Woman is declared innocent after spending 17 years in jail; witness was 'habitual liar,' judge says
A woman who spent 17 years in a California prison for the murder of a homeless man whom she had previously dated walked free on Friday after a judge declared her to be innocent of the crime.
Judge Mark Arnold tossed the conviction of Susan Mellen, 59, on Friday, saying the chief witness against her was a “habitual liar,” report Yahoo News, the Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press. Arnold also said Mellen had received “subpar representation” from her trial lawyer, who didn’t investigate the witness’ credibility. Mellen’s trial lawyer was a divorce attorney who was a friend of Mellen’s mother, according to this prior story by the Los Angeles Times.
“I believe that not only is Ms. Mellen not guilty,” Arnold said, “I believe based on what I’ve read, she’s innocent, and for that reason I believe the criminal justice system failed.”
The witness, June Patti, claimed that Mellen had confessed to her that she had helped kill Richard James Daly. But Patti’s sister, a police officer, believed her to be a pathological liar and Torrance police deemed her to be an unreliable informant. No physical evidence was found to link Mellen to the crime, and her boyfriend’s father testified that at the time of the murder, he had been helping her move into a rental home.
The Lawndale 13 gang was later linked to the crime, and three alleged members were considered suspects, reports the Times. One was convicted of Daly’s murder, another was acquitted at trial, and the third (who was never charged) said during a polygraph exam that Mellen was not present during the murder.
After winning her freedom, Mellen told reporters that she had cried every night in prison, but she still had faith she would someday walk free. Her hope even led her to write “freedom” on the bottom of her tennis shoes.
Mellen was exonerated as a result of an investigation by Deirdre O’Connor, a former Los Angeles deputy public defender who co-founded a group called Innocence Matters.
Below is an Yahoo News interview with Mellen and Katie Couric, in which Mellen discusses her case.