"Former television star Danny Masterson claims a mix of failures by his defense attorney and a police investigation that was biased against Scientology led to his conviction on two counts of rape, according to a lengthy motion filed Monday. Masterson, 49, was sentenced to 30-years-to-life in prison in September 2023 after a jury found he sexually assaulted two women in the early 2000s, while at the height of his fame starring as the mercurial Steven Hyde in the sitcom "That 70s Show.""
""The unfairness of the second Masterson trial was the result of prosecutorial misconduct, judicial bias, and the failure of defense counsel to present exculpatory evidence," he said in a statement. "The habeas corpus petition is accompanied by 65 exhibits that document the evidence of innocence that could have been presented, but was not. The jury heard only half the story -"
Danny Masterson was convicted of sexually assaulting two women who he met through the Church of Scientology in the early 2000s and was sentenced to 30 years to life in September 2023. The victims said church teachings discouraged reporting the assaults for years. Masterson was first charged with three counts in 2020; a 2022 jury deadlocked on that trial. A second jury convicted on two counts in 2023 while failing to reach a verdict on a third count involving his longtime girlfriend. A 183-page habeas corpus filing alleges defense attorney errors, prosecutorial misconduct, judicial bias, and a law enforcement investigation biased against Scientology, and it cites 65 exhibits purportedly showing unpresented exculpatory evidence.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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