Tarrant Co. prosecutors knowingly lied under oath during death penalty case, district attorney says

Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson filed a brief with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals asking to grant a new hearing for a man on death row.

In 2006, Paul Storey robbed and killed Jonas Cherry, a putt-putt golf attendant in Hurst. Storey was 22 at the time of the robbery and killing. He and another man made off with only $700.

In the brief, Wilson claims Christy Jack and Robert Foran, two prosecutors who served in the DA's office, knowingly lied during closing statements.

During closing statements the prosecutors told the jury, "it should go without saying that all of Jonas' family and everyone who loved him believe the death penalty is appropriate."

Wilson wrote that Cherry's family, and especially his parents, did not want Storey to receive the death penalty.

Paul David Storey (Source: Texas Department of Criminal Justice)

In 2017, Cherry's parents released a recorded statement saying simply, "We absolutely do not want Paul Storey to be executed for the murder of our son."

The statement prompted a stay of execution for Storey.

Wilson says the two prosecutors continued to lie under oath when the issue came to light.

"They blatantly lied, those are her words in the filing. Blatantly lied, and then continued to lie when the court of criminal appeals said, ‘hey go back and look at this and tell us what happened’. They continued to lie in her opinion." said Corey Session of the Innocence Project Texas. "To have a district attorney do this is unprecedented."

In 2019, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected a Tarrant County judge's recommendation to resentence Storey to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

No execution date has been set for Storey at this time.