Arlege declared "actually innocent" of 1983 stabbing death

The Court of Criminal Appeals last Wednesday finally overturned the 1984 murder conviction of Randolph Eugene Arlege of Navarro County, approving a habeas corpus writ that declared him "actually innocent" of the stabbing death of Carolyn Armstrong. Authorities say they will continue to search for the actual killer. After the trial court recommended habeas relief, AP reported that the false conviction was based on malicious testimony by supposed eyewitnesses that was ultimately debunked by DNA testing. Arlege had a past criminal history and two co-conspirators in an armed robbery testified against him, according to AP.  "One of those witnesses has since admitted to lying about Arledge due to a personal dispute." AP added that, "Arledge became the 118th person in Texas state courts to have his conviction overturned, according to the University of Michigan's national registry of exonerations."