Thomas Osborne

The Crime

In May of 1990, Thomas Osborne was granted custody of his two granddaughters, three-year-old CM and eight-month-old JM. Osborne’s daughter, Tammy, the mother of the children, was an alcoholic and drug addict at the time and had neglected and abused the children. Tammy herself admits that, at this time, she was “running around drinking [and] smoking pot” and “not being a good mother.”

Later that same year, Thomas Osborne took CM to the doctor after noticing that she had been exhibiting increased frequency of urination and wetting her pants. Soon after that, Osborne brought CM back to the doctor for stomach cramps and an itchy bottom. The doctor suspected that CM could have pinworms and prescribed Vermox. On September 4, 1990, Osborne took CM to the doctor again for frequent urination and a rash on her bottom. At that time, CM was on Augmentin, which an Emergency Room doctor prescribed for her pharyngitis. The doctor noted that CM’s vulvae were bright red and appeared irritated and that her hymenal opening was five millimeters. The doctor diagnosed CM with vulvovaginitis and prescribed Nystatin, a topical antifungal cream. CM was again taken to the doctor by Osborne on November 20, 1990 for vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain and was prescribed phenergan rectal suppositories to control her nausea. In total, Osborne took CM to the doctor at least seven times in less than a year and a half. Despite these routine visits, CM’s symptoms continued and she remained on various medications, including vaginal creams and suppositories, that were administered to her by Osborne.

In January of 1991, CM returned to the doctor for a follow-up appointment and it was at this point the doctor found that CM’s vaginal opening was enlarged. As a result of this finding, the doctor identified CM as a possible victim of sexual abuse and reported this to the Robeson County Department of Social Services. CM was interviewed and taken to the St. Paul’s Police Department. Tammy Harris was contacted on January 15, 1991 and told that CM said her “Pa” would “hurt between her legs, and it felt like a hammer.”

In February of 1991, Thomas Osborne was charged with First Degree Sexual Offense, Felonious Incest, and First Degree Rape. After being charged, Osborne hired a private investigator who administered a polygraph to Osborne, asking him various questions regarding the allegations of sexual abuse, which Osborne passed. Osborne also passed an evaluation administered to him by Dr. John Warren aimed at discovering pedophilia tendencies.

The Trial

Thomas Osborne’s trial began in April of 1992 and the State’s evidence was based on witnesses who interpreted interviews conducted with CM. Many of CM’s statements were vague and inconsistent with one another as in some instances, she said that her “Pa” hurt her butt and that her “Pa” touched her butt, but in other instances she claimed that no one hurt her. CM never testified at trial.

Much of the State’s case relied on the medical evidence, with the prosecutor noting that “[t]he physical evidence clearly support[s] that she was sexually abused.” Two of CM’s doctors also testified at the trial. One testified that CM exhibited signs of possible sexual abuse, but that there was no abuse to her anus. A doctor from Duke testified that the abuse to CM’s anus was so bad that any doctor that examined her would have to have found it. However, as Tammy later revealed, CM had not been in contact with Thomas Osborne at all during the period between these two doctor visits.

The State also relied on the testimony of Tammy Harris, who testified that in 1992, Osborne locked himself in a room with CM and that she could hear CM screaming through the door. When Osborne eventually let CM out, Harris claims that the little girl wept for hours. Harris further testified that Osborne had fondled her breasts when she was 12.

Osborne testified in his own defense that while he did touch CM’s butt, it was only to administer the various topical ointments and cream medications that had been prescribed to her by doctors. Osborne stated that each time he applied the prescribed medicines to CM, she would say “ouch” and tell him that it hurt.

There was also important testimony in Osborne’s defense showing that CM also called another man, Charles Osborne, “Pa.” During the time that Osborne had custody of CM and JM, he often paid Joyce Osborne and her daughter, Janice Davis, to babysit the girls. Joyce’s husband, Charles, was present when Joyce and Janice would babysit the children. Testimony showed that there were several occasions when CM became very upset when she had to go to Joyce and Charles’ home and that she had told both Thomas Osborne and her mother, Tammy, that “Pa Charles” was mean and that he might “do it again.” Despite this, Charles Osborne was never investigated as a suspect.

On April 6, 1992, a Robeson County jury convicted Osborne of one count of First Degree Sexual Offense and found him not guilty of the other two charges: Felonious Incest and First Degree Rape. Osborne was given a mandatory sentence of life in prison. Osborne appealed his conviction but the Court of Appeals of North Carolina upheld the conviction on November 2, 1993.

After the trial, interviews of members of the jury revealed that there was confusion among the jurors regarding the charges and the respective penalties that those charges carried. One juror, Beverly Ann Govan, admitted that she did not know that the charge they found Osborne guilty of carried a mandatory life sentence and stated that she thought Osborne would receive probation or a much shorter prison sentence. Both her and fellow juror, Luther Wilkins, believed the jury voted for the charge that carried the smallest penalty.

Postconviction Center Involvement

The Center opened Thomas Osborne’s case in 2002 and was immediately troubled by many concerning aspects of his conviction. Despite this, Osborne’s case was one that was virtually impossible to resolve through post-conviction judicial relief.

However, when Osborne became eligible for parole, the Center became involved in advocating for his release leading up to his November 2012 parole hearing. One of the most important elements of the case for Osborne’s innocence and release on parole was the recantation of Tammy Harris, who shortly after Osborne’s conviction, began writing various emails and letters on her father’s behalf and signed multiple affidavits recanting her testimony.

In these letters and affidavits, Harris stated that Osborne “was found guilty of crimes he did not commit” and that she knew it to be true because she “lied to put him there.” Harris claimed she was pressured into testifying against her father by the State and was told she would never see her children again if she did not. Harris further claimed that when she attempted to tell prosecutors that the man CM was referring to in interviews was Charles Osborne and not Thomas, she was ignored and was told she had to “lie, cry, do whatever it takes” to put Thomas behind bars. Faced with the reality of losing her children, Harris admits that she lied when she testified. Harris notes that 10 days after she agreed to cooperate with the prosecution, the Department of Social Services returned her children to her.

The victim of the abuse, CM, has also continuously supported her grandfather’s innocence, and wrote to the N.C. Parole Commission pleading for Osborne’s release from prison. Her letters spoke of the love she felt for Osborne and reaffirmed that she has no memory of any sexual abuse taking place against her at the hands of Osborne. CM was joined by many friends and community members who also wrote letters and signed a petition expressing their support for Osborne’s release. Notably, one of these advocates was the Honorable William C. Gore, Jr. the judge who oversaw Osborne’s 1992 trial. Gore wrote a letter to the N.C. Parole Commission admitting that he was never truly convinced of Osborne’s guilt and that the trial was one of the very few in his career where he felt like justice had not been done.

By the time of his 2012 parole hearing, Osborne was seventy-four years old and during his time behind bars, had both suffered a stroke and gone through triple bypass surgery. The merits of releasing Osborne on parole were also reflected by the fact that Osborne had not received a single infraction in his nearly twenty years in prison and had held a job throughout his entire incarceration.

Finally, on February 28, 2014, Thomas Osborne was paroled and he completed his parole roughly 5 years later on February 27, 2019. Sadly, Thomas passed away ten years after his release on January 31, 2024, at the age of 85.