Hallinan and Tennison

THERE WAS NEVER enough clear, convincing evidence to put John J. Tennison and Anton Goff in prison for life. As A.C. Thompson reported back in 2001, when he broke this story, the only eyewitnesses to the 1989 murder the duo allegedly committed were two teenage girls whose testimony was shaky, unreliable, and inconsistent. Later evidence showed that Earl Sanders, then a homicide inspector and now the city's police chief (on medical leave), and his partner, inspector Napoleon Hendrix, failed to disclose key information to defense lawyers that might have cleared the young men.

And now, one of the key witnesses has publicly recanted her testimony, asserting in court filings that she wasn't present at the murder, that she never saw Tennison or Goff kill anyone, and that Hendrix, Sanders, and prosecutor George Butterworth had coached her to lie on the stand.

District Attorney Terence Hallinan, who is running for reelection as a progressive candidate, has known about this case for years. He's had numerous opportunities to reopen it. That's what D.A.s around the country have done latterly in a number of high-profile cases where clear evidence shows that the wrong person was sent to prison. And if Hallinan called for the verdict to be vacated, it's almost certain the courts would agree.

At the very least, given the new evidence, Hallinan needs to conduct a thorough (and expeditious) review of the case. If he finds the evidence that put Tennison and Goff behind bars was unreliable or tainted by police misconduct, then he needs to step up and help undo the miscarriage of justice.

There's another disturbing problem that's come to light in part because of this case. As Thompson reports on page 22, this is not the only instance in which the courts have found that Hendrix (and possibly Sanders) coached witnesses, played fast and loose with facts, and helped convict an innocent person on the basis of faulty evidence. The D.A.'s Office should review all of the cases they worked on and look for possible misconduct. There may be a few more Tennisons and Goffs sitting in prison, thanks to Hendrix and Sanders, and they, too, deserve their day in court.

P.S. Why on earth is a liberal D.A. reinstating charges against S.F.'s antiwar protesters? Drop the cases, Terence. Going after peaceful demonstrators is not only wrong, it's also a waste of money and sends a terrible message to the rest of the country.