Arizona man on death row for 29 years is released after conviction for girl’s murder is thrown out

An Arizona death row inmate who spent 29 years behind bars has been released from prison

Barry Lee Jones, who was released from prison in Arizona on Thursday (Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry via AP))

An Arizona man who was convicted and sentenced to death in the killing of a four-year-old was released from prison on Thursday (15 June) after serving 29 years in prison.

Barry Lee Jones, 64, was accused of murder, child abuse and sexual assault in the death of his girlfriend’s daughter, Rachel Gray, in 1994. For nearly 30 years, Mr Jones has maintained his innocence that he did not sexually assault or kill her.

Now, after a years-long appeal process, a Pima County judge ordered Mr Jones’s release after approving a deal that his defence team struck with prosecutors, who said a medical re-examination of the case didn’t support a finding that Mr Jones caused the girl’s death.

Mr Jones pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. The Arizona Attorney General’s Office said evidence supported that because Mr Jones was caring for Rachel at the time, allowing her to die as a result of her injuries.

“After almost 30 years on death row for a crime he did not commit, Barry Jones is finally coming home,” Cary Sandman, a federal public defender who represented Mr Jones for over 20 years said as reported by the Arizona Republic.

The case

In early May 1994, Mr Jones drove his girlfriend, Angela Gray, and her four-year-old daughter to a Tuscon hospital, where the child was pronounced dead upon arrival.

Mr Jones had been living with his daughter, Ms Gray and her three daughters for approximately three months at the time of the incident in a trailer park in Tuscon.

Doctors noted the young child had bruises covering her body and a cut on her head. An autopsy showed that Rachel’s death was caused by a small bowel laceration due to “blunt abdominal trauma” according to an investigation from The Intercept.

Immediately fingers were pointed at Mr Jones and Ms Gray.

Mr Jones reportedly said Rachel was injured while on his watch the day before but it was not his doing.

The young girl had hit her head after falling from his parked work van. The four-year-old told Mr Jones a little boy pushed her out of the van and hit her in the stomach with a metal bar.

However, the key witnesses comprised of eight-year-old twins and Rachel’s 10-year-old sister, claimed they may have seen Mr Jones hitting Rachel.

Mr Jones was arrested and charged with child abuse as well as the murder and sexual assault of Rachel. He was found guilty by a jury in April 1995.

However, in Mr Jones’s appeals, it is noted that the jury did not receive all of the information related to the case – like evidence that alleged Ms Gray had been abusive toward her children and potential predators interacted with Rachel.

The appeal

Mr Jones’s first appealed in 1997 but the Arizona Supreme Court upheld the conviction.

He tried to appeal again in 2008, this time federally, but it was denied.

Finally, in 2014, Mr Jones’s case was remanded to a federal district judge after new evidence emerged about the young boy who hit Rachel in the stomach with a metal bar.

The federal judge called for Mr Jones’s release in a July 2018 ruling, concluding Jones’ earlier lawyer had failed to adequately investigate whether the girl’s injuries were suffered during the time she was alone with him.

Experts testified that Rachel may have been injured earlier. The judge’s ruling was upheld by an appeals court, though Jones remained in prison.

But the US Supreme Court reversed the decision a year ago, with Justice Clarence Thomas saying the federal courts are generally barred from taking in new evidence of ineffective assistance of counsel that could help prisoners.

With Mr Jones still behind bars, his attorneys struck a deal with prosecutors for his release.

Under the agreement, once his convictions and death sentence were thrown out, Mr Jones pleaded guilty to a second-degree murder charge in connection with his failure to seek medical care for the girl. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison and will be given credit for time served.

Now that Jones’ death sentence has been thrown out, Arizona has 110 people on its death row.