Archive for the ‘post-conviction’ Category

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Post Exoneration: The Rarity of Success after Freedom

Ileejah Hutchinson — June 13, 2013 @ 11:53 AM — Comments (1)

In the U.S., more than 1,000 people have been exonerated for crimes they did not commit, 308 of those have been through postconviction DNA testing. These individuals, who on average spent 13.6 years in prison, are released into a society after their exoneration. Some find success in the ever changing world we live in, but many can not shake the demons linked to the wrongful conviction.

Not all DNA exonerees are as lucky as Jeffrey Deskovic, a New York man who spent 16 years in prison for rape and murder, who is now celebrating a turning-point in his life after returning to school and acquiring a master’s degree in criminal justice.

Deskovic says that despite nonexistent DNA evidence linking him to the murder, the police got him to confess after a seven-and-a-half-hour interrogation with no attorney present, his parents unaware of his whereabouts and no food. Deskovic, who was 16 at the time, maintained his innocence after his conviction and fought for his freedom with the help of the Innocence Project. Deskovic was released in 2006 and used a portion of his $8 million settlement to establish the Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation for Justice.

Exoneration and wrongful conviction stories are heavily publicized in the news, but not many cover the success and hardships of said individuals after their exoneration and after the cameras have stopped rolling and the buzz of the latest story has died down. Brian Banks, a man who was convicted of rape at age 16, and spent five years in prison and five years on probation before being exonerated, is getting a second chance at his dream of being an NFL professional football player. His story will forever be immortalized throughout the Innocence Network and throughout the world.

With the help of the California Innocence Project, Banks, whose accuser admitted on tape countless times that she fabricated the rape allegation against Banks, was able to get his conviction overturned and now will get a chance to win a coveted roster spot and maybe even a starting nod as linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons.

But graduate degrees and NFL dreams come true are a rarity when discussing victims of wrongful conviction and incarceration, and many are incapable of getting a house, a car and even a job years after their release.

Virginia LeFever, an Ohio women who was convicted of killing her husband in 1990, found it easier to re-enroll in college than it was for her to obtain a job. One would think that since LeFever was exonerated and her record was sealed  that it would be quite easy for her to acquire a proper job seeing as she was qualified, but that was not the case.

LeFever suffered great difficulty trying to find work due to her criminal record showing up every time a potential employer performed a background check. She also had to overcome difficulties getting her nursing license fully reinstated, but now that she has her degree and license she hopes to find a decent job that will provide her financial security. Like most wrongfully convicted exonerees the wait has been a long one.

One would hope that after exoneration the lives of these victims would return to normal. However, a study performed by the Life After Exoneration Program found that:

  • Half of exonerees are living with family
  • 2 in 3 are not financially independent
  • 1 in 3 lose custody of their children
  • 1 out of 4 suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

All formerly incarcerated people face similar barriers. Most of the world treats exonerees like anyone else with a criminal record:

  • Both groups are chronically underemployed.
  • Both groups have difficulty accessing routine government services.
  • Both groups are routinely denied the right to vote, live in public housing, get food stamps, or access college loans.

After being wrongfully convicted, and for some spending over a decade in prison, exonerees are looking for compensation as they rightfully should. However, statutes providing compensation for these innocent people are only in place in 27 states, including Washington D.C. and the majority of the these laws undercompensate for the trauma endured by the exoneree.

Roughly about one-third of the people exonerated after proving their innocence have not been compensated. In the states where there are no compensation laws, individuals must file civil lawsuits or wait for the legislature to consider a private bill on their behalf. After completing one strenuous court battle, exonerees are forced into another as they try and obtain the funding necessary to re-establish themselves in society.

Florida exoneree, William Dillon, who spent 27.5 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, is one of the few Florida exonerees who has been compensated.  In early 2012, Gov. Rick Scott signed the bill that paid Dillon $1.35 million, while also providing him a public apology on behalf of the State of Florida, finally shutting the door on a case that has been going on for more than 30 years.

Unlike LeFever and countless others, Dillon has been blessed and has managed to forge a successful music career for himself after being exonerated. He has managed to turn his horrific story into heart wrenching songs about the struggles of his wrongful conviction. He also serves on the board of directors for the Innocence Project of Florida. He is truly one of the lucky ones.

Now that we are cognizant of the great success of a few exonerees, we must also keep the innocents who are struggling to stay afloat in our thoughts. Now that the truth about post exoneration struggles is apparent and the rose-colored glasses are off, we must do our part to ensure that innocent people who were wrongfully convicted are set free, compensated for their time spent in prison, and given the proper chance to secure a steady financial future.

 

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All 50 States Now Provide Access to Post-Conviction DNA Testing

Anna Fitzpatrick — June 07, 2013 @ 11:00 AM — Comments (0)

On May 24th, Oklahoma became the 50th and final state to pass a post-conviction DNA testing law. 307 people who were wrongfully convicted of crimes have been exonerated by DNA evidence in the United States since DNA testing first became available as a forensic tool in 1989.

Laws like the one passed in Oklahoma give many wrongfully convicted individuals the opportunity to gain access to DNA testing. Without such laws, innocent prisoners do not have a statutory right to testing and are required to rely on judges and prosecutors to grant access to DNA testing. Larry Peterson is one example of the harm done without these laws – Peterson spent sixteen years in prison in New Jersey, struggling to have evidence tested until a DNA testing law was passed in his state.

Oklahoma’s testing law is one of the most comprehensive in the nation, but some laws in other states have limitations which can be significant; several states specifically exclude those who pled guilty or confessed, even though more than a third of the 307 people exonerated by DNA testing either falsely confessed or pled guilty.

Check out this DNA testing law infographic put together by the Innocence Project in New York, as well as what the DNA testing law is in your state.

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Supreme Court Opens Exceptions to Harsh Deadlines

Anna Fitzpatrick — June 05, 2013 @ 10:13 AM — Comments (1)

Last week the Supreme Court ruled on two cases of defendants fighting for the chance to present evidence that could call into question their convictions, even though they have both missed deadlines to make their claims.

Under the 1996 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, defendants are required to ask the courts to review their case within a year of discovering new evidence. One defendant, Floyd Perkins, failed to file for a federal court review until nearly eight years after three new witnesses provided testimony that incriminated an acquaintance of his; the other defendant, Carlos Trevino, claims his lawyer failed to represent him adequately during trial – a failure that may mean the difference between life and death. While the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit held that Trevino missed his opportunity to make this claim during his appeal, his new lawyer has argued that the new evidence should be reviewed by courts since his trial attorney failed to investigate thoroughly.

The Supreme Court ruled, 5-4 in both cases, to widen what it called the “gateway” to reviewing claims actual innocence that are made after the one-year deadline, though that claim of innocence must meet high standards for the gateway to open. It also allowed for new claims to be raised in federal reviews that were unable to be made during the state appeals process.

While these rulings are a victory for protecting the innocent, they do raise questions about the necessity and validity of these deadlines. No rational person would believe that someone innocent should be locked up, or even sent to their death, because the courts made a rash ruling or ignored new evidence that was submitted “too late.” Although in 2009, Justice Scalia wrote that

“this court has never held that the Constitution forbids the execution of a convicted defendant who had a full and fair trial but is later able to convince a habeas court that he is ‘actually’ innocent.”

These chilling words point perhaps to too strong of faith in a flawed justice system wrought with corruption and misconduct. Allowing a “gateway” past the deadline is not an attempt to create opportunities for the guilty to squirm through the fingers of justice, but rather a much needed path to redemption for the wrongly imprisoned.

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One Year of the National Registry of Exonerations

Anna Fitzpatrick — May 29, 2013 @ 9:49 AM — Comments (0)

This month the National Registry of Exonerations celebrates its first anniversary, having launched the site on May 21, 2012. At the time, the site listed 891 exonerations. Since then, they’ve added 232 more cases to their database. The Registry is a joint project between the University of Michigan Law School and the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law and is the only comprehensive database containing all known exonerations since 1989.

Compiling all exoneration cases in one place has allowed the students and staff of these organizations not only to organize exonerations by geography and contributing factors but also to conduct studies intended to identify patterns within wrongful conviction cases and to seek reforms to eliminate these patterns. Their first study, which covered post-conviction witness recantations, can be found on their site and is the first systematic study of recantations ever conducted.

Congratulations to everyone at the registry and to those who worked tirelessly conducted the recantation study. Keep up the hard work!

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New DNA Testing Reveals Florida Death Row Inmate’s Innocence

Anna Fitzpatrick — May 16, 2013 @ 4:44 PM — Comments (2)

DNA helped send Clemente Javier “Shorty” Aguirre to death row in 2006 for the murder of two Altamonte Springs neighbors. Now a team of attorneys have used a new round of DNA testing to prove the innocence Aguirre has been maintaining from the start. This round of DNA testing implicates the victim’s daughter, Samantha Williams, as the real perpetrator.

Cheryl Williams and Carol Bareis, Aguirre’s next-door neighbors, were mother and daughter found stabbed to death in their trailer in Seminole County on June 17, 2004. An undocumented Honduran, Aguirre initially told police that he didn’t know anything about the murders, though later that same day he admitted that he had discovered their bodies around six a.m. when he went to their house hoping to get some beer. When he found Cheryl Williams’ body lying in the foyer, he rolled her over to check for a pulse. Once he realized she was dead, he feared the killer may still be present and grabbed the knife near Cheryl’s body before walking through the rest of the house. When he realized no one was there, he panicked, discarded the knife, went home and stuffed his now-bloody clothes into a trash bag and threw them on the roof. He didn’t report the crime because he feared deportation.

At trial, the State prosecution presented DNA evidence to show the the victims’ blood was on Aguirre’s clothes, shoes, and the bloody knife, which is consistent with Aguirre’s testimony of how he discovered the bodies. The defense, unfortunately, conducted no tests on other bloodstains nor did they even view any of the 197 items of evidence that were collected in this case, much less retain a forensic expert to examine them. The State also offered testimony from a “bloodstain pattern expert” who claimed the stains on Aguirre’s clothes were “impact” or “cast off” rather than “transfer” (which is consistent with Aguirre’s testimony) and alleged that the murders occurred around eight or nine a.m., arguing in closing that Aguirre may have still been in the home when Samantha Williams’ then-boyfriend came to get her work clothes and discovered the bodies. The defense failed to retain any blood pattern, pathologist, or other forensic experts to counter the State’s theories or support Aguirre’s account.

Furthermore, at no time during the trial did Aguirre’s lawyer inquire about or otherwise present the jury with any of the readily-available evidence that Samantha was mentally ill, unstable, and had a volatile and at times violent relationship with her mother, including at least one prior threat to kill her.

On at least three occasions since the murders, Samantha has become so violent and uncontrollable that she has been involuntarily committed to psychiatric facilities. Nearly three years prior to the murders, Samantha had been committed to psychiatric care by her mother, during which time she threatened to kill her mother in the presence of others. Then in December 2007, she was videoed as she repeatedly banged her head against the interior of a police car, sobbing, “my family died from me,” and then threatened to “murder” the officer who had taken her into custody. Again in August 2010, police were called to her home after she tried to set herself on fire and told a neighbor that “demons are in her head and caused her to kill her family.”

The attorney who represented Aguirre at his trial has been found constitutionally ineffective by the courts in at least one other death penalty case he handled. In total, Aguirre’s trial attorney has at least ten former clients presently on Florida’s death row.

In August 2011, Aguirre’s new counsel at the Capital Collateral Regional Counsel – Middle in Florida, in consultation with the Innocence Project, filed a motion for post-conviction DNA testing which found that most of the bloodstains were traced to one or both victims, while no blood from Aguirre was found at the scene. By contrast, two distinct bloodstains were found to come from Samantha and were located in close proximity to the victims’ blood. Although opposed by the State, a second round of testing revealed a total of eight different bloodstains have been identified as Samantha’s, which were spread out over four rooms of the home, each near blood from one or both victims.

At the hearing that began in Sanford, Florida on May 13, 2013, Aguirre’s lawyers will be asking for post-conviction relief based on three separate grounds:

  1. that Aguirre’s lawyer was ineffective for failing to conduct DNA testing and investigate Samantha’s mental health history,
  2.  the new DNA evidence and pre- and post-trial violence by Samantha constitute newly discovered evidence that would have led the jury to an acquittal, and
  3.  the new evidence establishes Aguirre’s innocence.

In what seems like such a clear-cut case of innocence, it is certainly disturbing to consider the lengths the State has gone to in order to protect Samantha Williams from conviction, despite her long history of violence, instability, and pure animosity, while turning a blind eye to the injustices suffered by Aguirre.  Should Aguirre be exonerated, the State will have fought against the freedom of an innocent person and possibly undercut their ability to prosecute the real perpetrator.  This would be the ultimate injustice to both Mr. Aguirre and the victims in this case.

Aguirre is represented by Maria DeLiberato and Marie-Louise Samuels Parmer with the Capital Collateral Regional Counsel – Middle Region.  Nina Morrison and Barry Scheck of the Innocence Project and Seth Miller and Melissa Montle of the Innocence of Florida are serving as co-counsel.

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Washington State Passes Wrongful Conviction Compensation Law

Anna Fitzpatrick — May 16, 2013 @ 10:00 AM — Comments (0)

Last Wednesday Washington became the 28th state to pass a wrongful conviction compensation law with Gov. Jay Inslee signing a bill that will take effect in July. Under the new law, a wrongfully convicted person would be eligible to file a claim against the state once their conviction is reversed. After a judge or jury determines the claim is valid, the courts can award up to $50,000 for each year of imprisonment, including time spent awaiting trial and an additional $50,000 for each year spent on death row.

Money will come from the new state liability fund, which can also provide education aid and pay past child support for those who qualify. The state estimates that at least 15 wrongly convicted former inmates are likely to file claims in the first three years, with one to two each year thereafter.

The bill, which passes through the Washington state House and Senate with bipartisan and nearly unanimous support, was championed by Representative Tina Orwall and the Innocence Project of Northwest Legislative Advocacy Clinic.  We want to congratulate them as well as IPNW Policy Director Lara Zarowsky and her students who worked tirelessly to advocated the passage of the bill even during a year with tight budgets.  Way to go “Team Compensate!”

Nationwide, one-third of people exonerated after proving their innocence have not been compensated for the injustices they suffered and the time they spent incarcerated.

Governor Inslee shakes hands with ICP exononree Alan Northrop, who served over 17 years in prison for crimes he did not commit.

Governor Inslee shakes hands with ICP exononree Alan Northrop, who served over 17 years in prison for crimes he did not commit.

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Oklahoma Close to Passing Post-Conviction DNA Testing Legislation

Jessica — April 22, 2013 @ 12:42 PM — Comments (0)

The Norman Transcript recently reported on the Oklahoma Senate’s approval of a post-conviction DNA bill that would allow individuals claiming to be innocent of a crime to receive the DNA testing of evidence to prove or disprove their claim. The bill limits post-conviction DNA testing to those who have been convicted of violent crimes and sentenced to 25 years or more. Although not perfect, it is step in the right direction. The legislation was sponsored by Oklahoma Rep. Lee Denney and Sen. Jim Halligan.

Rep. Lee Denney said,

“I believe the current system can be improved and that is clearly shown by the fact that we are the last state to embrace this type of legislation. I am proud of the support the bill has received this session.”

In February the Oklahoma’s House of Representatives unanimously passed the legislation. In April the Senate passed the bill unanimously with amendments. The legislation has been sent back to the House of Representatives for its consideration of the amendments before going to the governor for approval.

Senator Jim Halligan said,

“Not only can DNA testing ensure justice for those wrongfully convicted, but just as importantly, it can lead authorities to the person who actually committed the crime—that’s exactly what’s happened in almost half of those exonerations.”

We are very pleased that Oklahoma is on the brink of passing this important legislation.

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NPR Discusses Life after Exoneration – Impacts to Exoneree & Victims

Jessica — April 22, 2013 @ 11:43 AM — Comments (0)

NPR’s Talk of the Nation discussed Life after Exoneration, For the Victims on Both Sides on April 15th. The segment included several individuals who have experienced the effects of a wrongful conviction – those who have been wrongfully imprisoned and the victims and victim’s family of the original crime in which someone was wrongfully convicted. After years of dealing with wrongful convictions, these two sides of an exoneration are starting to discuss one thing – reform.

The first guest was Sahreef Cousin who spent years on death row in Louisiana’s Angola Prison for a crime he did not commit. He discussed his case for a short while, but his conversation mainly focused on his life after exoneration. He stressed the idea of a support system for an individual that has been wrongfully convicted. Without his family, Cousin said he may have fallen victim to homelessness or drugs and alcohol. Unfortunately the system in Louisiana does not provide much assistance to those whose convictions who have been overturned. Cousin has joined together with other exonerees to create Resurrection After Exoneration (RAE). Because the state does not provide an approach to help the wrongfully convicted, the organization focuses on exonerees helping other exonerees in the aftermath of a wrongful incarceration. The RAE page states,

“RAE’s exonerees can now access individual counseling, educational opportunities, and financial and computer literacy training.  Instead of working for free for the prison system, we are working together to help each other, building our solidarity. Above all, we are positioning ourselves as advocates for criminal justice reform, speaking about our experiences at events and venues nationwide.”

Organizations such as RAE helps wrongfully convicted individuals re-adjust to a society that has changed significantly during their incarceration. The Innocence Project of Florida was the first innocence project in the U.S. to employ a full-time social worker, who works closely with exonerees before and after their exoneration in an effort to help ease the transition. The support systems are crucial to a successful reintegration into a life left behind.

The wrongfully convicted are not the only victims – a wrongful conviction affects families of the falsely accused as well as the victim and the victim’s family.

Jennifer Thompson was assaulted in her home in 1984. When law enforcement brought in Ronald Cotton as a suspect, Thompson identified Cotton as her attacker. Eleven years later, Ronald Cotton was exonerated for Thompson’s rape as DNA evidence proved he did not commit the crime. In the NPR piece, Thompson describes how difficult it was for her to face reality – her eyewitness account had not only wrongfully convicted an innocent man but had also cost him 11 years of his life that he would never gain back.

In an unusual situation, Jennifer Thompson and Ronald Cotton have become friends and often speak about their story. Together Thompson and Cotton created a dual-memoir, Picking Cotton, which not only discusses the case in 1984 but also describes the effect of the eyewitness identification on both parties. Thompson stated to NPR,

 ”I also work with victims when they discover that the person that they ID’ed or the family members that they thought that killed their loved one, the guilt that they suffer and the shame that they suffer.

And it’s – it truly is reopening, like, all the pain and the trauma and the hurt and the fears and everything that you thought that you had worked through. It just starts all over again. But then on top of that, the reality is that you know that you somehow were a part of taking away someone’s life and their freedom and changing their families.”

A wrongful conviction is devastating to so many people. Members of the Innocence Network and others are beginning the dialogue to help everyone impacted by a wrongful conviction – the exoneree, the victim and their families.

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“The Central Park Five” Premieres on PBS Tonight

Jessica — April 16, 2013 @ 3:31 PM — Comments (0)

The documentary “The Central Park Five” will premiere on PBS tonight, April 16, 2013, at 9 p.m.

The film follows the five young, black and latino men who were wrongfully convicted of rape and assault in 1989. The victim was brutally attacked and assaulted during a late night run in Central Park. The documentary discusses the case, the questions, and the emotions directly with the men of the Central Park Five.

On USA Today, Ken Burns describes how he and two additional filmmakers choose to address this harsh miscarriage of justice.

Tune into PBS at 9 p.m. to watch “The Central Park Five.”

Find your local PBS station here.

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“I plead guilty, but I didn’t do it.”

Jessica — April 16, 2013 @ 10:43 AM — Comments (0)

“I plead guilty, but I didn’t do it.”

This was the plea deal Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jesse Misskelley took in 2011 in order to walk out of prison free men after being convicted in the 1993 murder of three 8 year old West Memphis boys. Since their original arrest, these young men became known as the West Memphis Three as each of them fought against the State of Arkansas to prove their innocence.

The West Memphis Three spent 18 years behind bars before being brought back into the courtroom after DNA evidence was found that linked other men to the murders. Unfortunately, the West Memphis Three were not fully exonerated as each of them had to enter Alford pleas in order to be released from prison and returned to their families. The judge accepted the plea stating that the West Memphis Three maintained their innocence but plead guilty to the murder of the young boys.

When a conviction is overturned, the State Attorney’s Office is given latitude with a choice to re-prosecute an individual or vacate the conviction on the grounds of innocence or insufficient evidence. When the prosecution decides to re-try an individual whose conviction has been overturned, the Alford Plea can become an option. The individual must decide whether or not the prosecution has sufficient evidence to convict. One can either accept the Alford Plea therefore pleading guilty but still maintaining their innocence or risk attending a second trial with the possibility of being re-convicted.

This form of plea bargaining is derived directly from the State of North Carolina vs Alford in 1970.  The case states,

“An individual accused of crime may voluntarily, knowingly, and understandingly consent to the imposition of a prison sentence even if he is unwilling or unable to admit his participation in the acts constituting the crime.”

The plea is in fact a guilty plea, but means the defendant enters the plea without admitting to the guilt itself.  The defendant recognizes the prosecution has significant evidence to secure a guilty conviction, but chooses to plead guilty to a lesser charge; therefore reducing the sentence while maintaining his or her innocence.  The defendant is given the sentence and must serve just as one would if a guilty plea was taken.

While the use of the plea is fairly rare, Henry Alford nor the West Memphis Three are not the only ones to have used the Alford Plea.

In 1998, Anthony Murray was convicted of first-degree murder. In 2012, with the help of the Illinois Innocence Project, Murray’s conviction was reviewed and ultimately overturned by an associate judge in Marion County. Unfortunately for Murray, his legal battle would not end with his overturned conviction.

Anthony Murray entered an Alford Plea in order to be released from prison. Discussing Murray’s case, The Illinois Times stated,

“Under the threat that the states attorney would bring him to trial again, in order to gain his freedom Murray was forced to accept a plea to second-degree murder and was released on time served.  By pleading to a lesser crime while still maintaining that he was innocent of all charges,  the “Alford Plea” allowed him to return home to his mother and family, but certainly left a stain on him and on what the Illinois Innocence Project believes should have been a complete exoneration.”

Much like the West Memphis Three, Murray saw the plea bargain as a way to return to his family. While the plea would leave a mark on his record, the Alford Plea allowed for Murray to go home and begin to enjoy life on the outside once again.

In regards to the specific West Memphis Three case, CBS News had a statement that rings true across the board for all those who choose to accept the Alford Plea stating, “It’s a compromise, pure and simple. Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley were allowed to continue to insist they were innocent, but they had to plead guilty. In return, they were given freedom and the State got its convictions.”

The Alford Plea is not used on often in a court of law and is not entirely an ideal case regarding an exoneration. But when the Alford Plea is accepted by the judge and the prosecution, it allows for the wrongfully convicted to return to family and begin to adapt to life outside of the dreary prison walls.

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