The Missouri Western District Court of Appeals has upheld Cole County Judge Dan Green's March order to vacate the convictions of a St. Louis man accused in a 1997 burglary and shooting in the St. Louis area.
Jonathan Irons has been serving a 50-year prison sentence and argued to get his case reopened via a civil suit he filed against the Missouri Department of Corrections in 2018 in Cole County.
Irons has gotten national attention, in part due to his efforts being supported by Maya Moore, a Jefferson City native who stepped away from her career in the WNBA to spend time helping Irons, who is a family friend, get his conviction overturned.
Irons has been incarcerated for 23 years after his conviction in the non-fatal shooting of a homeowner during a burglary.
Green's order was stayed, pending a review by the Missouri Attorney General's Office, who argued to keep Irons in prison, as they decided to take the case to the appeals court.
In their decision to refuse to quash the record of Green's order, the appeals court states Green did not exceed or abuse his authority in finding there had been a violation in Irons' case warranting a new trial based on the suppression of a latent fingerprint report that established that an indentifiable fingerprint found at the crime scene belonged to an unidentified third party.
The appeals court concluded Irons's St. Charles County convictions of first-degree assault, armed criminal action and first-degree burglary should be vacated.
"The state must formally announce its intention to retry Irons for these charged offenses within ten days of the issuance of our mandate or Irons shall be immediately discharged from the State's custody without the need for a further order from this, or any other court," the appeals court decision reads.
During an October hearing in Green's court, Irons' defense team called several witnesses, including an independent investigator and an eyewitness identification expert who said they had examined available records and there was no physical evidence such as DNA, fingerprints or footprints linking Irons to the crime.
Irons, who was 16 at the time of the crime, had been seen in O'Fallon the evening of Jan. 14, 1997, with a gun, according to court records.
The victim returned home and confronted a burglar. Shots were fired, and the victim was hit in the right temple. A week later, Irons was arrested. The detective in the case said Irons had confessed, but the detective wasn't available to be cross-examined at trial because he was ill; he has since died.
During the October hearing, Irons took the stand in his own defense.
At the time the crime occurred, Irons was selling marijuana. When he was picked up by authorities, he thought it was for illegal drugs. Irons said he did not hear he was being charged with the burglary and shooting until his first court appearance. His defense has argued the detective in the case tried to make him admit to the crime during an interrogation after his arrest and he was never read his rights.
Much of the testimony in October was based around fingerprint evidence. Irons' defense claimed several of the fingerprints found at the crime scene matched the victim. However, the attorneys said, none matched Irons, and one was never identified.
Irons' lawyers wanted the Missouri Highway Patrol to test the print from the unknown person, thinking it could lead to the person who actually committed the crime.
Green allowed for this to happen. However, in February, the patrol determined digital images of the fingerprints were unsuitable for a comparison search in the Automated Fingerprint Identification System database.
Lawyers for the attorney general, representing the Missouri Department of Corrections, argued Irons should remain in prison and said they had evidence showing Irons' defense team at the time had all the information they needed to properly defend their client.