Photos: Innocence Project
Mallory Nicholson spent 21 years in prison for crimes he did not commit. In addition to losing decades of his freedom, when he was released on parole in 2003, he was forced to register as a sex offender for another 20 years for these same crimes. And he was ostracized by his community as a result.
But last week, District Court Judge Chika Anyiam granted the Dallas County district attorney’s motion to dismiss Mallory’s 1982 burglary and sexual assault charges based on newly discovered evidence of his innocence that the State had withheld at his original trial.
This means that after 40 years, Mallory has finally been exonerated and is now free to live his life without this dark shadow hanging over him.
Mallory called it a “joyful and thankful” day. And he celebrated his long-awaited full freedom with friends and family over the weekend.
In 2019, at the Innocence Project’s request, Cynthia Garza, chief of the Dallas County District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU), and Holly Dozier agreed to review Mallory’s case. They discovered that the State intentionally withheld key evidence at trial that pointed to a different suspect and demonstrated inconsistencies in the victims’ identifications of Mallory.
Mallory was arrested in 1982 for burglary and the sexual assault of two children, despite no physical evidence connecting him to the crime. He consistently maintained his innocence, and even presented a strong alibi at trial to support the fact that he had been with family at his wife’s funeral — over 45 minutes away — at the time of the crimes.
In addition to the State withholding evidence, the case was also marred by racial bias. Mallory, a Black man, was tried before an all-white jury, who rejected his five alibi witnesses, all of whom were Black. The prosecutor also relied heavily on racial stereotypes during the trial.
“Today, Mr. Nicholson has finally received justice thanks to the Dallas County district attorney, the CIU, and their work uncovering this Brady evidence and recognizing the misconduct of the trial prosecutors in this case,” said Innocence Project Attorney Adnan Sultan, who represents Mallory.
