"Dhante Jackson was released from jail in Merced County on Oct. 6 after pleading guilty to an accessory charge in Sophia's death, his attorney and the Merced County District Attorney's Office confirmed this week. His release was a result of having spent nearly three years in jail - a period nearly two years longer than the maximum sentence for the crime to which he pleaded guilty, according to his attorney."
"On Tuesday, Jackson's attorney criticized Merced County prosecutors and Merced's police force for their investigation and their alleged reliance on Johnson's statements, suggesting "they just took her word for it." The attorney, Todd Melnik, claimed to have undertaken a "painstaking" investigation to prove Jackson's innocence on the murder charge, which included pulling license plate reader data and Bay Area toll records, while also putting Jackson through a polygraph test."
Dhante Jackson pleaded guilty to an accessory charge in the death of 8-year-old Sophia Mason and was released from Merced County jail on Oct. 6 after nearly three years incarcerated. His attorney says that nearly three years exceeded the maximum sentence for the accessory charge by almost two years. Jackson's attorney criticized Merced County prosecutors and police for relying on Samantha Johnson's statements and said he conducted a painstaking investigation using license plate reader data, Bay Area toll records, and a polygraph. Sophia's body was found in March 2022 decomposing in a Merced bathtub, malnourished and dead at least a month; the death was ruled a homicide. Samantha Johnson remains charged with murder and child abuse.
Read at The Mercury News
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