Home > Texas Cases > Texas Exonerations > Gregory Wallis
Represented by former IPOT President, Michelle Moore, Gregory Wallis was officially exonerated in 2007 when the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted his writ of habeas corpus. This exoneration stemmed from a 2006 DNA test that conclusively proved that Wallis was wrongfully convicted in 1989 of burglary of a habitation with intent to commit sexual assault.
The events leading to Mr. Wallis’s arrest include the violent rape of a woman living in Irving, Texas. She was repeatedly assaulted by the perpetrator, and she later contacted the police and provided a description of her attacker. One of the key elements of her description, latched on to by the police and prosecutors, was that the attacker had a recognizable tattoo. Wallis had a similar tattoo, but aside from that, there was no physical evidence linking Wallis to the crime. At trial, the victim testified that Gregory Wallis was the man who raped her, and Wallis was subsequently convicted based largely on the victim’s testimony. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Gregory Wallis was the 10th man exonerated by DNA testing in Dallas County. He served 18 years for the sexual assault he did not commit.
*Photo by Greg Kendall-Ball