(In keeping with theme of President Upchurch’s article, a prosecutor and criminal defense attorney, an innocent man’s life hangs in the balance: WKRG-Mobile http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEVURKsGoMI)

A Response to Mobile Bar Association President Michael UpChurch’s Observations

I read with interest Mobile Bar Association President Michael E. Upchurch’s “President’s Comments” in the May 2013^th edition of the Mobile Bar Association’s newsletter.  His comments were about a comparison of the life of a civil attorney to the lives of criminal defense attorneys and prosecutors.  He goes into detail about how civil attorneys don’t have the stomach to deal with the things prosecutors see and/or do not have the glamour of criminal defense attorneys.  He writes:

“Criminal defense lawyers have big personalities. Civil lawyers seem tame and boring in comparison. Maybe eccentricity is bred out of civil lawyers. There just isn’t any analog in civil practice to a lawyer who advertises with “Get Out of Jail Free” cards. Civil lawyers have names like Rupert and Pierpont. The criminal bar has “Cowboy Bob.” Male civil lawyers have conservative haircuts. A criminal defense lawyer can go to court sporting a ponytail. A civil lawyer is considered wild if he wears a bow tie or drives a convertible. A criminal defense lawyer can parachute naked into a backyard barbeque with a bottle of tequila in one hand and a live iguana in the other and no one raises an eyebrow.

Prosecutors and criminal defense lawyers do the work many others do not have the stomach for. They have strong constitutions. A criminal lawyer or prosecutor can attend an autopsy after eating fried pickles, two burritos, and a piece of pie and fall asleep standing up. Some civil lawyers get queasy looking at photographs of a swollen eye and a neck brace. http://origin.library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1106306587790-68/May2013.pdf

This is among the opening paragraphs and it is an interesting and intriguing read.

I wonder what it would be like to be a criminal defense lawyer or prosecutor.

This is the opening line of his President’s Comments section.  President Upchurch is a civil attorney, as you likely knew. But I, too, a non-lawyer, but an observer of prosecutors, wonder what it is like to be a prosecutor.  Prosecutors often develop a “convict at all cost” mentality.  As Upchurch states,

“Prosecutors carry the burden of representing the entire community in all their cases. They are expected to get a conviction in every trial, no matter the evidence or the equities. Prosecutors are criticized even when they win, because they asked for too little punishment, or too much, or sought the death penalty, or did not. They are overworked, underpaid and under-equipped.”http://origin.library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1106306587790-68/May2013.pdf

This may be true, in terms of prosecutors being expected to get a conviction in every trial, but does the public expect and want prosecutors to win cases where they know the person is innocent? But the true question is whether life as a prosecutor means that one has to prosecute the innocent if it means, in the mind of a prosecutor, that the victim will receive some justice.  If a prosecutor gives a person immunity in return for confessing to what actually occurred, if the prosecutor later discovers that the confession is corroborated and the person (who confessed) is guilty, will the prosecutor dismiss the confession anyway because it doesn’t fit his theory, and pursue an innocent man, or will the prosecutor feel obligated to do what is necessary to seek truth and justice? Is it the mindset of the prosecutor to ignore the guilty to pursue the innocent if it means that a conviction will be easier? What would it be like to work under this type of pressure?  What is the moral obligation? Or are moral beliefs and thoughts checked at the door because the convict at all cost mentality prevails? No one believes or should believe the latter as prosecutors are moral beings who want to seek truth and justice, but, in a small number of cases, may convict an innocent person, whether intentional or unintentional, it happens. What incentive would a prosecutor have to ignore the guilty to pursue the innocent? What must it be like to have to make those decisions? Let’s say you were a prosecutor and your heard this confession before trial (http://www.freerodneystanberry.com/the_confession-_testimonial_immunity_agreement). What would you do?

President Upchurch said that prosecutors are required to share the information they gathered with criminal defense attorneys. He writes:

“Civil lawyers bury each other in paper. A civil lawyer gets upset if subpart (d) of interrogatory 87 is not answered fully. A criminal defense lawyer gets diddley in the way of written discovery, and shrugs it off. A prosecutor has to give up her good evidence on request, in every case. A civil defense lawyer would pout for a month if he had to disclose even one street address voluntarily.” http://origin.library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1106306587790-68/May2013.pdf

What if in the desire to win, the prosecutor withholds “good evidence” that disproves a theory and further supports what the person who confessed stated.  Would they continue to pursue the innocent because it fits a theory? I wonder if President Upchurch could answer a question for me.  If a prosecutor is working on a case and he travels to a prison in another state, let’s say he travels from Mobile, Alabama to a prison in New York, if the prosecutor says he was on vacation when he visited the prison so he did not take any notes, is that ethical, is it legal, is it a dilemma that prosecutors face when they are pursuing a theory? What must it be like to be a prosecutor that in the zest to win and to prove a theory that pursuit of true justice must be thrown out the window. What must that be like? Well, as Upchurch stated, the public expects you to win, so maybe you do not disclose the evidence.  Upchurch used the pronoun “she” throughout his article, possibly to acknowledge Mobile County first female District Attorney, Ashley Rich.  She has already shown that the win is very important.  Recall that Eucellis Sullivan was asked to leave the Mobile District Attorney’s Office by District Attorney Ashley Rich. As reported by Local15 News:

“I was terminated from my job as an Asst. D.A.,” she said. Hired by John Tyson, Sullivan had spent last four years prosecuting all types of cases for the office, but LOCAL 15 News was there Thursday as she went back to clean out her desk after she says she was escorted out of the building earlier, just like the criminals she prosecuted.

“I was called into Ashley Rich’s office and they informed me that my services were no longer needed, I was told that a letter of resignation was prepared if I wanted to sign it and I declined signing the letter, I was just shocked because I wasn’t given a reason.”

This is what the District Attorney Ashely Rich told LOCAL 15 News, “Since I took office she has lost seven cases and only won two.”…..

…..”The people expect me to put criminals in jail they expect the team I put together to put people in jail she just wasn’t doing that that’s all I have to say,” Rich said. http://www.local15tv.com/news/local/story/Ousted-Asst-D-A-Says-Firing-was-Unjust-D-A/_k_jw7YebUuoBnZ-_2FUAg.cspx

On a side note, it was interesting to see Atty. Sullivan recently appear as a criminal defense attorney in a case that pitted her against the prosecutor and there was an acquittal and a mistrial. Here are quotes from the criminal defense attorney and the prosecutor in the case in question:

“It happens sometimes that a jury cannot reach a verdict,” Patterson said. {Patterson is a long-time Assistant District Attorney in the Mobile County District Attorney’s Office}

Defense attorney Eucellis Sullivan welcomed the verdict. “It’s great news,” she said. “I’m glad that the jury listened to the evidence and weighed it in their deliberations.” http://blog.al.com/live/2013/03/mobile_man_acquitted_of_raping.html

I wonder what it would be like to be a criminal defense lawyer or prosecutor

Mobile Bar Association President Upchurch asks this question at the beginning of his comments.  To be a criminal defense attorney such as Cowboy Bob Clark, mentioned by Upchurch, is to understand that when you have a client that is actually innocent and when you have clients that are actually guilty, prosecutors, at times, treat them both as if they are guilty, innocent until proven guilty does not define what it is like to be a prosecutor.  Fair trials can interfere with convictions.  So to be a criminal defense attorney is to understand that if a prosecutor wants to convict an innocent man because it fits a theory or because a star witness and/or the victim of a crime says the defendant is guilty, no matter the evidence that shows that the person is actually innocent, the prosecutor will move to do whatever is necessary to convict.  To be a criminal defense attorney is to understand that when you have a client that is guilty as sin, if prosecuting that client disproves a prosecutor’s theory or contradicts what the victim says, that prosecutor will opt not to prosecute your client, meaning that they would rather allow the victim and society to perceive that justice was served rather than actually pursuing justice.  To be a criminal defense attorney, you understand this, this is how the dance between criminal defense attorneys and prosecutors works and, on occasion, to be a criminal defense attorney is to strike a chord with prosecutors about it during a trial in the hopes that it will sway a jury.  For instance, Mobile Press Register Reporter Brendan K. Kirby reported in an article the following:

“MOBILE, Alabama – Closing arguments in Jackeith Harrison’s attempted murder and robbery trial got contentious this afternoon, with defense lawyer Robert F. “Cowboy Bob” Clark accusing prosecutors of dishonesty.

Mobile County District Attorney Ashley Rich, voice rising,  angrily disputed that accusation……

…..“Why did they deceive you? What benefit is there to them? Do you want to be deceived, or do you want to be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt?” he said. “I submit to you they haven’t proven anything beyond a reasonable doubt. She (Rich) hasn’t been fair. She hasn’t been honest.”

Rich told jurors that she took it as a personal attack on her integrity.

“What was going on in that store that night was raw, and it was real, and it was terrifying.” — District Attorney Ashley Rich.

“It is despicable what he gets up here and says to you,” she said.  (http://blog.al.com/live/2013/05/heated_closing_arguments_accus.html)

I wonder what it would be like to be a criminal defense lawyer or prosecutor.

District Attorney Ashley Rich raised her voice because criminal defense attorney Cowboy Bob Clark questioned her integrity in a courtroom, in front of jurors, during a trial. What is it like to be a criminal defense attorney who knows that a prosecutor had a solid and truthful confession from one’s client, but opts to get that confession suppressed? Why, again, because it does not fit a theory. Right then and there you know that the mind of a prosecutor is to do all that he/she can to go after the person they want to believe committed the crimes even though you know and they know that they are letting a guilty person (the person who confessed) go.  To be a criminal defense attorney is to exploit this knowledge and to strike a chord with prosecutors even for clients you know are guilty for a prosecutor left opened the question of his/her integrity when they protected the truly guilty to go after the innocent.  A case in point, this confession made in the office of Bob Clark and in front of the Mobile County Assistant District Attorney Joe Carl “Buzz” Jordan three years before a trial (http://freerodneystanberry.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/20100914155256.256155350.pdf ) and please don’t think it stopped at one prosecutor in the Mobile District Attorney’s Office, please view this article (  http://www.bostonreview.net/BR38.2/beth_schwartzapfel_valerie_finley_innocent_convictions.php).  When a prosecutor refuses to acknowledge that an innocent person has been convicted, how can he/she not continue to invite questions of integrity?  No matter how many awards a prosecutor receives for sending people to death row and no matter how many convictions he/she may have, to keep an innocent person in prison is extremely tough to overcome, or at least it should be. But what if you are a criminal defense attorney who knows that some prosecutors have no qualms about prosecuting and keeping the innocent in prison? You exploit it in a courtroom.  Attorney Upchurch wrote in his “Comments” piece:

“There is also an invisible connection between criminal defense lawyers and prosecutors. They eye each other warily across the courtroom, but share an intimate understanding of what innocence and guilt really mean.

Their cases immerse them in an underworld of soul-rattling ugliness and hopelessness. If they buckled under the weight of it, they would end up casualties on the same battlefield. But they don’t buckle. They rise above it. This is their bond.” http://origin.library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1106306587790-68/May2013.pdf

In my interpretation this says that criminal defense attorneys are ok with what prosecutors do before a trial as long prosecutors understand what they will do during a trial, even if it means that tactics used to question your integrity in front of a jury may take place from time to time.  The criminal justice system is a game of wins and losses, this is the adversarial part of the system, no harm, no foul- oh, except when the innocent gets caught up in the game.

As I included in a letter to former Mobile Bar Association President Henry Calloway in 2011:

“On  November 25^th, the New York Times Magazine published an article entitled “The Prosecution’s Case Against DNA.”  Here is an excerpt from that article:

• • • • Why prosecutors sometimes fight post-conviction evidence so adamantly depends on each case. Some legitimately believe the new evidence is not exonerating. But legal scholars looking at the issue suggest that prosecutors’ concerns about their political future and a culture that values winning over justice also come into play. “They are attached to their convictions,” Garrett says, “and they don’t want to see their work called into question.”“Jed Stone, a local defense lawyer, described the legal community as “an echo chamber.” “The problem with everyone coming from the same background, from the same state’s attorney’s office, from the same narrow political spectrum, is there is a failure to see the other side,” he said. “You begin to view people as others. And when you begin to see people as other than you, they begin to become expendable.” http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/magazine/dna-evidence-lake-county.html?pagewanted=9&hp The complete letter to former President Calloway can be found here: http://freerodneystanberry.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/callawaybarassociation.295123209.docx

I wonder what it would be like to be a criminal defense lawyer or prosecutor

On the differences between criminal defense attorneys and prosecutors, one wants to win at all cost whether the client is guilty or innocent as in the United States of America, every individual has the right to an attorney and when an attorney takes on a client, he or she wants to do what is in the best interest of his/her client.  The other also has a win and all cost mentality that will, at times, lead to the withholding of exculpatory evidence, the suppression of confessions, and will rely on victim eyewitness misidentification to win a case.  And while the criminal defense attorney who, once a trial is over, doesn’t deal with a client unless he/she is handling an appeal, the prosecutor spends 5, 10, 15, 20 and more years to ensure that the conviction is upheld.  To be like a prosecutor means to work to uphold the conviction when there is evidence that the person convicted is actually innocent.  The public got some understanding of this with the case of Michael Morton of Texas who spent 25 years of his life in prison for crimes he did not commit. Not only did the prosecutor withhold evidence, he (Ken Anderson) and his successor (John Bradley) fought to block Morton’s request to have DNA tested. They went as far as to mock Morton for maintaining his innocence and his request to get evidence proving his innocence tested. After 25 years, Morton got some justice, he was freed, exonerated, compensated, the Texas Bar is suing the prosecutor, the Texas Legislature named a bill after him that deals with the disclosure of evidence by prosecutors and,  following a Texas Court of Inquiry hearing, a Texas Judge issued the arrest of then prosecutor now judge Ken Anderson (http://freerodneystanberry.com/blog/2013/04/22/when-texas-gets-it-right-former-prosecutor-held-criminally-responsible-for-putting-innocent-man-in-prison/). No one should be surprised by what happened in Michael Morton’s and John Thompson’s case for it is the norm, there may be a small number of innocent people convicted, but when it happens, far too many prosecutors will continue to fight to keep the innocent in prison and to ignore calls for needed reforms to help prevent the innocent from languishing in prison.

I wonder what it would be like to be a criminal defense lawyer or prosecutor

This brings me to my final point, what is it like to be a prosecutor:  To have the power to get away with anything. Law Professor and author Angela J. Davis responded to a New York Times question “Do Prosecutors Have too Much Power.” She wrote:

“We live in a democracy in which we hold accountable those to whom we grant power, but we have fallen short when it comes to prosecutors. State and local prosecutors are presumably held accountable through the electoral process, but few voters know enough about the prosecution function to make a meaningful decision at the ballot box. When prosecutors run for office, they don’t talk about their charging and plea bargaining policies (if such policies even exist). With a few notable exceptions, most prosecutors run on a “tough on crime” message, providing little, if any, information about anything else. There is even less accountability on the federal level where U.S. attorneys are appointed by the president.

….Unchecked power in the hands of prosecutors is as much a threat to our democracy as it is with any other government official, if not more. Prosecutorial decisions often result in a loss of liberty and even life. We must do a better job of holding prosecutors accountable — at the ballot box and through bar counsel prosecutions, when appropriate.”

( http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/08/19/do-prosecutors-have-too-much-power/federal-proscutors-have-way-too-much-power)

Imagine having that much power, to be a prosecutor means not having to imagine it, it is a reality.  As Mobile Bar Association President Upchurch stated:

“There is an independence to criminal defense lawyers, and a passion and authority in prosecutors, that a civil lawyer might envy. Prosecutors get to carry a badge. They go under the tape at crime scenes. They convene grand juries. All civil lawyers get to do is subpoena medical records.” http://origin.library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1106306587790-68/May2013.pdf

But what happens when prosecutors act in a way that is beyond the authority given to them?

State Bar Associations Must Act Forcefully in Pursuit of Justice

“….  Certainly, there are many district attorneys who abide by the rules and take seriously their duties to seek justice, even when it means losing a case. But there are those who have abused their authority, and they have become emboldened by a weak State Bar that has not acted forcefully enough to address misconduct in the legal profession.” http://www.statesman.com/news/news/opinion/bar-must-act-forcefully-in-pursuit-of-justice/nRg9H/

So we see what Texas, including the Texas State Bar has done to address the abuse of one prosecutor and we see an editorial from a Texas State paper about what Bar Associations need to do.  But what happens if there is a case in Alabama, let’s say in Mobile, Alabama where Attorney Upchurch presides over the Mobile Bar Association?  Will they respond to calls to at least work towards putting mechanisms in place to prevent the innocence from being incarcerated and to help the innocent already incarcerated obtain their freedom?  The Alabama Bar Association and the Mobile Bar Association have not responded to letters I’ve written to them in the past about the case of Rodney K. Stanberry. This is a letter written a couple of years ago, a more updated one is referenced above.   http://www.freerodneystanberry.com/sample_letters_to_rileytyson_alabama_and_mobile_bar_associations). These letters have been to inform them about Rodney’s case and to urge them to encourage District Attorney Offices in Alabama to implement Conviction Integrity Units designed to address prior cases where evidence of wrongful convictions exists and to help prevent wrongful convictions.  While I have received one response from the American Bar Association essentially directing me to the state bar association, I’ve never received any form of communication from the Alabama and Mobile Bar Associations.  The last line of the article from The Statesmen is very important to sink in for those who truly believe in justice and fairness: “The Texas legal system certainly needs the State Bar watchdog to bark. But a watchdog that is unwilling to bite cannot effectively protect the house.” http://freerodneystanberry.com/blog/2011/11/22/justice-is-denied-when-justice-is-delayed-holding-district-attorney%e2%80%99s-accountable/

In just the two years since Mobile District Attorney Ashley Rich has been in Office, two different judges have ordered the granting of new trials. I write about the William Zieglar and Toby Priest cases here: http://freerodneystanberry.com/blog/2012/11/21/another-judge-grants-a-new-trial-in-mobile-alabama-a-reaction-to-the-lagniappe-article-on-william-zieglar/.  What the Assistant District Attorneys say in these articles are very telling about the convict and maintain the conviction at all cost mentality found in far too many district attorney’s offices.

Mobile Bar Association President Upchurch states in his “Comments” the following:

“There is a special brotherhood among criminal defense lawyers, and within the family of prosecutors. They protect and support each other. They develop close, personal relationships. They stick together.” http://origin.library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1106306587790-68/May2013.pdf

This is PRECISELY WHY the Alabama and Mobile State Bar Associations and the State of Alabama need to push for Conviction Integrity Unit and help to fund an Innocent Project or something similar such as North Carolina’s Innocence Inquiry Commission as a District Attorney who may have a 14 year relationship with prosecutors in her office may be hesitant to address what the judges stated in the Zieglar and Priest cases, thus, the “it’s business as usual” message may prevail. I had a painful exchange with a state legislator who did not feel that there was a need for a state funded innocence project in Alabama because the judicial system allows for appeals and that the Governor can grant pardons and clemency. After I shared with the legislator in question this letter from former Governor Riley stating that Alabama Governors DO NOT have the ability to grant pardons, I received no further response (http://freerodneystanberry.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/Gov_Bob_Riley.3135215.jpg)

I wonder what it would be like to be a criminal defense lawyer or prosecutor (Conclusion)

I am perfectly aware that criminal defense attorneys and prosecutors may see the worst of the worst and it does have an impact on them, prosecutors want to get the bad people off the streets.  But to be a prosecutor should also be to understand that you have a moral, ethical and legal duty to work just as hard to prove innocence  as you do to find guilt- this is what Supreme Court Justice stated Ruth Bader Ginsburg said in the Thompson v. Connick case where John Thompson spent 18 years in prison (14 on death row) for crimes he did not commit, prosecutors withheld evidence showing his innocence, and, unfortunately, the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision essentially gave prosecutors further immunity from being held accountable for these actions. As Thompson stated following the disappointing U.S. Supreme Court ruling: “If I’d spilled hot coffee on myself, I could have sued the person who served me the coffee,” he said. “But I can’t sue the prosecutors who nearly murdered me.” (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/us/30scotus.html?_r=0 see also his New York Times op-ed entitled “The Prosecution Can Rest, But I Can’t” (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/10/opinion/10thompson.html?pagewanted=all)

District Attorney Ashley Rich seems to believe what Justice Ginsburg said in the Thompson case that it is among prosecutors unique ethical oblications to produce Brady evidence to the defense. Rich said when she ran for office in 2010 (this when she was a candidate running to be the District Attorney for Mobile County):

“Ashley Rich, a Mobile Assistant DA for 14 years and current candidate to replace John Tyson, Jr. said on a radio show in Mobile, AL on September 16, 2010 during the 7am (cst) hour in response to a question about the Duke LaCrosse case and prosecutors withholding exculpatory evidence: “If as a prosecutor you do not disclose exculpatory evidence, your career is over.  Integrity is something that is so important because when you are a prosecutor, you not only have the duty to prosecute people and to put people in jail, but you also have a duty to uphold the law. You have the duty to do that with integrity and with the ethical standards in place… You must disclose exculpatory evidence because if you don’t, nothing good comes from it and essentially you have prosecuted someone who may not have committed the crimes because you didn’t disclose exculpatory evidence.  It is good that we have the Duke LaCrosse case as an example of what not to do.”  She went on to say that she would reopen a case and evidence should be reviewed. www.freerodneystanberry.com or to listen to the radio program: http://freerodneystanberry.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/u7am0916AshleyRich1.mp3

So why doesn’t she practice this now? Why, knowing what she knows about the case of Rodney K. Stanberry, does she opt to maintain the conviction as opposed to working towards freeing an innocent man?  To be a prosecutor means sometimes sanctioning the suppression of a legitimate confession, sanctioning the withholding of evidence, ensuring that you do not place a spotlight on the close-knit community of prosecutors by acknowledging that at times, they did not do the right thing, and to practice a maintain a conviction at all cost mentality.  We must never forget the case of Michael Morton, not only did the prosecutor withhold evidence that led to him spending 25 years of his life in prison, but the prosecutors convinced Morton’s family of his guilt and with the power and authority prosecutors wield, they also wield trust.  Morton’s own son changed his name on his 18^th birthday, believing his dad was guilty of murdering his mother.  For 25 years Morton was the criminal and a member of the victim’s family, but the prosecutors treated him to one of the most unjust acts imaginable, taking away his freedom, and convincing the jury and his family that they were doing the right thing.  As much as we value prosecutors, value their role in society, value the need for people to work hard to put away bad folks even if the pay is low and the glory can be fleeting, we must value the pursuit of truth and justice, regardless of how much time has passed by, regardless of how it may look.

Mobile Bar Association President Michael Upchurch, please do what you can to encourage prosecutors to pursue true justice and to encourage the establishment of a body to review cases where there is evidence of innocence. And the next time you write a very intriguing column such as the one you wrote in the newsletter that I am commenting on, please include your thoughts about the ethics of prosecuting the innocent and ensuring that they remain in prison. It is a false sense of justice that I’m sure you’d object to.

Peace,

Artemesia Stanberry

www.freerodneystanberry.com and www.freerodneystanberry.com/blog

April 30^th 2013

A Brave and Courageous Act: Jason Collins and Texas Judge Louis Sturns

Jason Collins is Gay and Judge Sturns Issues Warrant for Former Prosecutor for Prosecuting an Innocent Man.

Jason Collins is gay. He is Black and Gay and a professional basketball player. Jason Collins is said to be the first active professional athlete to admit that he is gay. He revealed this in the recent edition of Sports Illustrated. Judge Louis Sturns is a conservative, Republican judge in Texas, a state known for its high number of executions and a tough on crime mentality. He was appointed by Governor Perry; he is Black, conservative, and a Texas Judge.  When Judge Louis Sturns issued an arrest warrant for a fellow Texas judge who, as prosecutor, withheld key material that led to Michael Morton spending 25 years of his life in prison, he performed a brave, but necessary, act.

Former President Bill Clinton, whose daughter Chelsea went to Stanford University with Jason Collins, said the following as reported by ABC News: “It is also the straightforward statement of a good man who wants no more than what so many of us seek: to be able to be who we are; to do our work; to build families and to contribute to our communities,” Clinton wrote in a statement. “For so many members of the LGBT community, these simple goals remain elusive. I hope that everyone, particularly Jason’s colleagues in the NBA, the media and his many fans extend to him their support and the respect he has earned.” http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/04/bill-clinton-praises-jason-collins-on-athletes-coming-out/

President Barack Obama took time out of his schedule to call Jason Collins to say that he was impressed by his courage and First Lady Obama tweeted “So proud of you, Jason Collins! This is a huge step forward for our country. We’ve got your back! –mo” from her twitter account.

Neither made a public statement about Judge Sturns and the Texas Inquiry Commission and their investigation of an individual who distorted the very system of justice that we value and respect. The State acknowledging a wrong and issuing an arrest warrant for a sitting judge who stole 25 years of a man’s life is huge. I have NEVER IN MY LIFE seen this occur, and I follow wrongful convictions closely. It was epic! A judge was saying to the public that we will not tolerate this, even if it is one of our own committing a horrendous act. Judge Sturns’ demonstration of bravery and courage is very refreshing, it brought tears to the eyes of those of us who know people who have been wrongfully convicted. Judge Sturns’ action may not result in many prosecutors coming out in favor of truth and justice versus the conviction, or a sea of change in the convict at all cost game of far too many prosecutors/District Attorneys play, but it does emboldened the wrongfully convicted and those fighting on their behalf that they should never give up. Dr. King is quoted as saying that the moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice. This is what we saw at the end of Michael Morton’s 25 year battle when the person responsible for his unjust incarceration was arrested for it.

Things can change in an instant, so why not live truthfully

Jason Collins said that part of his reason for revealing that he is gay is the impact the Boston Marathon Bombing had on him- “Things can change in an instant, so why not live truthfully?” (http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/29/17971190-nba-center-jason-collins-comes-out-im-black-and-im-gay?lite)

He is absolutely right and Clinton and Obama are right to applaud people perceived to be brave in taking a step that may not be received well. I would like for Barack Obama and Bill Clinton to praise Judge Sturns and the Texas Inquiry Commission for their work on reviewing the work of a prosecutor that led to Michael Morton spending 25 years in prison for crimes he did not commit (http://wrongfulconvictionsblog.org/2013/04/19/judge-issues-arrest-warrant-for-former-prosecutor-in-michael-morton-case/ ). Judge Louis Sturns of Forth Worth, TX issuing a warrant for the arrest of Ken Anderson said the following, as reported by the Statesman newspaper:

In a blunt and scathing ruling, District Judge Louis Sturns said Anderson acted to defraud the trial court and Morton’s defense lawyers, resulting in an innocent man serving almost 25 years in prison.

“This court cannot think of a more intentionally harmful act than a prosecutor’s conscious choice to hide mitigating evidence so as to create an uneven playing field for a defendant facing a murder charge and a life sentence,” Sturns said. http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/ken-anderson-court-of-inquiry-resumes/nXRLm/

Morton wasn’t in contention for million dollar contracts, he did not know a President of the United States who could give him encouragement as he endured his nightmare, and he could not decide when he would do simple things such as when to shower and when to eat, let alone the freedom to do anything, while being accused of a horrible crime, the murder of his wife. For 25 years he endured life as a convicted and imprisoned murderer. He was the victim’s family while also being the convicted innocent. And when he was released and exonerated, he maintained dignity, integrity and optimism, even though he was innocent and incarcerated for 25 years. He didn’t ask for anything but justice. Prosecutors need to come out in favor of truth and justice even if it means admitting that an innocent person had been convicted. Ken Anderson and his successor were responsible for Michael Morton spending far too long in prison, the Texas Court of Inquiry and Judge Sturns were responsible for just a little bit of justice being directed towards Morton and others in the system.

Addressing Wrongful Convictions Should Be a National Priority

I don’t begrudge Jason Collins for admitting who he is, more power to him, I would just like to see President Obama, whose Justice department has come under fire for its role in wrongful convictions (http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-04-16/local/35453369_1_hair-and-fiber-fbi-lab-benjamin-herbert-boyle) and Bill Clinton, who played the tough on crime game to get elected, to also say something about the Michael Morton case, the Ken Anderson arrest, and what it means for the system of justice. Please, dear President and Former President, the many innocent people languishing in prison and the many exonerated would at least like to see some acknowledgement that the system has failed them and that the arrest of a prosecutor who withheld evidence that led to an innocent man spending 25 years of his life in prison is one small step towards the giant leap we must take to ensure that innocent people aren’t convicted and incarcerated. I have said before that of all the people I’ve seen invited to the White House, I have yet to see the many men and women who were innocent and exonerated invited to the White House. The Innocence Project reached its 300^th person exonerated via DNA evidence last year, I’m not sure if any of them got public encouragement from former and current presidents; that would also be a huge step for our country.

Peace,

Artemesia Stanberry

www.freerodneystanberry.com

http://freerodneystanberry.com/blog/2013/04/22/when-texas-gets-it-right-former-prosecutor-held-criminally-responsible-for-putting-innocent-man-in-prison/

44- An innocent man celebrates his 44^th birthday in prison. Why?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEVURKsGoMI

“Integrity is something that is so important because when you are a prosecutor, you not only have the duty to prosecute people and to put people in jail, but you also have a duty to uphold the law. You have the duty to do that with integrity and with the ethical standards in place… You must disclose exculpatory evidence because if you don’t, nothing good comes from it and essentially you have prosecuted someone who may not have committed the crimes because you didn’t disclose exculpatory evidence. Candidate Ashley Rich (September 16, 2010 ) Ashley Rich is now the Mobile County District Attorney after winning the election to replace former DA John Tyson, Jr. http://freerodneystanberry.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/u7am0916AshleyRich1.mp3

Dr. Wilmer Leon (a slight paraphrase): Rodney, after talking to you and after speaking with your cousin over the course of many years, you believed in the system and still have faith in the system. It is interesting to hear you now, you still seem to have faith in the system. Rodney, yes, yes I do, maybe it is a character defect…. The system has not only engaged in a miscarriage of justice for me, but also carried out an injustice to the victim. You can hear the full interview here; you can hear Rodney towards the end of this show that features his former supervisor, an eyewitness on the scene, his father (Earsell), sister(Toni), and cousin (Artemesia) : http://freerodneystanberry.com/blog/?attachment_id=78

The best birthday gift that could be given to Rodney K. Stanberry is the gift of freedom and the gift of justice.

Rodney K. Stanberry- Innocent and Incarcerated

Imagine spending half your life dealing with being wrongfully accused, arrested, convicted, and in prison for crimes you did not commit. That is Rodney’s daily reality. From his arrest in April 1992, his conviction in 1995, his first day of prison in March 1997 and his 44th birthday, which April 27^th, 2013, this has been his reality. It is a very sad commentary on the judicial system that this injustice has yet to be corrected. It took 25 years for it to be corrected in Michael Morton’s case, the Mobile District Attorney’s Office is more concerned with the conviction than with justice in Rodney’s case. No one wins, no one receives closure when the wrong person is convicted (except for the prosecutors). As I state in a previous blog, DA Ashley Rich fired a prosecutor who did not close enough cases, but look at the prosecutors still in her office involved in wrongful convictions who will not suffer from the same fate (http://freerodneystanberry.com/blog/2013/04/22/when-texas-gets-it-right-former-prosecutor-held-criminally-responsible-for-putting-innocent-man-in-prison/) . I don’t advocate firing people, I advocate acknowledgement of the wrongful convictions and reforms. You can contact DA Rich today- (251) 574-5000, (251) 574-8400 or ashleyrich@mobileda.org. If you’ve contacted her before, let’s make some calls in honor of Rodney’s birthday.

Compelling Reasons for District Attorney Ashley Rich to Free Rodney K. Stanberry

I’m sure you’ve read or heard about a former Texas prosecutor, now judge, arrested for withholding evidence that led to Michael Morton spending 25 years of his life in prison for crimes he did not commit (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323309604578433032759359460.html).

In Rodney K. Stanberry’s case, the prosecutor in his case, Joe Carl Buzz Jordan, said, under oath, that he went to Rikers Island prison while visiting family in New York to see if the person they state claims was the shooter existed. On vacation so no notes were taken

(http://freerodneystanberry.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/20100914155013.256151941.pdf). Understand, the District Attorney’s office had this statement from that person in 1992- (http://freerodneystanberry.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/Rene_Whitecloud.26225239.pdf)

so it is hard to imagine that this was an “I’m on vacation, why don’t I just visit Rikers Prison” visit.

John Tyson, Jr. (Mobile DA- 1994-2010) says in this letter that Jordan travelled to New York in an effort to interview the person his office said was the shooter. Specifically, he says in this letter: “….and Mr. Jordan actually visited Mr. Barbosa in Rykers (sic) Island Prison in New York as he was trying to discover the truth about the case: http://freerodneystanberry.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/09-07-2010_121703PM.24992718.BMP)

Former ADA and now head of the Criminal division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Alabama John Cherry in this letter said there are boxes of material about Rodney’s case (http://freerodneystanberry.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/20100914154832.256154014.pdf. And according to a recent article written by Brendan Kirby in the Mobile Register about whether prosecutors improperly struck potential African American jurors in a 1994 case, U.S. Attorney Cherry, who was the lead prosecutor on the case written about by Kirby, read from notes he had from 1994, thus notes from Jordan’s visit from New York must be available, if Tyson is correct in saying that Jordan travelled there to visit Rene. Here is a link to Kirby’s article published on April 22, 2013 (http://blog.al.com/live/2013/04/prosecutors_improperly_struck.html#incart_m-rpt-2)

I asked John Tyson, Jr. to be sure that all material relating to Rodney’s case is preserved as he is leaving office. His one line response was “Dear M. Stanberry, We will not destroy any records in this office. Never have, never will. Sincerely, John M. Tyson, Jr. District Attorney.” Date Tuesday, December 7, 2010.

Current Mobile County District Attorney Ashley Rich (2011-) was on a radio show campaigning as she was running for office. As I state on our webpage: “Ashley Rich, a Mobile Assistant DA for 14 years and current candidate to replace John Tyson, Jr. said on a radio show in Mobile, AL on September 16, 2010 during the 7am (cst) hour in response to a question about the Duke LaCrosse case and prosecutors withholding exculpatory evidence: “If as a prosecutor you do not disclose exculpatory evidence, your career is over. Integrity is something that is so important because when you are a prosecutor, you not only have the duty to prosecute people and to put people in jail, but you also have a duty to uphold the law. You have the duty to do that with integrity and with the ethical standards in place… You must disclose exculpatory evidence because if you don’t, nothing good comes from it and essentially you have prosecuted someone who may not have committed the crimes because you didn’t disclose exculpatory evidence.  It is good that we have the Duke LaCrosse case as an example of what not to do.”  She went on to say that she would reopen a case and evidence should be reviewed (http://www.freerodneystanberry.com/key_documents_in_rodneys_case)

When one has exhausted appeals in Alabama, how does an innocent man get justice? The DA’s Office has shown that truth and justice isn’t as important as the conviction. The Mobile District Attorney’s Office stated in response to a question by a journalist (Kirsten West Savali) about Rodney’s case the following: “In an exclusive interview with NewsOne, District Attorney’s Office Chief Investigator Mike Morgan, brushes those facts aside, stating that there is still no reason for Rodney Stanberry to be granted another trial:

“All the evidence was heard by the judge during the trial. A decision was made not to allow the jury to hear Terrell Moore’s testimony. A jury found Mr. Stanberry guilty after a trial; that’s why we have a jury system. I will agree with your statement that eye-witness testimony is the most unreliable testimony, but not in this case. Valerie Finley identified Stanberry; she knew him.

For there to be a new trial, “new and compelling” testimony would have to be presented. Even if the jury was not allowed to hear Moore’s testimony, that was a decision made by the judge.” (http://newsone.com/1809115/rodney-k-stanberry-is-alabama-still-the-land-of-jim-crow/)

I ask you, what can be more compelling than a prosecutor withholding evidence that further proves that the defendant is innocent? In the State of Texas, it was enough to arrest a prosecutor. District Attorney Ashley Rich said this was a very serious matter to her-when she was running for office. She should personally review Rodney’s case and do what is in her power to release Rodney K. Stanberry, who is in his 17^th year of a wrongful conviction. You can ask her about it. The numbers to her office are (251) 574-5000, 574-6685 and 574-8400 (Mike Morgan). She can also be reached at ashleyrich@mobileda.org.

Sincerely,

Artemesia Stanberry

artemesia@freerodneystanberry.com

Other compelling evidence- here is the link to the confession made by one of the two people ACTUALLY involved in the brutal crimes against the victim: http://freerodneystanberry.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/20100914155256.256155350.pdf

Terrell Moore was given testimonial Immunity by Assistant District Attorney Buzz Jordan under one condition- that he tells the truth. As you see by clicking on the agreement above, the Agreement was approved and signed by Joe C. Jordan, Terrell Moore, and Robert F. Clark on April 2, 1993. Rodney’s Trial was in March 1995.

Here is a thorough investigative piece about Rodney’s case: http://www.bostonreview.net/BR38.2/beth_schwartzapfel_valerie_finley_innocent_convictions.php

http://freerodneystanberry.com/blog/2013/04/22/when-texas-gets-it-right-former-prosecutor-held-criminally-responsible-for-putting-innocent-man-in-prison/

April 21, 2013

I want to bring to your attention this very important occurrence, a prosecutor who is being held criminally responsible for withholding evidence that led to Michael Morton spending 25 years of his life in prison for crimes he did not commit ( http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/ken-anderson-court-of-inquiry-resumes/nXRLm/). A warrant was issued for now Judge Ken Anderson following a hearing by the Texas Court of Inquiry hearing about whether Anderson withheld key evidence that could have prevented Morton from spending 25 years of his life behind bars for crimes he did not commit. The judge made a very brave and necessary ruling, he made a ruling not just in favor of Michael Morton, but in favor of the system of justice that far too many prosecutors corrupt when they opt to cut corners to get a wrongful conviction and then work for years, even decades, to be sure that the wrongful conviction isn’t overturned or that the wrongfully convicted isn’t granted parole.

Michael Morton has gotten justice, although this can’t possibly take away the 25 years he spent in prison, being disowned by his own family because the Williamson County, Texas District Attorney’s Office convinced them that Morton was guilty. He has gotten compensated, a bill named after him by the Texas Legislature designed to help prevent prosecutors from withholding exculpatory material, the Texas Bar Association’s ongoing lawsuit against Ken Anderson, a hearing by the Texas Court of Inquiry, and now the prosecutor in his case having to be held accountable, as a criminal would be held accountable for his crimes (by the way, I wrote this blog a couple of years ago entitled “The Prosecutor and the Criminal, the blog isn’t against prosecutors as I think most are good, decent, hard working people who truly want to stamp out crime and put away the bad people, but some prosecutors act like criminals- read to see my rationale http://freerodneystanberry.com/blog/2011/08/11/the-prosecutor-and-the-criminal/-). But for Morton, the “sense of justice” he received did not stop with what is happening to the original prosecutor in his case, Ken Anderson, but Anderson’s successor, John Bradley, was defeated by Jana Duty, who had support of the family of the victim of the same man who murdered Morton’s wife. When prosecutors do not get the right person, that person goes on to commit other crimes. As District Attorney, Bradley mocked Morton’s quest to get a bandana containing DNA tested, mocked Morton for claiming he is innocent, and continued to convince Morton’s in-laws that they had the right man. Bradley was defeated by Jana Duty, in part, because the victim’s family (the second victim) supported Duty, frustrated that the Williamson District Attorney’s Office, in pursuit of Morton, let the actual killer free to kill again (that man was just found guilty by a jury, but not before Morton spent the 25 years in prison.) Michael Morton was innocent and incarcerated AND he was the victim’s family, it was his wife who was murdered. Let that sink in for a moment.

Rodney K. Stanberry and the Withholding of Evidence

My interest in wrongful convictions comes from the fact that my cousin, Rodney K. Stanberry, is in his 17^th year of a wrongful conviction. He will be 44 on April 27, 2013. He was nearly 23 when arrested for the crimes for which he is currently serving time. He has had to spend half of his life living a nightmare, innocent, wrongfully accused, arrested and convicted. Wrongfully accused in that Rodney did everything a law abiding citizen is asked to do, he went to law enforcement to help them locate the people he knew to be involved, including providing photos and a telephone number for a detective in New York to help the people from New York to be brought back to answer from the crimes he committed. Because he was perceived to be too helpful, he became a suspect. Rodney worked at the same job from 1989 until just before he began serving his prison sentence in 1997. On March 3, 1992, the day after the brutal crime against the victim were committed, he took the only personal day that he’d taken off to go to the police knowing that they still had time to apprehend the people from New York before they left the bus station as they jumped on the bus from Mobile back to New York as Rodney confronted them. The detective told the victim’s family that he wasn’t at work on March 2^nd, instead of March 3^rd. This could have been easily been corrected, but when they let the guys in New York go and when Jordan gave immunity to the person who confessed, it became convenient to ignore Rodney’s work records and supervisor/co-workers placing him at work.

Wrongfully arrested in that prosecutor Buzz Jordan conducted a full interview with Rodney without reading him his Miranda rights (http://freerodneystanberry.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/Jordan20bfi1.161162558.pdf – at the end Rodney actually you are starting to act as if I am the one who did this, you’ve already established that I was here at work and interaction between Rodney’s trial attorney and Judge McRae about the interview: http://www.freerodneystanberry.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/mcrae1.161162953.pdf). Wrongfully convicted in that the confession was kept from the jury and evidence of innocence was ignored or suppressed by the Mobile District Attorney’s Office because the District Attorney’s Office had a murder-for hire theory that they could not prove, because there was no such plot. But, as it relates to the purpose of informing you of the judge’s ruling to hold former prosecutor, now judge Ken Anderson criminally responsible for withholding evidence that led to the conviction of Michael Morton. The prosecutor in Rodney’s case travelled from Mobile, Alabama to Rikers Island Prison in New York to interview the person he claims shot the victim in Rodney’s case. He said, under oath at Rodney’s Rule 32 Post Conviction hearing, that he was in New York while on vacation and just went to the prison to see if Rene Whitecloud, known as “Ponytail” existed He says no notes were taken, even though he talked to him (http://freerodneystanberry.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/20100914155013.256151941.pdf). If there were an Alabama Court of Inquiry, and if the Alabama Bar Association took interest in this case, I’m sure you’d see similar headlines that you see in Michael Morton’s case (http://www.freerodneystanberry.com/exculpatory_evidence). It isn’t just that the original prosecutor pursues a wrongful conviction, but it is the subsequent district attorneys in the office that work hard to uphold the conviction and to convince the victim’s family that the person convicted is guilty. In Michael Morton’s case, his own son, when he turned 18, changed his name to distance himself from a father that the prosecutor had told his family killed his mother.

When District Attorney Ashley Rich was running to replace John Tyson, Jr., she talked about the integrity of the conviction. She said that if an attorney withheld exculpatory evidence then that prosecutor’s career would be over, it is something that she would not tolerate (http://www.freerodneystanberry.com/key_documents_in_rodneys_case)

But as District Attorney, she is following into the pattern that many fall into (you can see here for a statement from her office about Rodney’s case: (http://newsone.com/1809115/rodney-k-stanberry-is-alabama-still-the-land-of-jim-crow/). Part of the problem, I believe, beyond the convict and uphold the conviction at all cost culture is that she has worked closely over the 14 years that she served as ADA before becoming District Attorney with the people that she would have to talk about these wrongful conviction. I explain it here (http://freerodneystanberry.com/blog/2012/11/21/another-judge-grants-a-new-trial-in-mobile-alabama-a-reaction-to-the-lagniappe-article-on-william-zieglar/ and http://freerodneystanberry.com/blog/2011/11/16/reaction-to-article-in-lagniappe-about-the-toby-priest-case/. When former Assistant District Attorney Eucellis Sullivan was fired by Mobile District Attorney Ashley Rich it was done so because she didn’t win enough cases (http://www.local15tv.com/news/local/story/Ousted-Asst-D-A-Says-Firing-was-Unjust-D-A/_k_jw7YebUuoBnZ-_2FUAg.cspx). She’d worked in the District Attorney’s Office for just a few years, as I recall. Can you imagine Rich going to the head of her White Collar Crimes division (Martha Tierney, the ADA on Rodney’s Rule 32) and saying what was your ACTUAL rationale for making sure that the person who confessed to being with the person who shot our victim when he was shot didn’t say anything? Did you really remain quiet when Jordan said he was on vacation when he interviewed the person we said killed our victim? Imagine. Or if she went to her protégée Jennifer Wright (see Toby Priest case) and say were you really sure he was 100 percent guilty before you prosecuted him? Or if she went to long-term ADA Deborah Tillman with Judge Sarah Stewart’s order in the William Zieglar case and said, can you explain this to me (http://blog.al.com/live/2013/02/how_the_system_failed_william.html). And then go to her personal office, think about why she fired Sullivan and then show the same sense of outrage she felt that this person couldn’t win cases would be directed towards those involved in putting innocent people in prison. Imagine that mentality. But, it is just a pipedream- and, by the way, I don’t want people to be fired, I want a recognition that wrongful convictions have occurred and that she needs to put a mechanism in place to address past cases and to prevent them from happening again. In Williamson County, Texas, Jana Duty, a Republican, defeated Bradley and her Democratic general election challenger, the issue of Michael Morton’s case was front and center. Listen to what DA Jana Duty has to say about the need to pursue justice, open files, and prevent wrongful convictions: http://news.msn.com/crime-justice/video?videoid=2ece7fae-8e7e-4ec7-a623-f9fd0b53ca11#tscptmt. Simply a breath of fresh air.

44

Rodney is about to spend his 44^th birthday in prison. He has another parole date in July and because he will not say he is guilty and remorseful for crimes he did not commit, he likely will be denied parole. His mother died last year; hopefully his 79 year old father will live long enough to see his son a free man. If Rodney were guilty, he likely would be out of prison right now, either he would have taken a plea or he would have been paroled- it seems that going before a parole board as a guilty person who shows remorse is preferable to the parole board than going before the parole board as an innocent man.

It is rare that I will say this, but if Texas Justice, as practiced in aftermath of Morton’s release of prison, would come to Alabama, there will be fewer innocent people in prison and more prosecutors instituting reforms in their respective offices. It is never too late to do what is right, fair, and just.

Sincerely,

Artemesia Stanberry

For more information about Rodney’s case, please read this Boston Review investigative article http://www.bostonreview.net/BR38.2/beth_schwartzapfel_valerie_finley_innocent_convictions.php

Rodney K. Stanberry- Innocent and Incarcerated: Year 17 Begins

March 24^th, 2013

Today marks the completion of Rodney K. Stanberry’s 16th year in prison for crimes he did not commit. The Mobile DA’s office had evidence of Rodney’s innocence, it didn’t fit the prosecutor’s theory, so Rodney remains in prison and an injustice continues. Please keep Rodney, his family, and the victim’s family in your thoughts/prayers, as the Mobile County District Attorney’s office has done both families wrong. No one wins when the wrong person is convicted.

Rodney was arrested in 1992, convicted in 1995, and began serving his prison sentence in 1997.  He was approximately just shy of 23 when arrested, 26 when sentenced, and one month shy of his 28^th birthday when he spent his first day under the Alabama Department of Corrections.  Imagine what his 28^th birthday was like, innocent, incarcerated, and away from his parents, his new baby, his wife, his sister and his loved ones. He is currently 43, he will be 44 on April 27^th, 2013.   Rodney’s father was 58 when Rodney was arrested, 61 when Rodney was convicted, 63 when his son spent his first day in prison, and he is 79 on his son’s 16^th complete year in prison. Rodney has a son who is now a teenager, and his mother died on September 8, 2012, cared for and surrounded by his father and his sister. His parents’ retirement years were taken away over this ordeal. Rodney came from a solidly two-parent, middle class household.  His parents were married for as long as he has been alive. He did not have a criminal record, he had a steady job that he worked at until began serving his prison term, he had a bank account, an excellent reputation as a law abiding citizen, his entire future ahead of him, close friends and family and so on.  If the Mobile DA’s office had followed the evidence instead of a theory, this ordeal would have been over long ago.  Instead, on March 25^th, 2013, he will begin his 17^th year in prison for crimes he did not commit. While a book can and will be written to fill in what occurred during each of the years below, only some highlights are provided for your review.

Although calls to the Mobile District Attorney’s Office seem to be futile, your calls are needed to let District Attorney Ashley Rich know that you are concerned about the continued incarceration of Rodney K. Stanberry. She can be reached at (251) 574-6685 or ashleyrich@mobileda.org or her Chief Investigator Mike Morgan at (251) 574-8400 or mikemorgan@mobileda.org.

March 24^th 1997- March 24^th 1998- Year 1 Adjusting to Prison Life- A Foreign Concept to an innocent man who had never been in prison.

March 24^th 1998-March 24^th 1999- Year 2 (1^st letter from NAACP stating that they could not assist in this case)

March 24^th 1999- March 24^th 2000- Year 3 (1^st letter from the Mobile District Attorney’s Office: http://freerodneystanberry.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/20100914154832.256154014.pdf)

Rodney “celebrates” his 30^th birthday in prison

March 24^th-2000-March 24^th 2001- Year 4

March 24^th 2001-March 24^th 2002- Year 5- Rule 32- Post Conviction Hearing for New trial Denied

March 24^th 2002-March 24^th 2003- Year 6

March 24^th 2003-March 24^th 2004- Year 7 “Guilty Until Proven Innocent” WKRG TV- 5 (Mobile, AL Report (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEVURKsGoMI)

March 24^th 2004-March 24^th 2005- Year 8 (October 18, 2004-Parole Hearing- Parole Denied)

March 24^th 2005-March 24^th 2006- Year 9

March 24^th 2006- March 24^th 2007- Year 10 Important Interview on Dr. Wilmer Leon’s show, featuring Rodney’s supervisor who testified and provided work documents during trial that Rodney was at work (he also spoke at Rodney’s second parole hearing): http://freerodneystanberry.com/blog/?attachment_id=119

March 24^th 2007- March 24^th 2008- Year 11

March 24^th 2008- March 24^th 2009- Year 12 Election & Inauguration of First African American President- a lot of change since Rodney’s arrest in 1992.

March 24^th 2009-March 24^th 2010- Year 13  (July 8, 2009- Parole Hearing- Parole Denied)

Rodney “celebrates” his 40^th birthday in prison.

“Time Served, Or Justice Denied in Alabama,” An article in Lagniappe Mobile written by Bill Riales about Rodney’s case. (June 2009, http://classic.lagniappemobile.com/article.asp?articleID=2332 )

March 24^th 2010- March 24^th 2011 Year 14 Ashley Rich is elected to replace Mobile District Attorney John Tyson, Jr.

During the campaign she was asked about what she would do if a prosecutor withheld evidence- You can listen to her response here: http://freerodneystanberry.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/u7am0916AshleyRich1.mp3.

She seemed very adamant about the issue and said that the integrity of every conviction is important to her.

March 24^th 2011-March 24^th-2012 Year 15

Shortly after her swearing in, Rodney K. Stanberry supporters from around the country called her office and signed a petition in support of his release. This put Rodney’s case on her radar screen as District Attorney, not simply as candidate for the office. As stated: [District Attorney Ashley Rich] has received so many calls that she asked her new investigator to call around to see why people were calling. In honor of her first year as DA, I am asking that people call to follow up to see what she is doing with regard to [Rodney’s] case. More importantly, I’m asking people to ask her to take steps to either get the Attorney General to investigate Rodney’s case, retry or release him immediately. http://newsone.com/1809115/rodney-k-stanberry-is-alabama-still-the-land-of-jim-crow/

Journalist Kirsten West Savali was able to get District Attorney Ashley Rich’s Office on record to discuss Rodney’s case. You can read that interview here: http://newsone.com/1809115/rodney-k-stanberry-is-alabama-still-the-land-of-jim-crow/

March 24^th 2012- March 24^th 2013 Year 16

LagniappeMobile calls for an innocent project, the editorial includes the following: “Another case I believe needs an independent look is that of Rodney Stanberry, who has been in jail for murder for roughly 20 years now. A Lagniappe story in 2009 detailed the very shaky circumstances surrounding his conviction.” (Nov 2012: http://classic.lagniappemobile.com/article.asp?articleID=5978)

March 2013: Investigative Journalist Beth Schwartzapfel completed and published her investigation in the Boston Review. You can read it here: “Who Shot Valerie Finley: Why Is One Man’s Innocence So Hard to Prove” http://www.bostonreview.net/BR38.2/beth_schwartzapfel_valerie_finley_innocent_convictions.php

In this article, she includes the confession by Terrell Moore, a confession that the District Attorney’s Office worked to suppress BEFORE Rodney’s trial, even as he confessed in front of the prosecutor and was given immunity from prosecution if he did so, AGAIN, before Rodney’s trial. You can read the confession here: http://freerodneystanberry.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/20100914155256.256155350.pdf.

But here is a portion of investigative journalist Beth Schwartzapfel’s article as it relates Moore appearing before Rodney Rule 32 Post Conviction Hearing:

Aside from Mike Finley, Taco Jones, Tyrone Dortch, and five of Rodney’s coworkers who testified at Rodney’s trial, there was one additional person who would not have corroborated everything that Valerie said: Terrell Moore. Hoping that Terrell would finally “come clean,” as he had promised Ryan Russell he would, Knizely called him to the stand at the hearing. Terrell seemed prepared to testify.

But Knizely had no sooner asked Terrell his name than Martha Tierney, the assistant district attorney, jumped in. “Judge, I hate to interrupt Mr. Knizely, because I have the world of respect for him,” she began, “but if Mr. Moore is going to testify about the things we anticipate he will testify about, and I’m concerned this is a state forum, and that he would take this stand unrepresented and with no grant of immunity to make statements that could have life consequences for him. I just wish that the Court be apprised of that and our concern about that, sir.”

Knizely was incredulous. “Judge, from our understanding, the State’s [position is that] the man—he has no credibility. And are they are telling us now they are going to prosecute him if he confesses to it?”

It was a good question. If the district attorney’s office truly believed, as it had maintained all along, that Rodney was guilty and Terrell was (for some inscrutable reason) lying about his involvement, then why threaten to prosecute him? To prosecute him, the state would have to believe he was guilty. It would have been almost impossible for both Terrell and Rodney to be guilty, since one story contradicted the other. And yet Tierney was simultaneously defending the verdict against Rodney and threatening to prosecute Terrell. It seemed she was trying to scare Terrell off the stand in order to preserve Rodney’s conviction. The Mobile District Attorney’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment, submitted via email, by phone, and in person.

Tierney pressed on. “If he comes in here and says ‘it’s me pals,’ then it’s goodbye sunlight for the rest of his living life, and he’s young,” she said.

Finally, after some additional back-and-forth, Knizely was allowed to proceed. “Mr. Moore,” he began, “you recall whenever a lady named Mrs. Finley was shot? Do you remember back in those days when you were called as a witness in this case?”

Tierney interrupted again. “Judge, may I object sir, for one minute? Could you just, Your Honor, if I may respectfully ask that at least you instruct him that he does have the right under the Fifth Amendment not to make any statements.”

“I thought I just did that,” McRae said, “but I’ll do it again. Under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution,” he told Terrell again, “you do not have to answer any question which could even possibly incriminate you. Do you understand that?”

“Yes, sir, I understand it.”

“Okay, proceed,” McRae said. But Tierney interrupted again.

“And that the State would use anything he says today, Your Honor, against him.”

“The State can and may,” the Judge said.

“Yes, Your Honor, I understand,” Terrell said, “and I plead the Fifth Amendment.” http://www.bostonreview.net/BR38.2/beth_schwartzapfel_valerie_finley_innocent_convictions.php

As Rodney begins his 17^th year of incarceration on March 25^th, 2017, will Mobile County District Attorney Ashley Rich work to release Rodney K. Stanberry? Rodney has his third parole hearing on July 2013. District Attorney Ashley Rich has worked to block paroles during her time as District Attorney. While one can understand blocking the parole of those who are truly guilty, but to keep an innocent man in prison is far from understandable. When inmates come before the parole board, the parole board wants to hear that they are guilty and express remorse. Rodney refuses to say he is guilty for crimes he did not commit. It doesn’t matter that he has jobs lined up, family support, sponsors, supporting letters from co-workers, friends and even, as occurred during his previous parole, a letter from the arresting officer, the parole board wants to hear that a person is guilty. This is a true travesty of justice, and, as the New York Times carried about the innocent prisoner’s dilemma: http://www.nytimes.com/video/2010/06/04/nyregion/1247467961918/the-innocent-prisoner-s-dilemma.html.

Contact Mobile District Attorney Ashley Rich at (251) 574-6685 or ashleyrich@mobileda.org or her Chief Investigator Mike Morgan at (251) 574-8400 or mikemorgan@mobileda.org.

Peace and Sincerely,

Artemesia Stanberry

http://www.yourblackworld.net/2012/11/black-news/black-community-rallies-to-re-open-the-case-of-rodney-k-stanberry/

Please join us on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-Rodney-K-Stanberry/228205690552328 and https://www.facebook.com/groups/freerodneykstanberry/

February 20, 2013

Gun Control: What Happened When a Gun Enthusiast Tried to Stop the Sale of Weapons (the case of Rodney K. Stanberry)

What happens when a gun enthusiast and hunter, earns a decent paycheck and earns enough money to buy a collection of weapons, as a hobby? He will meet and become friends with gun and hunting enthusiasts. What happens when that person is confronted with people who see his guns obtained legally and want to take them to another state to use for illegal means? Let’s say from Mobile, Alabama to New York. The first reaction of a gun enthusiast would be to say no, partner, I can’t let you have my guns, or any guns, for that matter. This is the action that we would want someone to take. This is what Rodney K. Stanberry did and, as a result, he is about to begin his 17^th year in prison for crimes he did not commit.

As you can read in this LagniappeMobile article from 2009, Rodney K. Stanberry adopted to being a good ole southern boy who liked to hunt: “**A Black Redneck**

When Rodney was 17, his father moved the family from New York to the community of Axis. The elder Stanberry feared the emerging street culture of New York City and the effect it might have on his son. Rodney reveled in the move, taking up hunting and fishing. A self-described “black redneck,” he loved guns and shooting and quickly became familiar with a South Alabama way of life. After having trouble with his infatuation with a white girl and finding work as a sanitation truck driver, he settled down to enjoy life. Then he met Mike Finley, a kindred spirit. They enjoyed guns, ate dinner on Sundays, went shooting as much as they could, and owned many of the same types of weapons. Valerie knew him as part of the family. Mike and Valerie lived in a small house at the end of a cul de sac in Whistler (http://classic.lagniappemobile.com/article.asp?articleID=2332)”

Rodney was a hardworking, young man with a bank account, a job that paid well, two parents married for as long as he had been alive, a sister in college, a middle class background and mentality, no worries, he lived a carefree lifestyle. He did not have a criminal background, and he was not part of any criminal element. He was a young man who worked hard and enjoyed life. He worked hard and played hard. But he also crossed social taboos in choosing the people he dated, and this, too, may have played a role in his arrest and conviction. His “infatuation with a white girl” was a mutual infatuation, but Rodney suffered the negative side of this social taboo at the time. Nevertheless, Rodney was gainfully employed, enjoyed life, and enjoyed being with his family and friends. One Mardi Gras season, in 1992, Rodney invited his childhood friends to Mobile, Alabama including the person who would commit a very violent act while in Mobile. Rodney was connected to Angel “Wish” Melendez in that he fathered a child with Melendez’s sister- he wanted to reconnect with the child, but had no idea of what would transpire during an innocent invite to Mobile to experience Mardi Gras- an invitation that would cost two families decades of anguish.

In Mobile- An Introduction to Rodney’s New Life of a Southern Boy and Gun Enthusiast

When his friends came to Mobile, Rodney took them around town, even taking them to see his good friend Mike Finley, this isn’t unusual as they were hunting and shooting partners and Rodney was a regular at the Finley house. Rodney’s friends would see weapons owned by both the victim’s husband and owned by Rodney and during the course of the visit, they would go target shooting. Once his friends saw his weapons, they wanted some of them. Rodney said no, he told the victim’s husband to not sell them any guns because he feared that they would take them to New York and commit crimes. Once the victim’s husband told his friends that Rodney did not want any guns to be sold to them, his friends shut Rodney out of the conversation about weapons and out of the loop. You can read this portion of the trial transcript featuring the victim’s husband, under oath, admitting that Rodney would not sell weapons to his friends and told the husband to not sell them weapons. Further, the victim’s husband talks about how both he and Rodney visited guns shows and the person the victim’s husband purchased weapons from to specifically sell the guys from New York was met in that way (these weapons would not be traced back because of the Gun Show Loophole-http://www.freerodneystanberry.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/M_Finley_Section_1.255154125.pdf.

Would someone who is trying to stop weapons from getting into the hands of people who would use them illegally then break into his friend’s home to help his friends obtain weapons? It makes no sense in no one’s world but the Mobile District Attorney’s Office that let the theory drive the investigation, as opposed to the facts (their theory was a murder for hire, which they never charged anyone based on this theory).

After the gun buy was set up by the victim’s husband, both [the victim] witnessing it, Rodney’s friends wanted more, they hooked up with another friend in Mobile and while Rodney was at work, they got a driver- the person who confessed to take them to the victim’s house, on March 2, 1992, Fat Tuesday (the last day of Mardi Gras, for the uninitiated). Here is a link to Terrell Moore’s confession ((http://www.freerodneystanberry.com/the_confession-_testimonial_immunity_agreement) . It was a holiday and the victim was at her house, surprising the shooter and Moore, the only two people at the house, other than the victim. (Rodney was at work, his co-workers, supervisor, and work documents show this- he co-workers and supervisor testified under oath. He’d held the same job without missing work since 1989). Angel “Wish” Melendez and Terrell Moore entered the home, stole the weapons, and in the process, Wish brutally shot the victim in the head- please read this link (http://www.freerodneystanberry.com/the_shooter-_what_they_want_to_wish_away). The Mobile District Attorney’s Office wants to pretend that Wish never existed and that Terell Moore, someone who was not a friend of Rodney’s and someone with NO incentive to confess to a crime he did not commit, only confessed to cover for Rodney, so he is not to be believed.

The Assistant District Attorney Buzz Jordan, the prosecutor in Rodney’s case http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEVURKsGoMI ) travelled from Mobile to Rikers Island Prison in New York to visit the person he claims was the shooter (Wish died in a shoot-out before Rodney’s trial, they weren’t interested in Moore, so they were grasping at straws, hoping to implicate Rene Whitecloud and Rodney Stanberry). Whitecloud told the district attorney’s office what they didn’t want to hear; it was what he said earlier in a written statement, Wish and Moore went to the victim’s house, Rodney knew nothing about it (http://freerodneystanberry.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/Rene_Whitecloud.26225239.pdf). To avoid sharing this, the Mobile District Attorney’s Office claimed that the prosecutor was on vacation when he visited Rikers Island prison, so no notes were taken. But, he said, Rene told him to follow the husband. A very convenient statement for him to “hear” to help convince the jury and the family that this wasn’t a burglary gone wrong; it was a murder for hire. He had NO evidence of this and charged no one for a murder for hire scheme, but persuaded the jury that even if Rodney was at work, he was involved in the setting up this shooting. Once again, it was Rodney, a legal gun owner, who tried to keep his friends from illegally purchasing weapons and obtaining weapons. He did not want people to obtain guns who were going to commit crimes, he tried to play crime fighter. Prosecutors claim to be pro-victim, but ask them if they would have cared if Rodney had just shut his mouth and let his friends have and take as many guns as they wanted back to New York. Would they care about the victims in those crimes?

The Gun Show Loophole

As mentioned, the victim’s husband, as he mentions in his trial testimony, bought weapons from a gun dealer met through a gun show and sold the weapons to Rodney’s friends AGAINST Rodney’s wishes. He got these weapons, and sold them to Rodney’s friends from New York, no background check, no paperwork, no paper trail, no one is the wiser. The guys could go back to New York with some weapons, the victim and her husband pockets money, end of story. Not quite, the guys from New York saw the weapons Rodney and the victim’s husband had and they wanted them, they wanted what Rodney refused to sell them and what Rodney tried to prevent them from getting. The weapon Wish purchased from the gun show dealer was used to shoot the victim. Rodney, a person who had weapons legally, a person who tried to stop people who wanted weapons illegally, was foiled by a desire by others to make a few bucks. If a “Gun Show Loophole” had existed, perhaps it would not have been so easy for people with criminal records and criminal intent to purchase weapons, the option would not have been on the table, and said gun would not have been used, at least not in this case, to shoot an innocent woman. It was too easy for a licensed dealer to sell a weapon to someone he dealt with at a gun show to sell weapons that were then sold to individuals from another state seeking to transport the weapons. And if this had not have occurred, an innocent man would not be about to begin his 17^th year in prison for crimes he did not commit. We have to get a handle on the easy accessibility of weapons, and this can be done not by bothering people who obtain guns legally, but it can be done with sensible gun control measures, including closing the gun show loophole.

Peace,

Artemesia Stanberry

www.freerodneystanberry.com

http://www.yourblackworld.net/2012/11/black-news/black-community-rallies-to-re-open-the-case-of-rodney-k-stanberry/

http://freerodneystanberry.com/blog/2012/11/21/another-judge-grants-a-new-trial-in-mobile-alabama-a-reaction-to-the-lagniappe-article-on-william-zieglar/

http://www.freerodneystanberry.com/why_he_is_innocent

January 15, 2013

BET, Vindicated, and Dr. King’s Dream of Drum Majors for Justice

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929. The holiday honoring the life and work of Dr. King will take place on Monday, January 21^st. Dr. King gave up what would have been a relatively comfortable middle-class life to devote his life to the fight against injustice, poverty, inequality, and war. Understand, as a child born to middle class parents, he, as a “Negro”, faced constant reminders that income does not mean equality. There were no water fountains in the Jim Crow South that said Whites, Blacks and Middle Class/Wealthy Blacks. There is no shortage of stories about entertainment giants being relegated to a second class status when traveling in the South. Even so, Dr. King gave up a life of comfort, free from his home being bombed and his life being threatened on a daily basis for a life of a Drum Major for Justice, A Drum Major of Peace, a Drum Major for Righteousness. But, as an African American in the South, in particular, comfort was not guaranteed, as the parents of the four young girls who lost their lives at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church to a bomb because the voices of freedom were on the rise and scaring the white power structure intimately and painfully understood. Indeed, there were a number of homes bombed and lives destroyed, and countless number of people willing to stay silent, including middle class Blacks in Alabama. It is very fitting that the nation stops for a moment to reflect on the King years and the legacy of Dr. King, who was assassinated on April 4^th, 1968, leaving the world with a sound legacy, a record of service, and speeches, sermons and books that continue to provide an outline and prescription for what still needs to be done. One of Dr. King’s most quoted lines is this: “Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere.” The full paragraph from this letter written in a Birmingham jail following criticism from white Alabama clergyman who questioned why he came to Birmingham to engage in non-violent protest is this:

“Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial “outside agitator” idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds” (p77, Why We Can’t Wait, Martin Luther King, Jr.,).

The letter from the preachers to Dr. King came within months of Alabama Governor George C. Wallace’s January 14, 1963 Inauguration speech where he uttered the infamous words Segregation Now, Segregation Tomorrow, Segregation forever (http://media.al.com/spotnews/other/George%20Wallace%201963%20Inauguration%20Speech.pdf), but instead of an open letter challenging Wallace, a letter was directed towards King, for being an outside agitator who needs to let the people in Alabama resolve these issues. Dr. King dually addressed this in his “Letter From a Birmingham Jail.” (http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html)

Legislation passed during the 1960s helped to move the nation forward. Both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 removed many barriers including access, theoretically, to the neighborhood of your choice and access to the voting booth without proving to some individual who could barely read himself that you were literate enough to vote. A lot of blood was shed and lives lost in pursuit of these power achievements during that era. Jim Crow died.

The New Jim Crow

In just a short period of time, a new tool of control developed in the form of the criminal justice system, with the War on Drugs serving as a conduit to incarcerate a large number of individuals, with African Americans disproportionately being the targets of this drug war. Michelle Alexander, author of the New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness writes in her book:

…The current system of control permanently locks a huge percentage of the African American community out of the mainstream society and economy. The system operates through our criminal justice institutions, but it functions more like a caste system than a system of crime control. Viewed from this perspective, the so-called underclass is better understood as an undercaste- a lower class of individuals who are permanently barred by law and custom from mainstream society. Although this new system of racialized social control purports to be colorblind, it creates and maintains racial hierarchy much as other systems of control did. Like Jim Crow (and slavery), mass incarceration operates as a tightly networked system of laws, policies, customs, and institutions that operate collectively to ensure the subordinate status of a group defined largely by race. (Michelle Alexander, p. 13)

The prison industrial complex increased from 300,000 prisoners in 1980 to nearly 2 million by 2000, with the War on Drugs fueling this increase (Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow, p 59). Caught up in the race to incarcerate mentality that existed on the local, state and federal level were innocent people (and people serving time for many more years that the crimes called for). The Innocence Project, alone, has been responsible for over 300 exonerations, and this is just the tip of the iceberg of the number of people who are innocent, but in prison. Dr. King would be speaking out about this. Dr. King left us his legacy, and his prescription-filled speeches, sermons, writings and actions to address injustice.

BET, Vindicated and Real Husbands of Hollywood

It was this reality that has brought me to a high level of frustration of Black Entertainment Television (BET) replacing a show highlighting people who were wrongfully convicted, but who have since been exonerated and vindicated, with a reality show that spoofs a reality show franchise. The first episode of Vindicated aired on December 4th and it highlighted Timothy Cole’s case, a college student wrongfully convicted and vindicated- after he died in prison while on year 13 (for more information about Timothy Cole, please read this piece http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/12/tim-cole-rick-perry ). After the two-part episode on Cole, they aired an episode about Herman Atkins, who was falsely accused of rape and served 12 years in prison, and they promoted other cases, including a female who has been vindicated. But December 18^th was the last episode aired. I applauded BET for the show Vindicated, hosted by Morris Chesnut, and looked forward to a series of Tuesday evening at 10pm shows.

It was to my great surprise to hear promos on the radio about the “ Husbands of Hollywood” to be aired in the spot that featured “Vindicated.” (and, sadly, if you go the website for “Vindicated” you see a promotion of Real Husbands…http://www.bet.com/shows/vindicated/vindicated-all-videos.html) My first reaction was how could BET, on Dr. King’s actual birthday, replace such an important show with a comedy show. Dr. King had a sense of humor just like many people, former Ambassador and civil rights icon Andrew Young has often spoken about how Dr. King liked to laugh and joke around in private, but were he alive today, I can say with ultimate certainty that he would choose “Vindicated” over a the “Real Husbands of Hollywood.” BET collaborated with the Innocence Project to get cases for the show and based on its promos, they have at least a couple of new episodes ready to air. If they believed that Tuesday night was not a good night or if they have plans to resume the show, why not say this, why not put this information on their webpage for the audience it was building to see. It is as if they have decided that three shows were enough.

I understand that in a capitalistic society what is popular and therefore most profitable is often what is aired over what is socially responsible. I personally believe that highlighting how the system of justice has stolen so much from the lives of innocent people and how these individuals were finally vindicated is so much more socially responsible than seeing Kevin Hart clowning in another television show, no disrespect to Mr. Hart, that is his craft, he is funny, and he makes a lot of money at what he does, but in the long term, highlighting injustices within the judicial system will do more good than seeing someone throw a glass of beer, wine, whatever in someone else’s face for laughs. I sincerely hope that BET plans to roll out a series of episodes of “Vindicated” in the near future, I’m just deeply disappointed that one won’t air on Dr. King’s birthday. Perhaps I expect too much.

One of Dr. King’s sermons entitled “The Drum Major Instinct” explains that this instinct is a desire to be out front, a desire to lead a parade, a desire to be first, and it is something that runs the gamut of the whole life… the presence of this instinct is why so many people are joiners (I Have a Dream, Writings and Speeches that Changes the World, edited by James Washington, p 181, 185). The powers that be at BET can be different, they do not have to continue to lead BET to compete with the vast number of reality and programs without much substance; they can follow the beat of their own drum and aim to be drum majors for justice. This is a lot expect of BET given some of the programs and video shows it has and will air, but BET can continue to produce and promote shows such as “Vindicated.” It is devastating to be innocent and in prison. It can happen to anyone. Shows such as “Vindicated” demonstrate how it can happen and can serve as a means to help prevent these sorts of injustices from happening. There was recently a seemingly successful petition to stop the Oxygen Network from airing the show “All My Babies Mamas.” The title needs no explanation. How many people can join an effort to keep “Vindicated” ON the air? It doesn’t simply take a petition to do so, you can start by sending BET a tweet at https://twitter.com/BET or post on the BET Justice Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/#!/BETJustice. In this, I hope you will be a joiner as injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Peace,

Artemesia Stanberry

Artemesia Stanberry is an advocate for Rodney K. Stanberry, who remains in prison for crimes he did not commit. In March of this year, he will complete 16 full years, with four more still to go unless the judicial system corrects itself. For more information about his case, please go to www.freerodneystanberry.com. Also, please join the Facebook group page and fan page at http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/freerodneykstanberry/ and http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Free-Rodney-K-Stanberry/228205690552328.

January 1, 2013

A Relentless Pursuit of Justice- The Case of Rodney K. Stanberry

“Relentless” is how someone recently described me. I have been relentless in this pursuit of justice for my cousin, Rodney K. Stanberry, who remains in prison for crimes he did not commit. He was arrested in 1992, tried and convicted in 1995, and began serving what amounts to a 20 year prison sentence in 1997. It is now 2013, he will soon complete 16 years in prison. Relentless, yes, I guess that describes me, in part. But the truth of the matter is that since the death of Rodney’s mother on September 8, 2012, I’ve felt foolish for actually believing in a just system. I’ve felt foolish for actually believing that prosecutors would be more concerned with the truth than the conviction. I’ve had to come to terms with a sad reality, that once you are convicted, you no longer matter to the power structure, no matter how wrong or unjust the conviction may be. And once you are convicted, the system rarely lets go. Yet, I continue to believe that the system can be just. In 2012, the Innocence Project celebrated the 300^th exoneration that they were responsible for. I truly applaud the efforts of the Innocence Project and hope that they will continue to be able to do what they do on behalf of those who are wrongfully convicted, but this number is but a drop in the bucket of even the estimated number of people wrongfully convicted (http://freerodneystanberry.com/blog/2012/07/22/a-step-in-the-right-direction-giving-the-wrongfully-convicted-a-chance-at-justice/). We have to remain relentless and diligent in the pursuit of justice, no matter how foolish it seems given that we are fighting an uphill battle that isn’t often won by people fighting the wrongful conviction.

Rodney K. Stanberry’s case is worth fighting for. His case is a textbook example of how prosecutors should not behave. Rodney was convicted solely based on victim eyewitness testimony. It was eyewitness misidentification. He was convicted even as another individual confessed in front of the prosecutor two years before the start of Rodney’s trial that he, not Rodney, was at the victim’s home when she was shot, even as work documents and the testimony of his supervisor and co-workers placed him at work when the crimes were committed, and even as there was no physical evidence that placed him at the scene of the crime. Rodney also passed a polygraph test. He did everything a law abiding citizen should do in helping law enforcement and in turn, they arrested and accused him of committing what was a violent crime. You can read more about his case here: www.freerodneystanberry.com and http://www.freerodneystanberry.com/why_he_is_innocent. Rodney is worth fighting for-we hope that you will join us in this battle for justice. By the way, thanks to the prosecutor, the jury never heard the confession as it was an inconvenient truth: http://www.freerodneystanberry.com/the_confession-_testimonial_immunity_agreement

Rodney has remained a strong father for his teenage son. Rodney and I have exchanged so many letters since his incarceration in 1997. At times, I review some of the letters. I recently found one that included what you see below. It is heartwrenching and heartbreaking but shows the love of a father towards his son and son towards father regardless of the situation both are in.

(August 2004 This begins on page 6) “Me and Tre (Rodney’s son, he was about 7 or 8 in 2004, 16 now) took a picture last month that I wanted to send you, wanted to! For some reason, I just can’t come off any pictures of my baby. Isn’t that natural though? My visit day is Sunday, but here’s what’s up. The Mitchell Center is putting on a hunting expo from 4pm to 8pm, so I plan to tell dad to cancel their trip up here, and take Tre there instead. He’ll love that! Darn (he used the other word), I gotta get out there to my baby, Art. Did I tell you what he said on the yard? I told him I love him more than most fathers who are out there with their sons. He said ‘I know dad, if you were out, we would be doing something right now.” That stuff (he used another word) made me feel so good, Art. Then he said something that hurt me and made me feel good at the same time….”

The next part I want to ask if it would be ok to post. It would break your heart. Imagine what a son who wants to be with his dad so much would say. The system truly has an impact on family and friends.

The year 2012 has concluded. In March 2013, Rodney begins his 17^th year in prison. Rodney has marked off about another Christmas and another New Year’s Eve and Day incarcerated for crimes he did not commit. In March, he will complete his 16th year in prison, with four more to go if the Mobile District Attorney’s Office does not work to correct this injustice. On September 8, 2012, Rodney’s mother died. In February of 2013, his father will be 79 years old. His parents had been married for as long as Rodney has been alive- 43 years, he was the product of a strong middle-class family. Another year concluded with this, and other injustices, being sanctioned by the state. At some point, district attorneys should be more concerned about the truth than about the conviction.

This ordeal needs to end, if Rodney had not told the victim’s husband not to sell weapons to his friends because he feared they would take them to New York to use them against innocent people, the weapons would have been sold, which means the robbery that resulted in the victim being brutally shot likely would not have happened. Two families in Mobile, Alabama would have been spared a nightmare, but families in New York would not have had these weapons been taken to New York. If Rodney would not have tried to play crime fighter and law and justice guy, he would be with his family; he would have been by his mother’s side as she took her last breath. He is the innocent and ethical person in this ordeal, and for that, he is an inmate with the Alabama Department of Corrections. Please call Mobile District Attorney Ashley Rich today and tell her to correct this wrong immediately. She can be reached at any of these numbers (ask for her or Michael Morgan- her chief investigator): (251) 574-5000 (a message can be left at this number’s voicemail), (251) 574-8400 or (251) 574-6685. You can also send her an email at ashleyrich@mobileda.org or mikemorgan@mobileda.org.

The Mobile District Attorney’s Office will tell you that they have no compelling reason to reopen Rodney’s case. Here you will find comments made by the Mobile District Attorney’s Office regarding Rodney’s case: http://newsone.com/1809115/rodney-k-stanberry-is-alabama-still-the-land-of-jim-crow/ (please also see journalist Kirsten Savali West’s follow up piece- http://freerodneystanberry.com/blog/2012/11/17/article-about-rodney-kirsten-west-salvali-your-black-world/)

Rodney has another parole hearing in 2013. The parole board wants him to say he is guilty and express remorse. Rodney is not going to admit to guilt for crimes he did not commit. We have to be relentless in our fight for justice. But we also have to look for ways to reform the system. A local (Mobile, Alabama) publication recently called for the establishment of an Innocence Project in Alabama, this is something that justice loving people in Alabama and throughout the country should support: http://classic.lagniappemobile.com/article.asp?articleID=5978&sid=3.

Sincerely and Peace,

Artemesia Stanberry

PS Soon an investigative piece on Rodney’s case will be published. I will share it with you as soon as it is published. Please continue to encourage people to look at Rodney’s case. This is not simply my pursuit of justice for Rodney K. Stanberry; rather, we have a lot of people fighting for Rodney’s freedom and exoneration. It is heartening to know that people in Mobile and nationally want to do more to bring about attention to Rodney’s case, people with the platform to do so. We must continue this relentless pursuit of justice so that by the end of 2013 we can have a toast to Rodney’s freedom.

November 20, 2012

The State Did Nothing Wrong, Or So It Says

I wrote a blog about a year ago following Judge Charles Graddick’s granting of Toby Priest a new trial (http://freerodneystanberry.com/blog/2011/11/16/reaction-to-article-in-lagniappe-about-the-toby-priest-case/). The reaction from the Mobile District Attorney’s Office was typical- we did nothing wrong. On November 15, 2012, last week, Lagniappe Mobile shared another case where Judge Sarah Stewart granted William Zieglar a new trial. If you read the Lagniappe piece (http://classic.lagniappemobile.com/article.asp?articleID=5961&sid=1 ), you would be very saddened, it reads like a true travesty of justice. I want to read the 200 page order Judge Stewart issued. In typical fashion Assistant District Attorney Deborah Tillman said- we did nothing wrong. You’ve gotta read the Lagniappe piece. If Rodney K. Stanberry didn’t have the same judge for his Rule 32 hearing (where both Priest and Zieglar were granted new trials) as he did for his trial, perhaps he, too, would have had a judge express grave concern that the Mobile District Attorney’s Office suppressed a confession for no reason but that it did not fit its theory, that an Assistant District Attorney can be on the witness stand during said Rule 32 hearing and say he was on vacation when he travelled from Mobile to Rikers Island Prison in New York to visit the person he says was the shooter, that evidence went missing before trial, that a “photo line-up” in a hospital took place as the victim was recovering from a coma that resulted in the victim pointing to someone she knew, as she was asked to do, and so on. Even so, the Mobile District Attorney’s Office would say- the State did nothing wrong.

But I am thinking that this is more than about the State not admitting that it was wrong, rather, it may be about the head of the state, in this case, the head of the Mobile District Attorney’s Office, not wanting to say that her co-workers and friends actually engaged in prosecutorial misconduct- intentional or unintentional. ADA Jennifer Wright prosecuted the Toby Priest case. According to what I read in the Mobile Bay Times, she is a protégé of Ashley Rich’s. And, as someone who closely followed Rich’s campaign to replace former DA John Tyson, Jr., I can say that Wright was heavily involved with her campaign. ADA Deborah Tillman states in the Lagniappe article that she has been doing her job for 20 years. Specifically she said “I respect her (Judge Stewart) right as a judge to issue the ruling, but I and this office strongly disagree with it,… I’ve been doing this for almost 20 years and I know that I did not do anything wrong in terms of prosecutorial misconduct.” Assistant District Attorney Martha Tierney has also been in the Mobile District Attorney’s Office for years. During Rodney’s Rule 32 hearing, she essentially told Terell Moore, the person whose confession was suppressed and who pled the 5^th on the witness stand during Rodney’s trial, that he could get life if he said what she thinks he will say when he appeared at Rodney’s Rule 32 hearing to testify. In other words, we gave you a “get out of jail free card, don’t say anything.” (http://freerodneystanberry.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/marthtierney.115133154.pdf ) She also listened to Buzz Jordan, who prosecuted Rodney’s case for the Mobile District Attorney’s Office, make the comment about visiting a prisoner while on vacation, so he didn’t take notes. She was promoted under DA Rich to head the White Collar Unit. And then there is JoBeth Murphee who was on John Tyson, Jr.’s “Murder Team,” a team that credited Rodney’s case as a victory and that claimed that the person they claimed was the shooter, Rene Whitecloud, had been brought to Mobile to stand trial (http://freerodneystanberry.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/mobileregister.256104348.pdf . The Mobile Press Register article is dated April 22^nd, 1995, shortly after Rodney K. Stanberry was convicted.) Certainly members of the Murder Team knew this not to be true, Murphy currently heads the Murder Team unit in the Mobile District Attorney’s Office. District Attorney Ashley Rich was sworn in to be the DA in 2010, but she worked in the Mobile District Attorney’s Office as Assistant District Attorney for 14 years prior, meaning that reopening Rodney’s case would further expose what Graddick stated in the Priest case and Stewart in the Zieglar case, and that simply is not going to happen. It refers back to the “us v. them” mentality. Truth and justice matters less than covering up and denying misbehavior among prosecutors.

Prosecutors Are Necessary and Are Very Valuable, But Accountability is Necessary

I am not saying that any of the individuals are bad prosecutors or that they do not go out of their way to protect the community from the really bad people that are out there, I am saying that in the cases when they are wrong and misconduct did occur, the fallback response should not be that the jury made its decision, we did nothing wrong, end of story. This is precisely why a Conviction Integrity Unit is needed, where there is an independent voice working in the Mobile District Attorney’s Office. Dallas County, Texas District Attorney Craig Watkins leads District Attorneys around the nation in freeing the innocent. And guess what, he was reelected! The Mobile DA’s office is in a dispute with the Mobile County Commission about funding. I’ve asked members of the Commission to not increase funding without an integrity unit attached- http://freerodneystanberry.com/blog/2011/07/26/mobile-da-mobile-county-commission-rodney-stanberry-make-the-call/). Merceria Ludgood, who is now President of the County Commission, is also in leadership role with the Mobile Bar Association (ASB Commissioner at Large – Merceria L. Ludgood)- She can show leadership on this. How much does it cost to keep prosecute and incarcerate an innocent person? If justice isn’t the concern, if humanity isn’t concern, perhaps monetary matters will be.

Campaign Talk, Prosecutor Inaction

During the campaign to replace John Tyson, Jr. as the District Attorney for Mobile County, candidates Ashley Rich and Mark Erwin, her primary opponent, was asked if they would be willing to work with innocence projects when presented with cases where there was evidence of innocence. Mark Erwin said he would be willing to and said that while he doesn’t believe there are many innocent people in prison, that he is willing to work with outside groups to free the innocent. Candidate Ashley Rich said during her campaign when asked on a radio show that the DA’s office already looks at cases and feel no need to work with outside groups. She talked about the integrity of the conviction and that she would reopen a case if she discovers that exculpatory evidence was withheld: (http://freerodneystanberry.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/u7am0916AshleyRich.mp3)

I had an email exchange with Mark Erwin that demonstrated to me that he would have been the one to pursue justice as it relates to wrongful convictions. I would love to share his response, but I like to respect the privacy of people, particularly if they aren’t public officials, although our email exchange came about when he was running for office. Here is my portion of the exchange:

March 22, 2010

Dear Mr. Erwin:

I hope you are doing well. In October of last year you on a local radio show(the Uncle Henry Show). You were asked about your thoughts on those who have serious claims of innocence and whether you would work with Innocence Projects. You expressed the importance of ensuring that the right/guilty person is convicted and that it doesn’t serve society to keep an innocence person in prison. You also stated that you’d be open to working with innocence projects. Your opponent was also on the show but because of the new format, few calls were taken, thus she wasn’t asked the question. However, I did ask the question via email. She said that her office investigate claims of innocence, but didn’t say whether she’d work with innocence groups. I think every candidate for DA should establish a wrongful convictions/convictions integrity unit as DA’s in some areas are starting to do. I ask this question because of a family member who is serving time in prison for crimes he did not commit. I am posting information about him here and will send a hard copy of information to you and others within the next couple of weeks. I hope you at least read and think about these cases. Rodney will begin his 14th year of incarceration on March 24th, his father is 76. He was denied parole this summer even as he had everything a parole board asks for, including letters of support from potential employees, a former member of Congress, the arresting officer, and so on. He will not admit to guilt for crimes he did not commit, and for that, he remains in prison. It is a travesty of justice. You are on facebook- there is a Free Rodney K. Stanberry facebook page.”

Peace, Artemesia

March 27, 2010

Greetings:

You did not respond to my email below. I restrained myself from calling while you were on the Uncle Henry show to ask about wrongful convictions again. You sound sincere in wanting to change the direction of the office; changing the direction of the office also means recognizing that there have been people who were wrongfully convicted and choosing to do something about it, as opposed to allowing someone to languish in prison for political reasons. ADA Rich says that the DA’s office needs a prosecutor, not a politician, indicating that you were the latter. It is easy to play politics on the issue of wrongful convictions because it plays well to the public to say let’s lock them up, keep them locked up and throw away the key, but it takes integrity to recognize when a wrong was done and then to correct, no matter the consequence. It costs on average, I read, $13,000 to keep someone incarcerated in Alabama. At 13 full years as an innocent man incarcerated, Rodney has already cost the taxpayers $169,000. I will send you (and others) a hard copy of the information I posted below making the case that whomever enters the DA’s office should seek to establish a wrongful convictions unit AND that John Tyson, Jr. should not leave office without reopening Rodney K. Stanberry’s case.

Peace, Artemesia

PS I am really sincere when I say that you sound like an honest man who is concerned with the DA’s office fighting on behalf of its citizens. I was impressed by both of your appearances on the Uncle Henry Show and will continue to monitor the race.

I really want to share you Mark Erwin’s response to my email above. It was an excellent response. I don’t know Mr. Erwin, but he seems like the person who would have been more willing to address wrongful convictions. A new face possibly would have changed the culture of the office. Just as I mentioned that if Rodney’s trial judge (Judge Ferrill McRae) wasn’t also his Rule 32 judge, perhaps he would have gotten a new trial; by the same token, if someone who was not immersed in the culture of the Mobile District Attorney’s Office to deny that wrongful convictions exist, that perhaps Rodney and others would have found relief from a wrongful conviction. This isn’t to say that Erwin or anyone else would not have been extremely law and order, it is to say that an outsider would have less incentive to ignore the actions of their prosecutors when said actions lead to innocent people being convicted.

The Toby Priest and William Zieglar rulings made by judges who reviewed the cases and the responses of the two assistant district attorneys provide insight into why candidate Rich responded the way she did, about reviewing cases in-house. If you have your current prosecutors to review cases, the response is going to be, Jordan, for example, did no wrong. It would be bad for morality to say otherwise. Law Professor and author Angela J. Davis responded to a New York Times question “Do Prosecutors Have too Much Power.” She wrote:

“We live in a democracy in which we hold accountable those to whom we grant power, but we have fallen short when it comes to prosecutors. State and local prosecutors are presumably held accountable through the electoral process, but few voters know enough about the prosecution function to make a meaningful decision at the ballot box. When prosecutors run for office, they don’t talk about their charging and plea bargaining policies (if such policies even exist). With a few notable exceptions, most prosecutors run on a “tough on crime” message, providing little, if any, information about anything else. There is even less accountability on the federal level where U.S. attorneys are appointed by the president.

….Unchecked power in the hands of prosecutors is as much a threat to our democracy as it is with any other government official, if not more. Prosecutorial decisions often result in a loss of liberty and even life. We must do a better job of holding prosecutors accountable — at the ballot box and through bar counsel prosecutions, when appropriate.”

( http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/08/19/do-prosecutors-have-too-much-power/federal-proscutors-have-way-too-much-power)

This is very powerful. DA Deborah Tillman is quoted in the Lagniappe piece that Zieglar should have taken a plea bargain like the others. If the man knew he was innocent, why would he take a plea? If the DA’s Office knew he was innocent, did they simply offer a plea to mark it down as a conviction? Reforms are needed, accountability is needed, District Attorney Ashley Rich must be willing to establish a Conviction Integrity Unit, the culture doesn’t allow for change to come from within.

Sincerely,

Artemesia Stanberry

www.freerodneystanberry.com Please sign this petition: http://www.change.org/petitions/mobile-district-attorney-ashley-rich-reopen-and-reinvestigate-rodney-k-stanberry-s-case