DA’s Office Pushes for New Trial and Release of Man Convicted 20 Years Ago

The Travis County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday that Alvin Stewart, who has been incarcerated for two decades, should be granted a new trial and released from prison while awaiting a decision from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

Stewart was convicted 20 years ago of manslaughter and robbery in connection with the killing of his former teacher. The prosecution’s case at trial suggested that Stewart had been involved in a voluntary sexual relationship with his seventh-grade music teacher, which allegedly explained his presence at the scene of the murder. Stewart was sentenced to 20 years for manslaughter and 60 years for robbery.

In recent hearings, new witnesses—including prosecutors, defense attorneys, students, and colleagues—testified about the nature of the relationship between Stewart and his teacher, with some suggesting that the relationship could have been sexual in nature and may have begun as early as middle school. Stewart himself testified on the final day of the hearings.

The DA’s office said that the “Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law” from the hearings revealed that Stewart’s original defense attorney was ineffective in failing to investigate the relationship between Stewart and the teacher. Had such an investigation been conducted, the defense could have presented evidence that the teacher had groomed and sexually assaulted Stewart. The DA’s office argued that had the jury been made aware of this relationship, Stewart would not have received a 60-year sentence for robbery, and there would have been insufficient evidence to support the robbery charge.

Given these findings, the DA’s office concluded that Stewart did not receive a fair trial and should be granted a new trial. Additionally, the office recommended that Stewart be released from prison while awaiting the decision from the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals.

A media briefing will be held Thursday at 10 a.m. in the 299th District Court to provide further details about the case.

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