Dana Stubblefield was found guilty of rape back in 2020. The former San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman was convicted of forcible rape of a developmentally disabled woman while using a gun.
The retired football player was sentenced to 15 years to life.
Things have changed for him drastically since that ruling.
A California appeals court has overturned the rape conviction of Dana Stubblefield after deciding that prosecutors made racially discriminatory statements during the trial.
The Sixth Court of Appeals found this week that prosecutors violated the California Racial Justice Act of 2020, a law that just so happened to be enacted during a summer of protest over the police killing of George Floyd.
The appeals court said prosecutors used “racially discriminatory language” that required them to overturn Stubblefield’s conviction.
Dana Stubblefield was alleged to have used 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.
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In closing arguments of the trial, a prosecutor stated officers did not search his house after the woman reported the incident, based partly on the fact that he was a famous Black man and doing so would have caused “a storm of controversy,” according to a court filing.
Also Read: Former 49ers Star Dana Stubblefield Found Guilty of Sexual Assault of Disabled Woman
Background on Dana Stubblefield Before His Legal Issues
Dana Stubblefield, the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year, and later, in 1997, the NFL Defensive Player of the Year, was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round (26th overall) of the 1993 NFL Draft.
His first year saw him rack up 10.5 sacks.
In 1997, he recorded 15 sacks and was named 1997’s NFL Defensive Player of the Year by The Associated Press.
In 154 career games, he recorded 434 tackles, 53.5 sacks, two interceptions, eight forced fumbles, and five fumble recoveries.
