Exonerated Death Row Inmate Anthony Graves' supporters say they ultimately want the state to snatch the license of the former prosecutor who's accused of withholding evidence that led to a wrongful conviction.
"Today is a great day to be an American. We're talking about criminal justice reform," he said.
Standing along side a group of state law makers and his family, Graves announced the State Bar of Texas is launching an investigation into his prosecuting attorney and former Burleson County DA Charles Sebesta.
"I spent 18 and a half years of my life, fighting for my freedom because of a prosecutor who refused to play by the rules," Graves said.
The Houston man was wrongfully convicted in the 1992 murder of a grandmother and five children in Somerville, Texas.
Graves filed a grievance in January against Sebesta, the prosecutor who won that death penalty case. Graves alleges that Sebesta committed professional misconduct by withholding evidence that could have cleared him at trial.
"Today, the State Bar of Texas is telling that prosecutor that he must play by the rules," Graves said.
The former prosecutor at the center of the investigation was unavailable by phone. But Sebesta's family pointed Eyewitness News to his website to get his side of the controversy.
On it, Sebesta explains how past grievances into his actions during Graves' case, which were submitted by other concerned citizens to the state bar, were closed or dismissed by its disciplinary committee.
Sebesta has 30 days to file a written response with the State Bar of Texas. His family described this controversy to Eyewitness News as being "very irritating."
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