Two men serving life sentences for the death of a south Dallas pastor 15 years ago were freed on bond Tuesday after the Dallas County district attorney's office said they were wrongfully convicted based on prosecutorial misconduct.
Dennis Lee Allen, 42, and Stanley Orson Mozee, 55, both convicted in the 1999 slaying of the Rev. Jesse Borns Jr., must now wait for rulings from an appeals court and new trial dates. The men have said before that they are not guilty.
The Innocence Project took up their case and sought a new trial. The group said a prosecutor was able to get witness testimony from some people in jails in exchange for reductions in their sentences.
"I have no animosity toward anyone," Mozee said. "As a matter of fact, I give the Dallas County judicial system a positive note, if the court of criminal appeals will act and do the just thing in this matter."
Allen said his freedom felt like "heaven."
"I mean, it's kind of hard to explain, but try to imagine the greatest joy you have ever experienced in your life, and that's what I'm feeling right now," he said.
More than 30 men wrongfully convicted in Dallas have been freed in the last decade.
