U.S. Supreme Court sides with Frank Gable against Oregon Justice Department

Wrongly convicted murderer Frank Gable is closer to freedom than he has ever been since being arrested for the 1989 killing of Oregon Corrections Director Michael Francke.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday, April 24, to accept the Oregon Department of Justice’s appeal of two lower federal court rulings that found Gable was innocent and did not receive a fair trial. He had been sentenced to life in prison without parole, but was released pending the appeal in June 2019.

The case will now likely go back to the U.S. District Court for Oregon for a May 1 settlement conference to wrap things up, then Marion County District Attorney Paige Clarkson must decide whether to give Gable or new trial or drop the charges, ODOJ spokesman Roy Kaufman told the Portland Tribune.

“This represents the end of the appeals that DOJ has been handling,” Kaufman said.

Deputy Marion County District Attorney Brendan Murphy said ODOJ is still involved in deciding what to do with the case, however.

Read the full article at PortlandTribune.com.