At trial, the state offered the testimony of Tarrant County Chief Medical Examiner.

Nizam

Peerwani. (RR 18:6). Peerwani had been the chief medical examiner for twenty-three :years. (RR18:6) Peerwani opined that, based upon his examination of Ms. Pal's wounds, she was ~ot shot where her body was found. (RR18: 13) Meanwhile, the lead detective on the case, Detective John

McCaskill, testified that, in his opinion as a homicide detective for eighteen years, one person could

not have killed Pal and moved her body to where it was found without help. (RR17, 100, l#O) As will be described more fully below, McCaskill opined that two people carried the body anddumped

it at the site where it was found. (RR 17:140)

DNA testing revealed Ward's semen in Pal? s anus and on her inner thigh. (RR17: 1 ~7 -88)

Mr. Foster's semen was found in Pal's vagina. (RR 17:188) There was a stain on the passenger seat

>

of the truck that could not be excluded as belonging to Ward or Pal. but was excluded as belonging

to Mr. Foster. (RR 17:196)

Police found a gun registered to Ward in a drawer in the motel room shared by Ward and Mr. !

Foster. (RR 17 :56; RR DX#2) Pal's blood was discovered on the muzzle of the gM. (RR 17: 182)

I

. .

Morever, after Ward submitted to the DNA testing that revealed his semen in Par s anal cavity and

;

her inner thigh) Ward fled the jurisdiction. (RR 17:187-88). When Ward was finally arrested, the

police discovered Ward's bloody clothes located in his car. (RR 17: 152)

B. Ward Has Given Four Statements Exoneratine Mr. Foster

1. Statement One'

Ward's first confession came in the form ofahandwritten note written to Mr. Foster, (RR

DX-PT #1) Ward confessed to Mr. Foster that he killed Pal after he and Pal left the motel; room.

"See Attachment A.

3

Hey man. I'm sorry you had to be involved in this. I fucked up & I can't let: you take the fall for this. I drugged you the other night with your own sleeping pills: & took your truck. Just to prove you were out cold I had Mary ride you while you: slept. I hope nothing bad happens to you. My hope is that the law will see this too. ; I can't take this any longer. I hope you don't lose your truck but if you do take my car. I won't be needing it where I'm going. So long friend you've done so much for' me that I can't begin to thank you, but, well: THANK YOU!

P .S. Take my check for all the trouble I've caused!

Your Bro lsI Sheldon

, I

To whom it may concern,

2:30AM

2/22/02

I, Sheldon Ward, confess to the murder of Mary- I acted alone without any outside; help or motivation. I am truly sorry for what I've done. I never meant for anyone to: get hurt.

/s/ Sheldon Aaron Ward

2. Statement Two"

After Ward left the handwritten note, his friend, Duane Thomas, picked him up at tJ?e Great Western Motel in Haltom City where he and Mr. Foster shared a room. (RR 18:53) When Thomas

arrived, both Ward and Mr. Foster were there. (RR 18: 5 5) Mr. Foster stood in the doorway as Ward

placed his bags in the back of Thomas' truck and then Thomas and Ward left. (RR 18:55) Thomas

3 See Attachment B.

4

1. Alleged Inconsistent Statements

Mr. Foster was interviewed the day the police executed the search warrants for samples of

DNA from Ward and Mr. Foster, Mr. Foster's truck and the motel room. (RR 17: 126) According

to Detective McCaskill, during that interview Mr. Foster first told the police that Pal had not been

in his truck. (RR 17: 131) However, Detective McCaskill claimed that Mr. Foster then changed his

story and said Pal left Fat Albert's in his truck and all three went cruising. (RR 17: 131) According

to Detective McCaskill, Mr. Foster told him that, after they finished cruising around, Mr. Foster

dropped Pal off at Fat Albert's. (RR 17:132) Curiously, only a small portion of the interview was

recorded. During the recorded portion, Mr. Foster stated that he did not remember if Pal was in his

truck nor did he remember if Ward drove his truck anytime during the preceding few weeks. (RR

SX #28) Moreover, on tape, Mr. Foster is heard adamantly explaining that, prior to the tape being

turned on when he mentioned "going cruising," it was McCaskill, not him, that suggested it was with Pal and) in fact, he could not remember who he went cruising with.' (RR SX #28)9

SMcCaskiU: Okay, earlier uh, we also talked about on this particular night that you told us that you did go cruising and that you drove around and returned her to Fat Albert's after it was

closed. Do you remember telling US that? .

Foster: We were out cruising. I'm just not sure who was with.

McCaskill: Okay, you don't remember who was in the truck with you?

Foster: I don't remember.

McCaskill: Okay, earlier you told us it was Mary. Why would you tell us that if you didn't remember?

Foster: Y'aU said it was Mary.

'1Mr. Foster gave another statement to Detective McCaskill that was only introduced in the punishment phase of the trial and, therefore, is not relevant to the question of whether Mr.

8

Recall- also that in Ward's handwritten note (Attachment A), audio-taped interview

(Attachment C), and post-conviction statement (Attachment D), Ward explained that he drove Mr.

Foster's truck on the night of the murder after Mr. Foster had fallen asleep.

2. Mr. Foster's semen

As noted above, the DNA test revealed Mr. Foster's semen was found in Pal> s vagina. (RR

17: 188) During the first interview with Detective McCaskill, Mr. Foster said he did not have sex

with Pal. (RR 17:142) Later, in the second interview, Mr. Foster said Pal performed oral sex on

him. (RR SX#43)

Nevertheless, in his handwritten note, Ward explained that he drugged Mr. Foster and

persuaded Pal to have sex with Mr, Foster while Mr. Foster was unconscious. (Attachment A) This

would explain why Mr. Foster's semen was found in Pal's vagina without Mr. Foster's knowledge.

Moreover, there were no signs of vaginal tearing and, therefore, the medical examiner could not

determine if the vaginal sex with Pal was non-consensual. (RR 18:28)

3. State's Theory that R:a! was Killed Elsewhere and. Therefore. Wa[d eQuid not Have Killed Pal By Himself

As noted above; the state's expert witness, Chief Medical Examiner Peerwani, opined that,

based upon his examination of Ms. Pal's wounds, she was not shot where her body was found,

Foster's counsel were ineffective at the guilt/innocence phase of the trial. (RR SX#43) In that statement, Mr. Foster stated that Ward and Pal were talking before leaving the bar. Ward asked him to follow Pal to Pars apartment where Pal joined them in the truck. He drove Pal and-Ward to the motel room. Once there, Pal and Ward began to have sex. He took some sleeping pills and fell asleep. He saw Ward and Pal leave the motel room and Ward did not return until morning.

9

(RR18:13)

Moreover, Detective McCaskill testified at the trial that he did not believe the victim was

killed where her body was found. (RR 17: 136-37)

Q. And being at the crime scene and examining the crime scene photographs, do you. have an opinion as to whether or not Niner Pal was shot as she lay [where her body was found?

A. No sir. I don't believe that she was.

(RR 17: 136-37) McCaskill opined that Pal was not killed where her body was found based upon

his analysis of the blood spatter. (RR 17: 137) Moreover, he testified that he did not believe Pal

could have been killed by one person because he believed that her body must have been carried to

the scene by two persons and that Ward, who was 5f6" and 140 pounds, needed Mr. Foster's help-

(RR 17:136, 17:157) ("I would be able to say her appearance would be consistent with two people

carrying her out there. I'm very comfortable saying that.")."

In order to obtain its conviction in this case and in order to sustain the conviction in face of

sufficiency challenges, the State of Texas has repeatedly relied upon this theory that Sheldon Ward

could not have acted alone because the victim had to have been killed elsewhere and carried to where

she was found by two people.

a. Trial

When the trial judge expressed skepticism as to whether she should let the state's case go to

the jury after the defense made a motion for a directed verdict at the close of the evidence, the

prosecutor honed in on the state's theory that it was impossible for Ward to have acted alone because

l~cCaskill testified that, on the other hand, Mr, Foster was "roughly 6 foot maybe 225, 230." (RR 17:136)

10

Pal was not killed where her body was found:

Detective McCaskill gave an opinion. That it looks like two people carried her body' and threw her down. That j s the evidence in front of the jury. And if Sheldon Ward weights approximately 155 pounds; Mary Pal weights 147 pounds. this defendant is; much larger and much bigger than both of them.

eRR 18:75)

The state then repeated its theory/argument to the jury:

Recall what Detective McCaskill told you. Look at this body. Look how it's laid out there. It's tossed away like so much garbage by two people. Not by one but by two. ' And [Mr. Foster's] right there with [Ward] every step of the way.

(RR 18:85-86)

b. Direct Appeal

On direct appeal, Mr. Foster argued that the evidence Was both legally and factually

insufficient to support the guilty verdict in the case. The state again relied on its theory that the

blood spatter evidence indicated that Ward could not have acted alone. In ruling on the sufficiency

challenges, the Court of Criminal Appeals also relied, in part, on "McCaskill's testimony thathe was

<very comfortable' with saying that two people were involved in moving Mary's body to the location

where it was found." Foster v. State, 2006 WI., 947681, *6 (Tex. Crim. App. April 12. 2006).11

lIThe state has focused on its "impossible for Ward to have acted alone" argument as recently as last month. Indeed, Mr. Foster filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the United States Supreme Court arguing that he is actually innocent of Mary Pal's murder. On November 12, 2010, the state filed its response explaining why it did not believe that Mr. Foster was "actually innocent." Tellingly, he argued:

Detective McCaskill also testified regarding the scene where [Pal's] body was discovered. McCaskill explained that the ground around the body was not disturbed, so it did not appear that the body was dragged to that location. 17 RR 134-35. The position of the body and her ann indicated (1) that the body may have been carried by two people (one carrying the feet and the other carrying the anus). 17 RR 140, and (2) that the body was dropped to the ground, 17 RR 136.

11

c. Findines of Gary Rint

Gary Rini is a well credentialed blood spatter expert. See Attachment F (Rini Curriculum

Vitae). As noted above, Rini just recently agreed to review this case pro bono. See Attachment G

(Affidavit of Adrienne Dunn) at ~ 5.ll Rini has prepared an affidavit concluding that, contrary to the

theory that the state has advanced at every tum. Pal was, in fact, killed where her body was found.

See Attachment H at 4. In light of this, and again contrary to the theory that the state has advanced

at every tum, Ward could very well have acted alone just as he has always said.

Rini notes bloodstain patterns from the scene where Pal's body was found that "could have

only been generated at the time the decedent sustained her fatal wound at the location and the

position she was discovered." Id. at 4. He further notes a "'PASSIVE' bloodstain pattern" in the

victim's right cheek which, based upon its downward "drip," allowed him to conclude, "the decedent

was shot at the location, and in the position, at which she was discovered." [d. Rini observed "no

evidence that [Pal] was shot elsewhere and transported to the location at which she was discovered"

as repeatedly argued by the state.

In looking at the soles of [Pal's] bare feet, it did not appear that she had walked to the area, 17 RR 135~36. The lack of blood, flesh, or bodily fluids on the ground around the body indicated that she was not shot at that location. 17 RR 136-37. Finally, McCaskill testified that Ward weighed about 140 pounds. [Pal] weighed about 130 pounds, and Foster weighed about 225 or 230 pounds. 17 RR 136.

Foster v. Thaler, No. 10-6595, Br. Opp. at 4-5.

12Rini was given $1,000 donated by a supporter of'Mr, Foster. See Attachment G at~ 5.

12

.. Page; 1 Document Name~ untitled

* * * M E PIC ALE X A MIN E R INVESTIGATOR'S NARRATIVE REPORT

* * '*'

CJME49M

c.._._~ NtTMBER 020B99T DECEASED PAL

I NYANUER

G

~--~----~-----~--~--~~---------~-~----~---~-~~--~-~--~-~-----~-~-----~-~~-~

M.1. LTS

INVESTIGATING AGENCY: FWPD

SERVICE NO#: 02112651

THE DECEDENT IS VIEWED FACE UP NUDE IN A DRY CREEK BED. THE DECEDENT IS WARM TO THE TOUCH anP RIGOR AND LIVIDITY lS MINIMAL. THE PE~£DENT HEAP IS ~ACING ~ffi ~QRTawEST AND THE FeET TO THE SOUTHEAST. THE DECEDENT APPEARS TO HAVE, SUSTAINED A GUNSHOT WOUND to THE HEAD. THE DECEDENT HAS r.H.IOOD ON nnn l:~}\cm AND nF.R l1l\TR TS nHl\TDRD, nT,OOD $PTIJ\'f'f'FlR

IS OBSERVED ON THE RIGHT HAND AND FOREARM. AN APPH.OXIMl\.'l'ELY EIGHT PIECE OF BROWN BLOODY MASKING TAPE IS REMOVERED FROM H~R FINGERS OF HER RIGHT HAND. APPROXIMATELY 3 FEET SOUTHWEST OF THE BODY IS A BLOODY NAPKIN. BLOOD IS OBSERVED UNDER THE HEAD AND yrcINltY QN FALLtN LEAVES THAT ABE UNDER

"THE BODY. PROPERTY WAS REMOVED FROM THE DECEDENT AND PLA~ED INTO THE TARRANT COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINERJS PROPERTY ROOM.

-----------~--~~-----~~--~-~~----~----~--~----~------~-------~--~-----~-.~-----

ENT~R:DISPLAY PF2:SUB MENU PF3:PRINT MARR. PF6;PREVIOUS PROG

PF4: PG BACK PF5: PG FWD PF8: SUPPLElofENTAL TXT. PF9: CLR/ADD PF12 : ADD TEXT

---~--- -~---~-------.~~-~---------~--~------------o

Date: 2/25/2002 Time; 3:16:~O PM

• ••

Gary,A. Rini, M.F.S.

An I~depetldent ijl()cd.13;n P"ltem An.lyst

•

Telepilonl!! BOO_26B_63D1 ~m~lI: BloMSlainE.~ert@2m"il.tlJm Wo:>b,;t,,: www_BJDod,t.lnE>pijrtl;<>m

SllOl PQ~!;II AQ~d [AIrport] PD'~ QIfi", I!c~ Sl09S a~wl.nd. ohio 44~lll-llQll8

.-'"

..

DECEMBER 20.2010

EXPERT REPORT OF GARY A.RINI IN THE

COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS Of TEXAS

) ) EX PARTE CLEVE FOSTER) ) )

NO_ WR-65.799~02 [DEATH PENALTY]

THIS IS A DEATH PENALTY CASE EXECUTION DATE ~ JANUARY II. 2011

AFFIDAVIT

L My name is Gary A_ Rini. [am an independent Forensic Science Consultant and Bloodstain Pattern Analyst in

private practice. I have been actively involved in the criminal justice system since 1975_ During the period of

1975 to 19951 served in small, mid-sized and latge law cnforcemcru agencies. My assignments have included

service as a Patrol Officer, Police Agent, Crime Scene Invesrtgaror. Crime Laboratory Detective, Patrol

Supervisor. Forensic Services Manager and Police Division Commander of Investigations.

2. l rcceivcd my graduate education in the forensic sciences from The George; Washington University in

Washington, D_C, and received advanced specialized forensic science training from t he Federal Bureau (If

Investigation, United States Secret Service. Smithsonian Institution, the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology,

Saint Louis University Medical School, University of New Mexico Medical School, Case -Western Reserve

University Law-Medicine Center. Northwestern University's Public Safety Institute, Henry C. Lee Forensic

Science Insrirutc and other natlonally-recognizcd professional organizations.

3. l am a member of, and have served as an officer in, a number of professional forensic science organizations.

These organiznrions include: The American Academy of For:cnsic Sciences, American College of Forensic Examiners, Association for Crime Scene Reconstruction, International Association For lclcnnficarton, International Association of Blocdstai n Pattern Analysts, lnrernanonul Association for Property and Evidence, the Com mission on Forensic Education, and other similar organizntions,

4 Since 1995, r have been actively engaged in forensic science education. training and consultative services. As a forensic science educator I developed. and instructed in. <I college degree program ill Forensic Investigation from 1996 -2000, I instructed courses in: Crime and Science, Crtrninalisrics, Medicolegal Death Investigation, Blooclstain Evidence, Fingerprint Technology, Crime Scene Search and Physical Evidence Management, and Forensic Evidence: An Introduction to Scientific Crime Detection. Since 2005, 1 have been a Visiting Professor of La w at the Francisco Marroquin School of La w (Guatemala City, Guatemala), where I instr~ct law students in: Crime Scene Investigation; Crime Scene Reconstruction and Bloodstain Pattern Analysis.

5. As a forensic science trainer, I have been actively engaged in preparing and presenting forensic science training programs to a national audience of local and federal law enforcement professionals, first responders, nurses and allied health professionals, judges. attorneys and private citizens. 1 assisted in the development of forensic science rr.tining programs for the Criminal justice Institute (Untvcrsity of Arkansas, Little Ro<;:k), Criminal Invcstigarion Training Insrirutc (Metropolitan Communiry College, Omaha) and the Lynn Peavey Company (Lenexa, Kansas},

6. I was selected as a member. and served on, the National Institute of Iustice's Technical Wor19I1S Group on Crime Scene lnvestiwtions. This group developed, under the direction of the United States Arcorney General, national guidelines for crime scene investigators, published in 2000,

7. As a forensic science:' consultant, I provide services to attorneys in private and government a] practice in the areas of critical case review and evaluation of forensic evidence, critical events analysis and physical evidence correlation, crime scene investigation petfor:mancc audits, crime scene reconstruction. bloodstain pattern analysis. shooring incident reconstruction and expert witness testimony in criminal and civil cases.

8. ~Iy clients include: local. state and lcdcral la w enforcement agencies; County Prosecutors; Dlstricr Attorneys; State's Attorneys: County. State and Federal Public Defenders: Prosecution and Defense Judge Advocate General Officers; and civil defense and plaintiff's AUQrncys.

2

9. Since 1995, I have been retained i 11 over 100 forensic science-related cases. These cases have been distributed

b~twccn defense and prosecution criminal cases and platnnff and defense civil cases. In the majority of these

cases, I have been retained by the defense. From 1975 to 1995, the majority of the cases I participated in were for

Prosecutors. District Attorneys and Stare's Attorney offices.

10. I have provided expert testimony On over: 100 occasions. and have been court-qualified as an expert in: Death

Scene Investigation, Crime Scene InVestigation, Crime Scene Reconstruction, Bloodstain Pattern Analysis,

Shooting Scene Reconstruction. Luminol Processing. Forensic Serology, Blood Alcohol Analysis and Forensic

Investigation and examination. I have provided this expert testimony in Federal, State, Military and Municipal

Courts, Grand Juries and Coroner's inquests, Courtroom testimony was presented in Alabama, Colorado,

District of Columbia, Florida. Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky. Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South

Dakota, West Virginia. Wisconsin and the Nation State of Israel. Depositions and affidavits were given and/or

prepared for cases in Colorado, Florida. Illinois, Iowa, Missouri. Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma and Virginia,

! l , I ha ve participated in excess of 300 death investigations for criminal and cl vii inquiries.

12. My experience, education and training art described in detail in the attached curriculum vitae: A list of my

courtroom expert testimony since: 2003 is also attached.

ASSIGNMENT

B. At the request of Adrienne A. Dunn. attorney for Cleve Foster, I was asked to review scene photographs related to the shooting death of NYANUER G. PAL. a 28 year old African-American fcmHlc:, which occurred on or about February 15, 2002 in Ft. Worth, Texas. Spcciflcally, I was asked to evaluate the bloodstain evidence on and about the decedent'S body. as documented in the scene photographs. to determine jf the dececlent was shot at the locanon she WaS discovered, or if she was shot in a location ot her than that where she was discovered.

DOCUMENTS REVIEWED

H. In order for Inc to accomplish this task, you provided me with the following documents;

n.) Tarrant County Medical examiner Invcsttgator's report,

b.) Fort Worth Police Department Crime Laboratory Firearms Unit Report, c.) Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Autopsy Report.

d.) One Com pact Disc containing digital images of scene,

3

RESPONSE AND OPINlONS TO ISSUES PRESENTED

Response and Opinion: The phorogrnphs of the scene clearly pOl'rray [he nude decedent lying on her back, next to J discarded used automobile tire, and on a. bed of fallen tree leaves which can be observed all about. and beneath the dcccclcnt.. Clearly visible on (he surface of the automobile tire, on the fallen leaves above her head and on her right forearm and palm are numerous bloodstain patterns that are characterized as "SPATTER" patterns (set: below) which nrc consistent with having been generated as the result of the decedent sustaining the "loose contact" gunshot wound described in. the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Autopsy Report. These: stains could have only been generated at the: time: the decedent sustained her fatal head wound at the location, and the position she was discovered. In addition, the decedent had a '·PASSIVE·· bloodstain p~ttern documented on her right check. This bloodstain pattern is visibly "dripping" downward (by gtavttatiOMl forces) from her check towards her chin. This stain also was generated at the time the decedent was shot ar the; location, and in the position, at which she was discovered. In the medical examiner investig~ltol'S report, mentioned is made of the bloodstains observed on the leaves around [he decedent's body. These stain patterns are also characterized as "SPA TIER" patterns. and arc consistent with having been generated at the time. and in the location and position the decedent was discovered. It is therefore determined that [he decedent was shot at the location. and in the position she WJ8 discovered. There is no evidence that she was shot else where and transported to the location at which she was discovered.

THE BASIS FOR THE USE OF BLOODSTAIN PATTERN ANALYSIS IN THE DETERMINATION OF STATED EVENTS

15. The interpretation of bloodstain pattern evidence in violent crime investigation is well-established. It is a Forensic investigative tool that is based on scientific principles. The limitations for its use rest with the investigator's ability to recognize the potential value of the bloodstain evidence found at the scene, and his/her understanding of its usefulness in rcconsrructing the sequence of events involved in a violent, bloody event.

16. Its theory is grounded in scientific principles which relics on the fact that blood, as a fluid, wiJUollow certain physical laws, and as such. will form reproducible patterns under separate sets of similar circumstances. This 4

fan of reproducibility has been established through thousands of experiments under controlled conditions. Therefore, when ccrtai n stain patterns are observed at a crime scene, we can state with confidence that those patterns have been reproduced as a result of explainable forces and actions.

17. We an: concerned with the static ultermath of the event, not the dynamics of fluid physics. We arrive at our findings through a thorough analysts of the size, shape and distribution patterns of the bloodstain evidence. Accordingly. those stain partcrns Call be evaluated from their physical appem:ance and from the mechanism by which the: patterns .... vert created.

18. The bloodstain pa[[crns can be classified as three general tytJCt;: Psssive Stains - patterns whose physical features indicate that they were: created without an>' significant outside forcc other than gravity and friction;

19. Spatter- bloodstai ns that exhibit directionality, vary in size. unci are associated with J. source.of blood being subjected to external Force (5) in addition In gravity and friction.

20. Altered, bloodstain parrerns whose appearance indicates the blood and/or pattern has undergone a physical and/or physiological alteration.

21. An evaluation and intcrprctatinn of the bloodstain pattern evidence found at the scene would have allowed investigators to reconstruct the sequence of events that occurred at the time of the shooting. The failure to evaluate and interpret this critical tyP( of evidence prohibited investigators from accurately a~sessing the dynamics of the critical events that occurred at the time of the shooting, thereby preventing them from accurately determining the fact that the decedent was shot at the location she was discovered,

BAStS OF OPINION

zz. A bloodstain, physical evidence and scene analysis is a study of available reports, phorographs.xlrav v tngs, diagrams and physical evidence. These are then used by the analyst to form an expert opinion as to the best explanation of events.

13. The opinions arrived at by this analyst are based on a review and evaluation of the material submitted for evaluation and the: information provided by Adrienne L Dunn. Should additional relevant information or evidence become available, or if the direct exami nation of physical evidence related to the event is conducted, the conclusions reflected in this report may need to be modilied W incorporate the new informatlon or- evidence.

14. These conclusions arc based on knowh::dge drawn f[(1111 personal investigative experience; relevant forensic

science training, forensic science education and practical research conducted by this analyst, and an: offerecl

with a reasonable degree of forensic science certainty.

25. These opinions are based upon review, analysis, and research of criminal and chit cases similar to this Case and

are consistent with the standards and practices currently em ploycd in the investigation and analysis of this [ypc

of critical event

REFERENCES

James. Stuart. Kish, Paul. Sutton. Paulette, Principles of Bloodstain Pattern Analysis (2005), .

, Herbert leon, Bloodstain Pncterns (Second Edition, 2005).

Respectfully submitted this 20tl. day of December, 2010.

Gary A Rini. M.F.S. Bloodstain Pattern Analyst

Cleveland, Ohio USA

Attachments: Expert Testimony Curriculum Vitae

RlIlMII. O'Neil, Notlry PubHe StIli D' Olto.LDrllll County

My Cemlllllllkln Expire. Sept. 24, 2013

6

IV. CONCLUSION

The jury convicted Cleve Foster and sentenced him to death based upon the state's argument

that. contrary to his confessions. Sheldon Ward could not have killed Mary Pal by himself.

Likewise, the various courts that have reviewed this case to determine whether the evidence was

sufficient to sustain Mr. Foster's conviction and/or to determine if he was "actually innocent,"

upheld his conviction and death sentence based upon the state's argument that. contrary to his

confessions, Sheldon Ward could not have killed Mary Pal by himself. It now appears that the very

foundation for this argument was false and that Mr. Foster's conviction was obtained and sustained

based largely in part on this false argument. At the very least. there are now serious questions that

surround Mr. Foster's conviction.

Mr. Foster's Writ of Certiorari should be granted and a new trial ordered.

Respectfully SUbmitted.

Is_; F. Clinton Broden

F. Clinton Broden Broden & Mickelsen 2600 State Street Dallas, Texas 75204

~720~9552 .

&~-~nnil~

Adrienne A Dunn v • Dallas County Public Defender's Office; Appellate Section

133 N. Riverfront Blvd. Dallas. Texas 75207

Attorneys for Applicant

17