Appellate court hears dispute over 300 pages of text messages in Owens post-conviction appeal

An appellate court heard oral argument about whether voluminous text messages should prompt post-conviction relief in the case of petitioner Owens.

Appellant’s counsel told the court the central question is what attorneys must do when they learn of potentially favorable or exculpatory information after conviction. Counsel said Exhibit 13 comprises roughly 300 pages of printed text messages that, he argued, show two witnesses—including the trial’s critical witness—lied at trial and that trial counsel “did nothing about it.” Counsel urged the court to resolve a factual conflict in the post-conviction record about whether the prosecutor turned those messages over to trial counsel or whether the messages were never received by counsel.

The appellant’s presentation stressed both the volume and specific content of the printout. Counsel said the messages include repeated communications between the victim’s biological mother and the stepmother (the sender appears as “Angela”), and that some messages occurred while the child witness was in or near the courthouse.…