading his case and protesting the 40-year sentence imposed on him but to no avail. (more…)
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