National
Witness’ Sister Helps Free Man Convicted in 1979 Killing
[Los Angeles Times]
In 1979, Brenda Anderson testified that a young man with whom she had gone to high school shot her elderly neighbor to death.
Thirty-four years later, Anderson’s sister Sharon took the stand and said the account, which helped send the young man to prison, was a lie.
On Thursday, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge sided with Sharon Anderson and threw out the conviction of Kash Delano Register, who maintained his innocence during more than three decades as inmate No. C11693.
Judge Katherine Mader’s ruling eviscerated the case against Register, 53, who was convicted mainly on eyewitness testimony that his attorneys say was false. They also said police and prosecutors suppressed evidence that would have helped Register’s defense, accusations that Mader found credible.
When Mader announced her decision, Register puckered his face as if holding back tears, dropped his head to the table and trembled. His mother, Wilma, heaved with sobs.
“Thank you Lord Jesus for giving me my child back,” she cried, as she hugged attorneys from Loyola Law School’s Project for the Innocent who represented her son.
