"All along, the only reason he was pleading guilty was to secure the plea bargain," Howell said. "I definitely think that people end up pleading to crimes they didn't commit simply because the risk of going to trial is so great."

Calton was close to being sentenced when the witness finally reported to police that Elkins was the stabber.

"It was a bizarre circumstance," Howell said. "(Calton) was just really, really relieved that people came forward."

Although the case is so strange, Howell worries such things happen more than attorneys realize.

"People get entrenched in stories," she said "There's almost an incentive (to keep lying) if they, in a rash moment, blame someone or make an accusation. They're going to get in trouble too if they say 'I was lying, I was mad at him, I made that up.' "

Grunander said police try to avoid that by reminding witnesses and victims they can be charged if they lie in their statements.

"That's a mechanism in place that's effective," he said. "But it's certainly not fool-proof."

E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com