HOUSTON—After spending half of his life in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, Allen Wayne Porter was greeted by cameras as he took his first steps of freedom in nearly two decades.
Remarkably, there he didn’t show even a hint of bitterness.
"Everybody makes mistakes," said Porter, now 39. "I think that’s plainly what it was. They just made a big mistake."
He entered the system 19 years ago as a convicted rapist. He emerged as an inspiration to those around him.
Porter was convicted of aggravated sexual assault and sentenced to life in prison in 1990. His repeated pleas of innocence fell on deaf ears until last year, when he sent a letter to Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos.
"It was a handwritten letter, and it was sincere," said Lykos. "It had an affidavit attached from an individual who was also sentenced in the same offense."
The affidavit stated Porter had nothing to do with the crime. Lykos turned it over to her post conviction review team. What they found prompted the judge to recommend Porter’s release.
Investigators worked for months reviewing Porter’s case, which stemmed from a robbery-sexual assault that occurred at a southwest Houston apartment on June 18, 1990.
Police said three masked robbers burst into the apartment that night, raping two of the four people inside.
Porter’s nephew, 40-year-old Jimmy Hatton, was convicted as one of the masked robbers. Porter attended Hatton’s trial with other relatives and was arrested there when a witness said he looked like one of the other suspects.
But Porter’s fingerprints were not found at the scene, and DNA testing conducted six years ago failed to link him to the crime. Still, it wasn’t enough to establish his innocence.
Investigators said Hatton and an inmate convicted of another crime admitted that they were two of the attackers and that Porter had nothing to do with it. The men also identified a third suspect. When investigators compared that third man’s fingerprints to those found at the scene, they said they found a match.
Investigators said the woman who drove the suspects to and from the scene also swore Porter was not involved.
Finally, on Thursday, a judge granted a writ for Porter to be released on bond after hearing testimony and related evidence.
"My message to him would be the system works," said Lykos. "The tragedy of it is that it took so long."
Lykos said Porter will ask for his conviction to be formally overturned by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
"Well, it’s sad," said special prosecutor Bob Loper. "It’s completely sad."
To quote the special prosecutor, the wheels of justice turn slowly.
"Don’t never give up," says Porter. "It’s never over. As long as you’re breathing, keep fighting."
For Allen Wayne Porter, they just turned more slowly than for most.
