Death Row Inmate Challenges Conviction After Witness Claims Hypnosis

Charles Flores has spent 26 years on death row after being convicted of the 1998 murder of Elizabeth 'Betty' Black in Texas. Despite his long imprisonment, he has consistently maintained his innocence, and his case stands out as one of the most unusual in recent history. The reason for this lies in the reliance on testimony from Betty Black's neighbor, Jill Barganier, whose account changed significantly after undergoing forensic hypnosis.

Now, after exhausting all his appeals, Flores is seeking one final opportunity for freedom through a petition to the Supreme Court. In his first national TV interview with NBC News, Flores reiterated his claims of innocence, stating, "I'm getting set up. I had nothing to do with the murder of Mrs. Black."

So, what led to this situation? In January 1998, William Black returned home to find his property burgled and his wife, Betty, fatally shot. It was later discovered that the Blacks were hiding drug money for their son, who was incarcerated at the time. After the shooting, neighbors told police they had seen two men exit a Volkswagen Beetle with a distinctive print and enter the Blacks' home.

The following day, the Blacks' next-door neighbor identified a man named Richard Childs as the driver. Childs later confessed to the murder and took a plea deal for 35 years in prison. He was released on parole in 2016 after serving 17 years.

Five days after Childs was arrested, neighbor Barganier was taken to the police station to create a composite sketch of the passenger. While she identified Childs as the driver, she did not identify Flores, who was shown in two lineups. Barganier was then hypnotized by a police officer. During the session, she described the passenger as a white male with long hair and a medium build, which did not match Flores' description as 'Hispanic, short, stocky, with then shaved hair.'

Before the hypnosis ended, the officer told her that she would 'be able to recall more of the events as time goes on.'

However, it was later reported by Houston Public Media that not all rules were followed during the recording of the session, indicating that a Texas law was broken. At the time, the state did not allow officers involved in the case to be part of a hypnosis session.

Thirteen months later, Barganier made a statement during Flores' trial, identifying him as the passenger in the Beetle and asserting she was '100% sure.' This statement immediately condemned Flores, even though no physical or DNA evidence linked him to the murder.

Although we know Flores didn't pull the trigger, he received the death penalty under Texas law for being an accomplice and was convicted under the law of parties. This was despite having an alibi — Flores claims he was making breakfast with his wife at the time of the murder — and not matching the initial description of the accomplice.

NBC reported that the car used in the murder was hidden behind Flores’ home. He set it on fire two days later and fled to Mexico. When he returned, he became involved in a police chase and crashed his car. He was then taken to the hospital, where he tried to escape again.

When Slepian questioned why he had fled if he was innocent, Flores responded, "I'm here to tell you that you also run when you are afraid. I had that thought: 'They're going to kill me, they're going to kill me.' And you know what? I was right."

Flores came within days of execution in 2016 but was granted a stay after presenting evidence from psychology professor Steven Lynn, whose research linked the hypnosis method used with the creation of false memories.

An investigation in 2020 by Dallas Morning News found that investigative hypnosis had been used in at least 1,700 cases in Texas since the 1980s, resulting in prison convictions and even death sentences. After experts raised concerns, the method was banned from criminal proceedings due to its unreliability. However, the ban did not apply retroactively, and Flores' conviction remained in place.

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