NCIP Secures Overturned Conviction for George Souliotes

Jessica — April 24, 2013 @ 10:39 AM — Comments (0)

Last week The Northern California Innocence Project won more than a decade long legal battle for the release of George Souliotes. The NCIP Press Release stated that a California judge overturned his conviction and ordered his release on April 12, 2013 unless the prosecution not only files for a re-trail but also takes the steps to do so within the next 30 days.

Souliotes was convicted in 2000 for a triple murder and arson when a fatal fire in 1997 occurred on a separate property of his in Modesto, California. The fire claimed the lives of three residents. Unfortunately, Souliotes fell victim to a wrongful conviction due to faulty fire science and ineffective counsel at a second trial.

Arson forensics have developed with the progression of technology. The advancement of fire science has allowed for many cases involving arson to be reconsidered. Regarding Souliotes case, an article in The Los Angeles Times stated,

“For decades, fire investigators believed accelerant-propelled arsons left signs: melted steel, glass etched by tiny cracks, certain patterns and markings.

But when the theories were finally tested, scientists learned the conditions also were found in accidental blazes.”

The science provided as evidence in Souliotes’ trial resulted in his conviction and sentencing of three life sentences without parole. Souliotes served 16 years of his sentence before a judge ordered for his release this April. For Souliotes, faulty science was not the only reason the prosecution secured a conviction; the counsel that Souliotes received in his second trial was inadequate in their defense.

The Wall Street Journal describes Souliotes’ counsel claiming,

“His [Souliotes] first trial resulted in a hung jury, after his defense counsel provided a vigorous defense including expert witnesses. At his second trial, however, Souliotes’ defense counsel failed to present a case, called no expert witnesses, and called none of the other fact witnesses who established Souliotes’ complete lack of motive at the first trial.”

With evidence pointing away from arson along with evidence of ineffective counsel, Souliotes’ case began unraveling as the NCIP took on the case to fight to overturn the conviction. The Wall Street Journal continued with a statement from one of Souliotes’ lawyers, Jimmy McBirney stating, “Mr. Souliotes has always maintained his innocence, and the evidence has now proven it. There is absolutely no basis for a retrial, and we look forward to seeing him set free.”

Pictured below is NCIP Press Release photo of Souliotes and the legal team that helped  him gain his overturned conviction. Congratulations to George Souliotes on his release and The Northern California Innocence Project for their success and their hard work on the Souliotes case.

George Souliotes and his counsel

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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 — @ 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 — @ 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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The Real Perpetrator Convicted – 27 Years Later

Jessica — @ 10:30 AM — Comments (0)

Since his exoneration in 2011, Michael Morton has recently seen the inside of a courtroom in very different roles. First as an observer in the court of inquiry proceedings to hold the prosecutor responsible for his conviction, Ken Anderson, accountable for his wrongful incarceration. Then a second time as a family member of the victim as Mark Alan Norwood was tried for Christine Morton’s murder.

The DNA from the bloody bandana that exonerated Michael Mortion when cross-referenced in a national database matched Mark Alan Norwood, who was in the system for his long criminal history. Sometimes if DNA is run through the database, the matching result will point to another individual. Typically the person is either dead or has been convicted of another crime. Therefore the trail ends with the wrongfully convicted person being exonerated of the crime. In Morton’s case, Norwood was still in the general population and the prosecution had a strong enough case to bring him to trial.

Opening statements in the Norwood trail began on Tuesday, March 19, 2013. The trial was held in San Angelo after being moved from Williamson County, near Austin, because of publicity in the case. The Texas Attorney General’s Office handled the prosecution and were not seeking the death penalty.

On March 27th, the San Angelo jurors found Mark Alan Norwood guilty for the 1986 murder of Christine Morton. Greg Abbott is the Texas Attorney General whose office dealt directly with Norwood’s prosecution made a statement to Fox News, saying “no verdict can bring back Christine Morton’s life or recover the devastating years that her husband Michael Morton spent unjustly imprisoned for her murder.” Norwood was convicted and sentenced to life in prison with the chance of parole after 15 years.

Morton’s prosecution in 1987 fought long and hard to place Michael Morton behind bars for the murder of his wife; only for him to be exonerated nearly 25 years later. The entire time Morton was wrongfully imprisoned, Christine’s real killer was free to go about his daily life.

When a false confession is made, when evidence is hidden from the defense, when prosecutors seek a conviction rather than search for the truth, many innocent men and women are wrongfully convicted leaving the real perpetrators with life on the outside.

The Texas Tribune provides a timeline from Christine’s death up until Norwood’s conviction.

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Florida exoneree Anthony Caravella awarded $7 million in damages

Jessica — April 10, 2013 @ 3:33 PM — Comments (0)

Florida DNA exoneree Anthony Caravella walked out of prison in March of 2010. Almost three years later, he has been awarded $7 million in damages. He spent 26 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.

After his exoneration Caravella filed suits against the four police officers that investigated his case and were, at least in part, responsible for his wrongful conviction. Almost 3 years to the day of his exoneration, The Sun-Sentinel stated,

“Eight jurors unanimously found former Miramar officers George Pierson and William Mantesta liable and awarded Caravella a total of $7 million in damages against them after a five-week trial in federal court in Fort Lauderdale.

Jurors found that Mantesta was most to blame and ruled that he should pay Caravella a total of $4 million — $1.5 million in compensatory damages and $2.5 million in punitive damages for his actions.

The jury awarded $1 million in compensation and $2 million in punitive damages — a total of $3 million — against Pierson”

Anthony is one of many exoneree’s seeking compensation for their  miscarriages of justice. As more details of these cases, such as Anthony Caravella’s, come to light those involved in the wrongful conviction are being accountable for their actions.

The article continued as Caravella stated,

“I feel good that it’s over with,”said Caravella, now 44. “I feel like it took a long time but I’m just glad that everybody knows what happened — that’s what I feel good about.”

“I have to say I finally believe in the system,” Caravella added. “I was worried. I was afraid they were going to get away with it.”

It’s comforting to know that someone who has been mistreated by the system has learned to have faith in it. The progress towards a better criminal justice system is a long process but as more people become accountable, the hope for a better system grows.

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David Ranta and the Accountability of his Prosecution

Jessica — @ 3:32 PM — Comments (0)

The exculpatory information that David Ranta needed was presented to him five years after he was sent to prison. Although the information was present, he remained behind bars for 21 more years before his exoneration.

In 1991,  David Ranta was convicted of the murder of a Brooklyn rabbi and sentenced to 37.5 years in prison. After 23 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, Ranta was released on March 21, 2013. Ranta’s case is slightly different than the other exonerees – the prosecution in Ranta’s case believe that Ranta was not have been responsible for the crime.

Theresa Astin came forward in 1996 claiming that her husband, Joseph Astin, was the murderer. A Huffington Post article also commented on the evidence of Ranta’s case claiming,

“The key eyewitness — the intended robbery target himself — testified at trial that Ranta was “100 percent not” the killer. Another important witness for the prosecution — 13-year-old Menachem Lieberman — now says he was coached by detectives to identify “the man with the big nose” in a lineup.”

The murder of the Brooklyn Rabbi was a high profile case that ultimately led to the wrongful conviction of an innocent man. Ranta was a victim of prosecutorial and law enforcement misconduct as well as forced pressure from society to quickly discover and convict the murderer.

Unfortunately, David Ranta is not the only wrongful conviction the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office has seen in the past couple of years. The New York Times reported on two individuals who were exonerated after sufficient evidence proved their wrongful conviction.

Ronald Bozeman was charged with armed robbery when the two victims identified Bozeman as the gunman, but in later testimony, the victims recanted their statements and identified another individual as the shooter. Disregarding the testimony, the Brooklyn DA’s office continued with trial and secured his conviction. In December of 2012, a judge threw out Bozeman’s conviction; allowing him to walk out of prison a free.

Another case in New York dealt with Jabbar Collins who spent 16 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. In 1995, Collins was convicted in the murder of Rabbi Pollack. In 2010, a judge found substantial evidence of misconduct in Collins prosecution and overturned his conviction.

Because the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office has faced fire due to the number of wrongful convictions, the current New York Attorney General has created a Conviction Review Bureau similar to Mike Nerheim’s panel in Illinois. This bureau is independent of law enforcement and the DA’s office and further investigates cases with allegations of possible misconduct of any kind. The Huffington Post article continues stating,

“Internal conviction integrity units are best used to correct mistakes such as eyewitness misidentifications and false confessions. But what the Ranta, Collins and Lopez cases clearly show is that wrongful conviction cases premised on serious allegations of police and prosecutorial misconduct require independent review.”

Clearly, prosecutors and law enforcement should seek to find and convict the true perpetrators of the crime rather than gain convictions or applause of a city (as in Ranta’s case). We applaud the creation of these independent review boards. Those prosecutors as well as police officers that have a case resulting in a wrongful conviction, no matter how many years have passed, should be submitted to these review boards in order to hold those accountable for the actions taken that may have cost an innocent individual years of his or her life.

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Celebrating 10 Years of Freeing the Innocent

Jackie — April 2, 2013 @ 8:03 AM — Comments (0)

  Meet Betty Anne Waters, real life heroine of the movie Conviction, at Steppin’ Out with the Innocence Project of Florida in Miami on April 5th

TALLAHASSEE, FL (March 28, 2013) — For ten years the Innocence Project of Florida (IPF) has fought to free innocent people who have been wrongfully convicted and imprisoned, often for decades. On April 5, 2013, at Miami’s Four Seasons Hotel, the statewide organization will celebrate its 10th anniversary with its annual fundraising event, Steppin’ Out with the Innocence Project of Florida.  This year’s theme is Wrongful Convictions: A Family Matter.

“Wrongful convictions leave a tragic impact on more than the individuals who are sent to prison,” said Seth Miller, IPF’s Executive Director. “They can be devastating for families who lose their loved ones.”

The evening’s special guest, Betty Anne Waters, who inspired the movie Conviction, will receive the Frank Lee Smith Innocence Award, named for Florida’s first DNA exoneree who died on death row 11 months before the State agreed to his testing in 2000. Ms. Waters spent many years obtaining both a college and law degree so she could prove her brother’s innocence. She will be recognized for her inspirational work and continued efforts to correct injustices caused by wrongful convictions.

Also in attendance will be William Michael Dillon, Florida DNA exoneree and recording artist, who will perform several original songs written during the 27.5 years he spent wrongfully imprisoned before his release in 2008.

The public is invited to join the Innocence Project of Florida at the Four Seasons Hotel in Miami on April 5, 2013, at 6 p.m. for cocktails, a silent auction, dinner and an opportunity to meet several of the men released through DNA testing.

“Our goal is to celebrate these men who have been exonerated and the families who stood by them,” said David Rothman, Miami attorney and IPF’s board chairman.

For more information about IPF, or to purchase tickets for Steppin’ Out, visit their website at www.floridainnocence.org or contact Jackie Pugh at jpugh@floridainnocence.org You can also pre-bid on several auction items online at IPF’s web site.

About the Innocence Project of Florida

Last year IPF processed more than 1,000 requests for assistance from inmates and their families. They are currently litigating dozens of cases with hundreds more in various stages of review and investigation. Proceeds from Steppin’ Out will provide critical funding for litigation efforts, including staff attorneys, document collection and review, investigation, expert witnesses and DNA testing.

While IPF’s primary goal is to find and free innocent people in Florida’s prisons, the organization has also worked with the state’s legislature to address issues important to the wrongfully convicted. In 2006, IPF successfully advocated to remove a mandatory deadline for filing post-conviction DNA claims.

The 2006 law also extended the right to post-conviction DNA testing to those who had pled guilty, a tacit acknowledgment that some pleas are for reasons having nothing to do with guilt. Many enter pleas to avoid harsher sentences such as life without parole or the death penalty, and some falsely confess due to mental impairment or an inability to withstand lengthy interrogations.

In 2008, IPF’s advocacy helped pass a compensation bill that provides $50,000 for each year of wrongful incarceration, full tuition for a college or university in Florida, expungement of the wrongful criminal record and refund of fines and attorney’s fees, if any, associated with the wrongful conviction. As of today, three individuals have been compensated under the law, including DNA exonerees, James Bain and Luis Diaz.

“The money I received has helped me rebuild my life and move on from my wrongful conviction,” said James Bain, an innocent Florida man who spent 35 years behind bars.

Florida has released 13 men after DNA testing proved their innocence. These men collectively spent 259 years in prison for crimes they did not commit.

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Free, But with a Cloud

Anne — April 1, 2013 @ 10:08 AM — Comments (0)

With a college degree in hand and a healthy outlook on the future, Nicole Harris envisioned in December 2004 that she was on the brink of something big. As the single mother of two young sons, her college graduation was fostered by a network of family members and supporters whose pride in her accomplishments seemed endless. With a degree in psychology she hoped to land a job in her chosen field, and a subsequent move back to her hometown of Chicago would allow her to rejoin her family as well as explore opportunities for employment in her discipline. A few months after graduating, however, her plans for the future went terribly awry. The attainment of a college degree suddenly became a secondary treasure as she found herself charged in the strangulation death of her youngest son, Jaquari, age 4.

Harris steadily maintained her innocence regarding any involvement in her son’s death, but her protestations fell on deaf ears. Her son’s death, insisted prosecutors, resulted from her frustrations due to her son’s constant crying. According to authorities, Harris wrapped a fitted bedsheet cord around her son’s neck and strangled him.

Convicted of the crime by a Cook County jury, Harris spent seven years (of a 30-year sentence) in prison before the 7th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated her conviction in October 2012. On February 25, 2013, she exited the Dwight Correctional Center a “free” woman.  ”This isn’t just a legal victory,” said Alison Flaum, an attorney with Northwestern University’s Center on Wrongful Conviction, which joined forces with the law firm Jenner & Block to defend Harris.  “They saw this case for the miscarriage of justice that it was.” Harris has always maintained that her son died accidentally and that she had nothing to do with his death.

Harris’ case  is troublesome, however, on so many levels and in so many ways:

  • Even though she knew she was innocent, she confessed to the crime following a 27-hour interrogation which, she said, included threats and manipulation by police investigating the case.
  • Police initially confronted Harris in a hospital chapel, where she had gone following her collapse after being told that her son had not survived. In such an emotional state, it is no stretch of the imagination to presume that authorial figures often engage powers of persuasion and similar techniques in an effort to elicit false information from vulnerable suspects. 
  • Harris’ oldest son, Diante, then 5, told investigators that he was alone in the home with his brother when he witnessed Jaquari wrap the cord around his neck while he (Daquari) was playing. Authorities, however, dismissed the brother’s claim.
  • The trial judge barred Diante from testifying, deeming him incompetent, presumably, because Diante believed that “Santa Claus, Spider-Man and the tooth fairy” were real figures and not imaginary figures.
  • According to reports in the case, prosecutors noted that Diante told investigators that he was asleep when his brother died.
  • Various reports indicate that Nicole Harris was at a nearby laundromat when the incident occurred, having instructed both young boys to remain in the home during her absence.

In overturning Harris’ guilty verdict, the judges wrote that if Diante had been allowed to testify, his testimony “would have changed the entire tenor of the case [and supported her oldest son's claims that his brother's death was accidental].”

Although Harris has been released from the Dwight Correctional Center and can begin the journey to rebuild the life she left behind in 2005, her legal battles are far from over. The State has appealed the October 2012 ruling and has asked the U. S. Supreme Court to review the case. Additionally, Cook County prosecutors could still move to retry the case. On February 25, 2013, the date of Harris’ release, a representative from the State Attorney’s Office said that a decision to retry the defendant had not yet been made.

In the meantime, Nicole Harris has maintained a positive outlook, insisting that she knew that prison wasn’t her “final destination,” that “eventually we’ll have full victory, and it’ll be all over.”

Through all that she has endured, she is certainly due the future she envisioned when she earned her college degree and stepped forward into a life of promise.

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