TEXAS – (HCDA) – A Houston man convicted of murder under a prior District Attorney has been declared actually innocent by the state’s highest criminal court, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Wednesday.
The recent decision by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals means 44-year-old Lydell Grant can apply for $80,000 in state compensation for each year of his wrongful imprisonment.
“The exoneration of innocent individuals is as important as the conviction of guilty ones,” said Ogg. “The highest responsibility of a prosecutor is to see that justice is done.”
Grant was convicted in 2012 and sentenced to life in prison for the stabbing death of Aaron Scheerhoorn outside of a Montrose bar. Six eyewitnesses to the 2010 stabbing testified against Grant at trial.
Through the joint efforts of the Houston Police Department, the Innocence Project of Texas, and the Harris County District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit, newly discovered evidence led to the apprehension and charging of a new suspect in the murder.
Grant is the third person from Harris County during the Ogg administration that the Court of Criminal Appeals has found to be actually innocent based in part on the District Attorney’s recommendations. The other two are brothers Otis Mallet and Steven Mallet. The case of a fourth man, James Harris, is pending before the Court of Criminal Appeals for final determination.
Even though he was released in 2019, Grant told ABC13 in Nov. 2020 that he was patiently waiting for the court’s final say on his exoneration.
At a press conference following his release, Grant said he holds no grudge against the former District Attorney or the Harris County Sheriff.
“Justice has been served and I hold no grudge towards the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. It was something that happened and I can’t whimper and whine about it. I’m ready to move forward and move on with my life.”
