AUSTIN, Texas (KXAN) An attorney representing one of the original suspects in the yogurt shop murders is calling for a full exoneration of his client. 

Tony Diaz is representing Mike Scott, who spent years in prison after he was sentenced to life in 2002. Diaz said the breakthrough linking serial killer Robert Eugene Brashers to the murder should clear the names of all four original suspects.

“This case stole decades of my life, but the truth has finally come to light,” Scott said in a press release.

“He is very relieved. His condolences go to the family, and he’s praying for their peace and solace, but it’s sinking into him — what he’s endured and what his family has endured weighs heavy on him,” Diaz told affiliate KXAN.

Seventeen-year-old Jennifer Harbison, 15-year-old Sarah Harbison, 17-year-old Eliza Thomas, and 13-year-old Amy Ayers were shot and killed at a north Austin frozen yogurt shop, which was then set on fire. After 34 years of investigation, police said they’ve identified Brashers, who died by suicide in 1999, as a suspect in the case. 

Before the Austin Police Department handed the case to its Cold Case Homicide Unit, its “Yogurt Shop Task Force” arrested four men in connection with the murders.

Diaz said his work will not conclude until his client, Scott, is exonerated. 

“Mike Scott must be formally exonerated and it must happen very soon. This is a long, hard battle for justice, and while the truth is finally out, the fight continues for Mike Scott,” he said.  “We would like to see actual innocence converted to an exoneration, now that we know who the real killer is.”

How exoneration works

Scott’s charges were dismissed in 2009, but he was not exonerated, Chris Perri, a criminal attorney who specializes in post-conviction law, explained.

“A charge being dismissed just means they can’t prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. It doesn’t mean you’re innocent,” Perri said.

Perri said full exonerations are very rare. “You’ll see people get their freedom back, wrongful convictions get overturned, but there’s an extra bar for that exoneration,” he said.

Next to happen is likely an attorney filing a petition of innocence with the trial judge. That judge can then order an exoneration on the basis of innocence, Perri said.

“If there’s DNA scientific evidence, and the prosecution is also on board, and they feel like they’ve got their person, then you’ll be able to see an exoneration,” Perri said.

Under Texas law, an exonerated person is entitled to $80,000 for each year they were incarcerated.

Diaz said he’s stood by Scott since the beginning and will continue to stand by him until this case’s conclusion.

“I’m sure it shortened my life, but I would do it again,” he said.