The motion was another development in the case of Paul Storey, who was convicted in 2008 of killing Jonas Cherry at a miniature golf course in Hurst.
FORT WORTH, Texas — The Tarrant County District Attorney has requested a new punishment trial for a man on death row, alleging that the prosecutor on the case lied during her closing arguments about the victim’s family’s opposition to the death penalty, according to an appeals motion filed earlier this month.
The motion was another development in the case of Paul Storey, who was convicted in 2008 of killing Jonas Cherry at a miniature golf course in Hurst.
A jury sentenced Storey to death, but Cherry’s family has advocated against the death penalty and argued that they did not want their son’s killer to be executed.
In a motion filed Aug. 17, Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson – who was not in office during Storey’s initial trial – told the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals that Storey’s prosecutors Christy Jack and Robert Foran committed “serious … prosecutorial malfeasance” during Storey’s trial.
Jack told jurors that Cherry’s family “believe the death penalty is appropriate,” according to Wilson’s motion.
“As we now know,” Wilson’s motion said, “this was a lie. Jonas’s family, in particular his parents, did not want the death penalty for the man who had brutally murdered their son.”
Wilson’s motion said Jack and Foran did not disclose the Cherry family’s wishes to Storey’s defense attorney, nor did they disclose it at trial and subsequent appeal hearings.
Wilson’s motion said her office now “concedes that Ms. Jack’s closing argument included what she knew to be a false statement regarding the victim’s family.”
The motion concluded:
“In 2008, Ms. Jack and Mr. Foran failed to disclose favorable, material evidence to defense counsel. Ms. Jack compounded this action when she blatantly lied during her closing argument at trial. Ten years later, Ms. Jack and Mr. Foran compounded that lie even further when they gave perjured testimony to cover up the fact that Ms. Jack had violated Storey’s right to a fair trial – the trial, therefore, did not take place on an even playing field.”
It’s unknown when the Court of Criminal Appeals will make a ruling on the motion.
Earlier this summer, Wilson’s office filed a motion, asking to be placed back on the case. The district attorney’s office was recused from Storey’s case because Storey’s attorney later became a prosecutor in Tarrant County.
Wilson’s motion this summer acknowledged that Jack told jurors that Cherry’s family wanted the death penalty when, in fact, they did not, the motion said.
In a statement provided to WFAA earlier this month, Jack stood by her position to seek the death penalty in the case.
“This case was appealed to Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court — all of which upheld the death penalty as decided by the jury,” the statement from Jack reads. “I stand by my statements to the jury and my testimony during the hearing. I even went so far as to take — and pass — a polygraph related to the truthfulness and veracity of my testimony.”
WFAA has reached out to Jack for a statement regarding the Tarrant County DA’s ask of a new punishment trial for Storey. We will update this story when we hear back.