Danny Masterson is hoping to clear his name by throwing his lawyer under the bus.
The actor from That ’70s Show is currently serving a 30-year-to-life sentence following a rape conviction in 2023. His latest allegations claim that he wasn’t given a proper defense by his attorney.
During his trial, Danny alleges that his lawyer, Philip Coen didn’t call any witnesses to the stand and didn’t defend him against the prosecutor’s declarations about Scientology. Danny was convicted of raping two women in the early 2000s.
Now, he is fighting back against his attorney is hoping his current fate may be reversed.
Danny Masterson wants his rape conviction overturned
Danny doesn’t want to wait another two decades to potentially get out on parole.
According to a petition filed for Habeas Corpus, the actor implored his lawyer to present some evidence in his case. Those requsts allegedly fell on deaf ears.
Prosecutors called Claire Headley to testify in the trial that the church would only let you go to authorities regarding an incident with special permission. According to the petition, church lawyers wanted the defense to have Hugh Whitt, a longtime Scientologist, to take the stand. To Danny’s dismay, though, this did not happen.
His petition also argues that the defense should have had more witnesses called. This new petition is separate from Danny’s appeal filed last December regarding the judge’s ruling in his case. Danny’s attorney, Cliff Gardner, says that there were numerous errors and biases that didn’t allow the defamed actor to get a fair trial.
Originally, Danny’s case was declared a mistrial due to the jury being deadlocked on a verdict. In his second trial, he was found guilty on two of the three charges against him, but the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the third count. The prosecution chose not to retry him on that charge.
Last year, Rebecca Minkoff revealed that she was a life-long member of the Church of Scientology. She said that Danny helped her break into the fashion industry.
TELL US – DID DANNY MASTERSON GET A PROPER DEFENSE DURING HIS RAPE TRIAL?
