|
Truth in Justice
Newsletter - November, 2004
RECENT CASES
Twenty-three
years after he was convicted of murdering a Braintree, MA
man in an ambush, Frederick Weichel has won a new trial because of
newly discovered evidence and allegations that the case was tainted by
James "Whitey" Bulger and the fugitive mobster's associates --
including the FBI.
|
In
his second day of questioning by Los Angeles police detectives, David
Allen Jones sealed his fate. Although never admitting to murder,
he repeatedly incriminated
himself in the deaths of three prostitutes. By the time he got to
describing what happened with the third woman, Mary Edwards, the story
came easily.
On the strength of the incriminating statements, a jury convicted
Jones of the three killings. But there was a problem: Jones did not
kill them.
Eleven years later, DNA and other evidence exonerated Jones and a
judge voided his conviction in the killings. He was freed in March,
2004.
San Joaquin County, California
Superior Court Judge Stephen Demetras ordered the release of
36-year-old Peter Rose after 10 years of incarceration. Convicted
of sexually assaulting a 13 year-old Lodi girl in 1994, Rose was
sentenced to 27 years in prison. With no history of violent crime
or sexual assault, Rose has maintained his innocence from the
beginning. DNA testing has proved him right. It has also
shown the tragic results when police browbeat a child into accusing the
person they have already decided is guilty.
|
INNOCENT IMPRISONED
DNA taken from
inside a ski mask worn by the killer of a Bridge City, LA grocer
excluded Ryan Matthews and his co-defendant, Travis Hayes and
implicated a man with no connection to either Ryan or Travis. In
June, 2004 Ryan was freed from death row. But prosecutors are
determined to keep Travis in prison for the rest of his life for a
crime they know was committed by another man -- who remains free to
continue killing.
|
|
WRONGFULLY CONVICTED
COPS
In December, 1991, Ken Berry was a newly-hired officer with the
University of Chicago Police Department. But his world came
crashing down when a woman with whom he had consensual sex accused him
of rape. Thanks to a defense attorney later described by U.S.
District Judge Robert Gettelman as "clueless" -- he never prepared for
trial and failed to call witnesses who could exonerate Berry -- Ken was
convicted and sentenced to 35 years in prison. In 1999, his
habeas was granted and he was retried. It took the jury less than
2 hours to acquit Ken. He has distinguished himself as a
litigation paralegal and in his pro
bono (free of charge) work with the poor and elderly, but what
he really wants is a pardon. |
|
 |
POLICE/PROSECUTOR
MISCONDUCT
Texas: James Masonheimer of Abilene, TX said he shot
Gilbert Sanchez in self-defense. Masonheimer claimed Sanchez's
abuse of steroids resulted in dangerous fits of rage, one of which led
to their encounter. But two mistrials were declared because the
prosecutor withheld evidence of Sanchez's steroid abuse. Now John
Robert Harper, who prosecuted the first trial and has since become a
judge, is charged with ethics violations in the case. The Judge Goes on
Trial
|
Ohio, Indiana,
Wisconsin, Louisiana, Michigan and Panama: Internationally known
dog handler Sandra Anderson dazzled police in Ohio,
Indiana,
Wisconsin, Louisiana, Michigan and Panama with the ability of her dog,
Eagle, to find evidence that eluded everyone else. Of course
Eagle
could find it -- Anderson planted the evidence. Anderson has pled
guilty to federal evidence tampering charges. How Many Cases
did She Taint?
|
JUNK SCIENCE
|
|
|
LIFE AFTER EXONERATION
Justin Brooks of the
California Western Innocence Project, observes, "Innocent people do
some of the hardest time. They never reconcile
themselves to why they're in prison. They feel their lives have been
taken away. We expect them to
just start functioning in the workforce. But there's a stigma to having
been incarcerated." Wrongly Convicted Walk Away
with Scars
|
INNOCENCE PROJECTS
|
Innocence
Projects provide representation
and/or investigative assistance to prison inmates who claim to be
innocent
of the crimes for which they were convicted. There is now at least one
innocence project serving each state except Hawaii. Most of these
innocence projects are new and overwhelmed
with applications, so waiting time between application and acceptance
is long. Wrongfully convicted
persons should not be dissuaded from applying to Innocence Projects
because
of this, but should have realistic expectations regarding acceptance
and
time lags. Check the list for the innocence project in your area;
we update it regularly.
|
LINKS
The links pages at Truth in Justice are frequently
updated. Be sure to check them for resources, "must" reading,
websites of inmates with compelling innocence claims and more.
Start at http://truthinjustice.org/links.htm
SITE SEARCH ENGINE
There are now over 900 pages at Truth in Justice. The site search
engine on the main page can make it faster and easier to find what you
seek.
And remember, YOU can make a difference!
Sheila and Doug Berry
Back
to Top
|
