DALLAS — More than 35 years after he was wrongfully convicted and sent to prison, Benjamin Spencer is officially exonerated.
Spencer, now 59, was first sent to prison in 1988 in connection with the death of Jeffrey Young but has maintained his innocence.
The announcement of Spencer’s exoneration Thursday by the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office is the culmination of decades of legal maneuvering and effort on the part of investigators, advocates and Spencer’s family.
“This day has been a long time coming. I am relieved and humbled to help correct this injustice,” said Dallas County Criminal District Attorney John Creuzot.
Young, a former clothing manufacturing executive, was found lying unconscious March 22, 1987, in the 3900 block of Puget Street in western Dallas and died at Parkland Hospital.
A woman questioned in connection with the case, Gladys Oliver, told investigators she didn’t see anything, but after rewards were announced, she claimed to have seen Spencer and his co-defendant, Nathan Mitchell, get out of Young’s car, according to the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office.
Spencer and Mitchell were arrested despite there being no physical evidence implicating them in the case, according to the DA’s office. Shortly after their arrest, a jailhouse informant told police Spencer had confessed to him regarding the abduction, robbery and murder of Young, officials said.
Spencer was initially convicted in 1987 and sentenced to 35 years in prison in connection with the case.
A post-conviction investigation found Oliver gave false testimony at trial about whether she received or expected to receive up to $25,000 in reward money, officials said. The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office’s Conviction Integrity Unit also found prosecutors withheld favorable evidence regarding Oliver’s expectation of receiving reward money.
Another witness also testified he saw Spencer getting out of Young’s car, but didn’t actually see that, officials said, and the jailhouse informant later admitted he falsely testified at trial that Spencer had confessed to the crime.
The court granted Spencer a new trial, and Spencer was convicted of aggravated robbery in the second trial and sentenced to life in prison.
Spencer filed a writ of habeas corpus alleging that he was innocent in 2004, and the trial court recommended to the Court of Criminal Appeals that Spencer be found innocent, over the objection of the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office at the time. The Court of Criminal Appeals denied Spencer’s claim in 2011.
After a reinvestigation of the case, the DA’s Office announced in March of 2021 that Spencer’s conviction should be vacated based on the false testimony of the original prosecution’s star witness, false testimony from a jailhouse informant, and the suppression of evidence by prosecutors at the time. Spencer was then released on bond after serving 34 years behind bars.
In May 2024, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Spencer’s conviction and the Court’s decision became final in June of 2024.
“There are latent print cards taken from the scene that have been lost or misplaced likely due to the age of the case. At the time of the original investigation, Spencer was excluded as a match. If the cards are found, we will request the police department to run them against the database, which could provide leads.” Creuzot said.
Spencer’s case is the 46th exoneration in Dallas County since 2001 when the post-conviction DNA law went into effect.