Ex-49er Dana Stubblefield speaks for 1st time since prison release after rape conviction overturned
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Former 49er Dana Stubblefield spoke for the first time Wednesday since being released from prison last week.
It comes after an appellate court overturned Stubblefield's rape conviction last December.
Though Stubblefield gave a statement, his attorneys didn't let him answer any questions because -- as they put it -- they're "not at the end of the road yet."
"Being back home with my family after four long years is incredible," Stubblefield said at Wednesday's press conference.
Stubblefield served those four years of a 15-year prison sentence, following a guilty conviction in a rape trial.
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Prosecutors say he raped a woman under threat of a gun in 2015 after going to his home to interview for a babysitting job.
That woman was not identified in court.
Stubblefield has said he's innocent.
An appellate court overturned the conviction in December, saying prosecutors violated the Racial Justice Act, which bars prosecutors from seeking a conviction on the basis of race, ethnicity and national origin.
The appellate court said that the act was violated by prosecutors using "racially discriminatory language" during their closing argument, when prosecutors said they didn't search Stubblefield's home for a gun because of concerns it would open up "a storm of controversy" amid civil unrest that was happening in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd.
"I want to say throughout this tough ordeal, I always believed the truth will come out," Stubblefield said. "There was long nights when I sat in my cell an innocent man, wondering if things would ever be right, but I held on to hope."
RELATED: CA appellate court overturns ex-49er Dana Stubblefield's rape conviction
In the bail hearing Friday, that eventually led to Stubblefield's release, prosecutors said that calling Stubblefield innocent is a misstatement since the appellate court ruled on the Racial Justice Act, not the charges the jury found him guilty of.
His defense team says the judge blocked key evidence from being admitted, including the accuser's confession that she was a paid sex worker.
"The trial judge did not allow the fact that she committed perjury on multiple occasions to be heard by the jury," said Kenneth Rosenfeld, Stubblefield's attorney.
The Santa Clara County DA's office indicated at the bail hearing that it might refile charges against Stubblefield. For now, the Attorney General's Office is appealing the overturned conviction to the California Supreme Court.
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A statement from Assistant District Attorney Terry Harman said:
"A jury unanimously found Mr. Stubblefield guilty of raping a woman at gunpoint, he was given an appropriate sentence, and we felt that justice had been served. That justice has been interrupted and although we are disappointed that the judge released Mr. Stubblefield from custody while we await a decision from the California Supreme Court, we remain focused on the sexual assault that occurred, the victim, and the need for accountability and community safety."
As for Stubblefield, he says he's glad to be back home with family.
"Now, I really want to focus on what truly matters," he said. "Watching my son play football, coaching him a little bit and having dinner with my wife."
