Former Houston police officer Gerald Goines now faces a potential life sentence after being convicted on two murder charges. The jury may soon hear how his false testimony affected numerous other cases.
Between 2008 and 2019, Goines served as the lead investigator in 441 criminal cases, acting as the sole witness in 164 of them.
Following the failed Harding Street raid in 2019, more than 30 convictions have been overturned, with three individuals declared innocent, according to sources from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
One such case is Otis Mallet, arrested in southeast Houston in 2008, and the first to be exonerated in February 2020.
“I was innocent. I was falsely accused,” said Frederick Jeffery, who was released in 2022 after spending six years in prison on a drug possession charge based on Goines’ now-discredited testimony.
Despite this, jurors were not informed of Goines’ history during the trial.
“Those things are considered irrelevant in determining guilt or innocence of the charges at hand,” attorney Murray Newman explained.
However, sentencing rules differ, and some of those wrongfully convicted based on Goines’ testimony may be called to testify at his sentencing.
“When someone’s wrongfully convicted, their life is unjustly destroyed. This will likely weigh heavily on the prosecution’s case during sentencing,” Newman added.
Given the speed at which the jury reached a verdict, Newman suggests they may lean toward a harsher punishment.
Goines’ sentencing is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on Thursday.
