One of three judges tapped by North Carolina Chief Justice Sarah Parker, Superior Court Judge Tanya Wallace voted in a three-part unanimous decision Feb. 17 to exonerate an innocent man after 17 years in prison.

Wallace, who says she was initially “surprised and reluctant,” sat on a three-judge panel to decide the fate of Gregory Wallace. He is a Cary man charged and sentenced to a term of life in prison for the 1991 murder of a prostitute in southeast Raleigh.

“I am honored to be a part of history, but I was just doing the job I was chosen to do,” Wallace said.

Wallace received the call to be on the panel “out of the blue.” She was celebrating another landmark in her career, the swearing in of her daughter, Chevonne Wallace, as a Richmond County assistant district attorney in September.

“I was eating lunch, celebrating my daughter’s swearing in,” Wallace said. “I got the call from the administrative office of the courts requesting I be a part of the panel.”

She said she was surprised by the decision, “but when the chief justice asks you to do something, you do it.”

Wallace says her initial reluctance stemmed from the reality she had been a Superior Court judge for less than a year when they requested she be a part of the panel. She was a district court judge for 22 years prior to election to Superior Court.

The North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission voted unanimously in September that Taylor’s case warranted further review.

Taylor plead innocence from day one.

Wake County Superior Court Judge Howard Manning, Mecklenberg County Superior Court Judge Calvin Murphy and Wallace made up the panel.

Taylor would be the first man in North Carolina to be exonerated of his crimes using the new process established to handle cases dealing with claims of innocence.

“The interesting thing about this particular statue is that there is no appeal process,” Wallace said.

This means that the verdict voted unanimously by the judges, which Wallace was a part of, is final.

Taylor and his family appealed several times over the 17 years he spent in prison. Each appeal failed.

“The order speaks for itself,” Wallace said.

The order concludes that the decision of the three-judge panel is final based on the claim of “factual innocence.”

“I’m satisfied with the decision, and the job we were assigned to do.” Wallace said.

Staff writer Bryan Stewart can be reached at 997-3111 ext. 15 or by e-mail at bstewart@yourdailyjournal.com.