Ex-NFL star Dana Stubblefield 'euphoric' after his 15-year prison sentence for rape was overturned

Former San Francisco 49er Dana Stubblefield has been left elated after his rape conviction was overturned.

The retired football player was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison in October 2020 after being convicted of raping a developmentally disabled woman in 2015 who prosecutors said he lured to his home with the promise of a babysitting job.

But a California appeals court overturned the rape conviction last week after determining prosecutors made racially discriminatory statements during the trial.

His lawyers, Kenneth Rosenfeld and Allen Sawyer, opened up on Stubblefield’s ‘euphoric’ reaction as they revealed his next steps.    

‘He’s excited, euphoric. He’s excited to be home and to get out,’ they told TMZ. ‘We always knew this was going to happen, there was no doubt whatsoever in our minds.’  

‘He’s going to be with his family,’ Sawyer said of Dana’s immediate plans. ‘If there’s one thing that Dana misses the most, it’s being with his family.’ 

He was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison after being convicted of raping a developmentally disabled woman

‘He wants to be home with his family,’ Rosenfeld echoed. ‘His mindset is that to some degree this is surreal, he’s waited years for this.’

Rosenfeld and Sawyer claimed that there were multiple issues with the initial trial, including the withholding of evidence and a violation of the California Racial Justice Act of 2020. 

‘This judge as biased from the second we started this case,’ Rosenfeld claimed. 

‘[…] This was one of the most unfair trials. […] Dana has been unfairly incarcerated for years because of all these issues, the infection of this trail and a biased judge. 

‘The process is supposed to have a fair and unbiased judge, we had neither. To allow this evidence in, to allow him to be continually called a big black man, to hide critical evidence from the jury.’

The attorneys will now file a motion to release Stubblefield from custody as soon as possible.

‘Once out, he will tell his story,’ Rosenfeld said. ‘And, he will tell about the injustice.’

The Sixth Court of Appeals found on December 26 that prosecutors violated the California Racial Justice Act of 2020, a law passed during a summer of protest over the police killing of George Floyd, during Stubblefield’s trial. The measure bars prosecutors from seeking a criminal conviction or imposing a sentence on the basis of race.

Stubblefield, an NFL player for 11 years, remains in custody until a hearing next week

Prior to the law, defendants who wanted to challenge their convictions on the basis of racial bias had to prove there was ‘purposeful discrimination,’ a difficult legal standard to meet.

The appeals court said prosecutors used ‘racially discriminatory language’ that required them to overturn the former Super Bowl winner’s conviction.

The case was ‘infected with tremendous error from the minute we started the trial,’ said Stubblefield’s lead attorney, Kenneth Rosenfeld.

In April 2015, Stubblefield contacted the then-31-year-old woman on a babysitting website and arranged an interview, prosecutors said.

According to a report by the Morgan Hill Police Department, the interview lasted about 20 minutes. She later received a text from Stubblefield saying he wanted to pay her for her time that day, and she went back to the house.

The woman reported to the police that Stubblefield raped her at gunpoint, then gave her $80 and let her go. DNA evidence matched that of Stubblefield, the report said.

During the trial, prosecutors said police never searched Stubblefield’s house and never introduced a gun into evidence, saying it was because he was a famous black man and it would ‘open up a storm of controversy,’ according to the appellate decision.

By saying Stubblefield´s race was a factor in law enforcement´s decision not to search his house, prosecutors implied the house would’ve been searched and a gun found had Stubblefield not been black, the appeals court said. The reference to controversy also links Stubblefield to the events after the recent killing of Floyd based on his race.

Stubblefield enjoyed an 11-year career in the NFL, with the 49ers, Redskins and Raiders

Defense attorneys said there was no rape, and Stubblefield said the woman consented to sex in exchange for money.

‘The trial had a biased judge who didn’t allow the evidence from the defense, the fact that she was a sex worker, to be heard in front of a jury,’ Rosenfeld previously said of the trial. He called the incident a ‘transactional occasion’ between Stubblefield and the woman.

Stubblefield remains in custody until a hearing next week, during which his attorneys will ask a judge to approve a motion to release him. Prosecutors have several options, including asking the court to stay their decision so they can appeal to the state’s Supreme Court, or refile charges.

The Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office said it was ‘studying the opinion.’

Stubblefield began his 11-year lineman career in the NFL with the 49ers in 1993 as the league´s defensive rookie of the year. He later won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1997 before leaving the team to play for Washington. He returned to the Bay Area to finish his career, playing with the 49ers in 2000-01 and the Raiders in 2003.