Texan still has to prove innocence in 1991 Austin murder

AUSTIN, Texas – For the past few years, the Innocence Project of Texas has been working to rehabilitate a man accused of murder more than 30 years ago.

However, due to a new ruling by a Travis County judge, these lawsuits will now be sent to the Court of Criminal Appeals.

Allen Andre Causey was found guilty of the murder of 21-year-old Anita Byington in East Austin in 1991 and sentenced to 50 years in prison.

The Travis County District Attorney's Office and Causey's attorneys have held several hearings over the past year to prove his innocence. New evidence they presented during those hearings led to a new suspect in the case.

But Judge Chantal Eldridge ruled that while the new evidence incriminated the new suspect in the case, it did not prove Causey's innocence.

Causey's lawyers have appealed Eldridge's ruling and are now asking the appeals court to consider it. In a statement from the Innocence Project of Texas, they wrote that they are confident the appeals court will rule in their favor. The following is an excerpt from that statement:

While we disagree with the judge's reasoning for not entering an actual finding of innocence, we are confident that the criminal appeals court will do so because the evidence of innocence is compelling and overwhelming and includes new DNA evidence that forensically links the true perpetrator to the crime, as well as testimony from credible, newly discovered witnesses that completely refutes the only piece of evidence against Andre, the police typed confession.

The judge also concluded in her ruling that testimony from Causey and Austin police Detective Hector Polanco may have been false or misleading. She said this violated Causey's rights because the false or misleading evidence could have influenced the jury's verdict.

Causey's fight for exoneration stemmed from documents prosecutors found several years ago showing that several APD detectives coerced people into making false written confessions to crimes in the early 1990s. This era is now known as the so-called “Polanco Era” because of evidence showing that APD Detective Hector Polanco coerced several people into confessing.

Causey’s written confession to the murder of Anita Byington occurred during this “Polanco era.”

Eldridge recommended that the appeals court's decision should lead to a retrial because the original trial may have contained false or misleading evidence.

Anita's family and her attorney, Terry Keel, also a former Travis County assistant district attorney, are fighting the case. They say they have been excluded from many important court proceedings and findings, and they maintain that Causey is guilty.

“The prosecution and the Innocence Project worked together to present an exonerating side of the case and exclude all evidence presented at trial that demonstrated the defendant's guilt,” Keel said.

Keel also says that he thinks there is something wrong with the current district attorney's office in Travis County and other cities across the United States.

“The district attorney's office in Austin, in Travis County, represents the criminals, not the victims of the crime, and the people of Austin need to understand that,” Keel said. “The district attorney's office is against you, they will work against you if it serves their political agenda.”

On Monday, Kristina Byington, Anita Byington's first cousin, and several other family members and friends traveled to see the crime scene for the first time. It would have been Anita's 55th birthday.

“She lost everything, the children she may have had, and now grandchildren,” said Kristina Byington. “Now she should be celebrating somewhere, but instead she's lying in a grave.”

Kristina said that having to go through this legal process has traumatized her all over again. She only learned about the Innocence Project, which is working to rehabilitate Causey, when she saw a post about it on Facebook.

“It feels like the murder happened all over again,” said Kristina Byington. “It's traumatic.”

The Travis County District Attorney's Office issued the following statement regarding the court proceedings:

“The murder of Anita Byington was a tragedy, and our hearts continue to break for her family and loved ones. The prosecution's goal in this case is to identify the person responsible for Anita's murder and hold them accountable. We agree with the judge's recommendation in this case to grant Mr. Causey a new trial because the prosecutor withheld evidence during the original murder trial. In addition, new evidence has recently emerged that suggests another perpetrator was at the crime scene and shows that the other suspect conducted a cover-up. Based on this evidence, we believe Mr. Causey is innocent and that the other perpetrator should be brought to justice. The prosecution will continue to work through appropriate legal channels to achieve this goal.”