9 years after prison release, judge removes exonerated man from sex registry
Nov 12, 2024
After serving 24 years in prison for a rape he says he didnt commit, a Tulsa County judge ruled William Henry Jamerson no longer has to be listed on a sex offender registry. Judge David Guten is the same judge who threw out Jamersons conviction earlier this year after Jamersons attorney, Dan Smolen, searched the Tulsa Police Department property room and found the decades-buried DNA evidence.WATCH this story from the beginning: Man cleared of rape conviction claims Tulsa police continue harassmentThe state did not object to the request. Jamerson was quiet after the ruling but told 2 News he was relieved.Feel better, better than I was feeling, blessed, he said.Kayleen Dubbs has plenty to say. In 1991, she was 16 and pregnant when she was raped outside a Tulsa restaurant (Ma Belles) where she worked. She feels police coerced her into pinning it on Jamerson.They gave me his name, they showed me photos of him, they groomed me, she explained. They way they do itit makes you feel like you are wrong.For years, she questioned the investigation.But who I am supposed to go to if the DA and the cops are involved in all of this? she asked.She said investigators convinced her to stay disconnected from the case. She did not even go to the trial.I wasnt allowed to watch the news, I couldnt read the newspaper, weird, right? She said. She said that felt like something told to a juror, not the victim.Dubbs said witnesses named possible suspects as restaurant employees who didnt show up for work the night of the crimes.There were two guys that called in [to work] that night, Dubbs said. There was a guy who raped me, and there was a guy that robbed the place. They [detectives] never interviewed them. Previous coverage >>> FIGHT FOR FREEDOM: Wrongfully convicted Tulsan faces more hurdlesNow that I am older and think back on all of this, I see through everything they did, she said. I am going to stand here until it is over, and I am not going anywhere.Jamersons attorneys say getting his name removed from the sex offender registry was unnecessary red tape.That should have been done by the DOC [Department of Corrections] the next day because they knew all about it, said Allen Smallwood, one of Jamersons attorneys. "This is just the beginning of justice that we hopefully will be able to obtain for him at the end of the day."Jamersons attorneys are filing a civil lawsuit. Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler is appealing his overturned conviction.The Tulsa County District Attorneys Office sent 2 News this statement: The matter of Mr. Jamersons previous conviction following a jury trial is on appeal. However, given the ruling of the District Court, at this time the requirements for sexual offender registration may be moot. We will abide by the rulings of the appellate courts whatever they may be.Also at the hearing, another one of Jamersons attorneys, Dan Smolen, asked the judge to unseal the Tulsa Police Departments Internal Affairs investigation that led to the demotion of the police officer in charge of the property room where Jamersons DNA was found, and, Smolen believes, deliberately hidden.Smolen is hoping documents will shed light on who may have ordered officers to hide the DNA. Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere -- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices. Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram SUBSCRIBE on YouTube