Overturned Murder Conviction Appealed

A state prosecutor said Wednesday that he has appealed a ruling in the case of an Oxnard man whose murder conviction was overturned last month by a federal court that found he had not been advised of his Miranda rights.

In his petition, Deputy Atty. Gen. Scott A. Taryle asks that an 11-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reconsider the case of Frederick Lee Jackson, who was convicted in 1995 of raping and murdering Genoveva Gonzales, 30, an Oxnard mother of four.

In late March, a three-judge panel from the same federal court voided Jackson’s murder conviction based on a declaration in court papers that indicated a detective in the case routinely failed to advise suspects of their rights.

Taryle said the judges took the declaration out of context and should have found that Jackson voluntarily confessed to the crimes. Additionally, the detective had issued Miranda warnings to Jackson in at least two earlier meetings, he said.

“They simply looked at the fact that there was no fresh Miranda warning and they hung everything on that one nail,” Taryle said.

Taryle’s motion, filed April 8, was technically a petition for a rehearing in which he requests that a larger panel of the appeals court consider the case. It was unknown when the judges would rule on the new petition.

If it is denied, Taryle said he would have the option of petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court.

Jackson remains imprisoned for the rape conviction.