Texas court hears evidence in favour of 'wrongly' convicted man in Limerick priest murder case
A COURT in Texas has this weekend heard of new evidence supporting a “wrongly” convicted man for the murder of Limerick priest, Fr Patrick Ryan.
In 1983, James Reyos was convicted of murdering 49-year-old priest, Fr Patrick Ryan. Mr Reyos was sentenced to 38 years in prison, despite having an alibi and swearing he was innocent after recanting a drunken admission he had made after the murder.
Originally from Doon, the priest was found dead in a motel room in Odessa, Texas on December 21, 1981. Fr Patrick Ryan was beaten to death.
https://www.limerickleader.ie/news/home/1031466/new-clues-in-case-of-murdered-limerick-priest.html
On Friday, the Innocence Project of Texas presented “irrefutable evidence of James’ innocence” to the Ector County district court, in Odessa.
Included in the evidence were recently discovered fingerprints from the Odessa Police Department’s archive files, which the Innocence Project of Texas claim indicate the identities of the “real perpetrators,” as well as documents proving that Mr Reyos was in New Mexico at the time of the murder.
In the Texas Court, the judge also heard a testimony from experts, including from the original prosecutor in the case, who supports Mr Reyo’s claim of innocence.
Speaking of the development of the case, the Innocence Project of Texas commented on social media: “We are grateful for the efforts of the Ector County DA’s office and the Odessa Police Department for bringing the fingerprint evidence to light and doing their part to right an injustice that has persisted for more than 40 years. It is now up to the court to make a recommendation to the Court of Criminal Appeals whether James should be exonerated.”
The project have claimed that Mr Reyos established through multiple witnesses, store receipts, and even a speeding ticket, that he was in New Mexico at the time of the murder.
The savage killing of the Pallottine priest made headlines in USA, Ireland and shocked County Limerick.
Fr Ryan was serving in the small Texas town of Denver City (not to be confused with Denver, Colorado) eighty miles northwest of Odessa, near the New Mexico border. According to the Texas Monthly, Fr Ryan was passionate about helping the poor and was cherished by his working-class Hispanic flock during the two years he served there.