Robert Springsteen's conviction in the yogurt shop murder case has been overturned by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
In 2001, Springsteen was tried for the murder of one of the four girls. He was sentenced to death. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling, saying those who committed their crimes at 17, or under, could not be executed, commuted his death sentence. Now, a Texas court has ruled he received an unfair trial.
Eliza Hope Thomas, Amy Ayers and sisters Jennifer and Sarah Harbison were all killed in December 1991 in a North Austin "I Can't Believe It's Yogurt!" restaurant. The four teenage girls were bound, gagged and shot in the head. The crime scene was set on fire.
Mary Kay Sicola was Springsteen's attorney during the appeal process. She got the court to overturn his murder conviction.
"The justice system got this right at this point," Sicola said.
She argued her client was unfairly convicted because he was not allowed to cross-examine Michael Scott, another man convicted in this case. Prosecutors used a written confession from Scott to build their case against Springsteen.
The court agreed with Sicola based on the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
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Verdict overturned
True crime author Corey Mitchell wrote a book on the yogurt shop murders. He offers his insight into Springsteen’s successful appeal.
Read a review of Mitchell’s book Murdered Innocents.
 
Springsteen's second change
Robert Springsteen's capital murder conviction was overturned Wednesday.
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"We live in a country where we have a right to confront the witnesses against us. And he simply wasn't given the opportunity in this case," Sicola said.
Police did more than deny Springsteen the right to face his accuser, Springsteen's trial lawyer Joe James Sawyer said. Sawyer is likely to represent Springsteen in a new trial.
"I saw today, the statement of the Austin Police Department. It is the most hypocritical, self serving statement I've ever seen. If there is a villain in this case it is the Austin Police Department and the other investigatory bodies that ruined and destroyed the crime scene," Sawyer said.
APD's response to the court ruling did not go into specifics about the case or about evidence.
"The Austin Police Department is confident in the guilt of Robert Springsteen ... APD will continue to work with the Travis County District Attorney's Office on the Yogurt Shop murder case to ensure that Robert Springsteen continues to be held accountable for these horrific murders," the police's statement said.
If attorney Carlos Garcia had his way, APD would also be forced to rework its case against Scott. Garcia was one of three court-appointed lawyers who represented him when he was convicted.
"The problem is that in Springsteen's trial, the government used part of Scott's confession and in Scott's trial, they used part of Springsteen's confession and that's a violation of the U.S. Constitution, the right to confront a person," Garcia said.
Garcia believes that similarity alone is enough to overturn Scott's conviction as well.
Springsteen's case now goes back to Travis County state district court. The Travis County District Attorney's office has not said whether they will appeal or retry Springsteen.
