Court Overturns Former NFL Star’s Rape Conviction Over Racial Bias

A California appellate court overturned the rape conviction of former San Fransico 49ers tackle Dana Stubblefield.

The Santa Clara County Sixth District Court of Appeal overturned Stubblefield’s rape conviction over racial bias.

The Court ruled that the prosecutions “constituted racially discriminatory language about’ Stubblefield’s race and violated the California Racial Justice Act of 2020, which makes it illegal to obtain a conviction “on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin.”

Stubblefield was found guilty of rape in 2020 and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison after allegedly luring a disabled woman into his home and using a firearm to force her to have sex.

The rape conviction of former 49ers player Dana Stubblefield was overturned by a California appellate court Thursday after a panel of judges ruled the conviction was in violation of the California Racial Justice Act. https://t.co/JuAmOZgHgO

— San Francisco Chronicle (@sfchronicle) December 27, 2024

Per CNN:

A California appellate court has overturned the rape conviction of former San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield – finding it “legally invalid” – on the grounds of racial bias.

On Thursday, the Santa Clara County Sixth District Court of Appeal vacated the former NFL star’s conviction and prison sentence, saying that the prosecution’s statements during the trial “constituted ‘racially discriminatory language about’ Stubblefield’s race” and violated the California Racial Justice Act of 2020, which makes it illegal to obtain a conviction “on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin.”

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In 2020, Stubblefield was sentenced to 15 to years to life after a jury found him guilty of rape by force using a firearm, oral copulation by force and false imprisonment after prosecutors said he had lured an intellectually disabled woman to his home in April 2015 with the promise of a babysitting job.

UPDATE: State appeals court tosses rape conviction & 15 years-to-life sentence for ex-@49ers tackle Dana Stubblefield, saying #SantaClaraDA violated CA Racial Justice Act by saying his race was factor by @MorganHillPD not to search his home pic.twitter.com/qEscb9f27S

— Henry K. Lee (@henrykleeKTVU) December 27, 2024

Per KRQUE:

Former NFL defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield’s rape conviction was overturned by an appellate court on Thursday, court documents show.

The 54-year-old played in the NFL from 1993-2003, spending seven of those seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, three with Washington, and one with the Oakland Raiders. His impressive list of accolades includes an NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award, an NFL Defensive Player of the Year award, and a Super Bowl title.

Stubblefield was convicted in 2020 of raping a woman who interviewed to babysit his kids in Morgan Hill in 2015 and was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. His lawyers, however, have used the California Racial Justice Act of 2020 to overturn the conviction.