{"id":113,"date":"2012-07-22T22:25:10","date_gmt":"2012-07-22T22:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/freerodneystanberry.com\/blog\/?p=113"},"modified":"2012-07-22T22:48:53","modified_gmt":"2012-07-22T22:48:53","slug":"a-step-in-the-right-direction-giving-the-wrongfully-convicted-a-chance-at-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freerodneystanberry.com\/blog\/?p=113","title":{"rendered":"A Step in the Right Direction- Giving the Wrongfully Convicted a Chance at Justice"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Rodney Stanberry on WKRG- 2004<\/a><\/p>\n

July 22, 2012<\/p>\n

A Step in the Right Direction- Giving the Wrongfully Convicted a Chance at Justice<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

There are people in prison for crimes they did not commit. That has become a well-known fact, particularly with the advent of DNA testing.\u00a0 There are many reasons as to why someone may have been wrongfully convicted, but when the state- represented by the Department of Justice and local district attorneys plays a role in these convictions- it is imperative that the state works to correct itself, even if an inmate has exhausted his\/her appeals.\u00a0\u00a0 This is why I applaud the Department of Justice\u2019s decision to review cases where flawed forensics evidence may have led to a wrongful conviction. From the Washington Post<\/em>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Justice Department and the FBI have launched a review of thousands of criminal cases to determine whether any defendants were wrongly convicted or deserve a new trial because of flawed forensic evidence, officials said Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The undertaking is the largest post-conviction review ever done by the FBI. It will include cases conducted by all FBI Laboratory hair and fiber examiners since at least 1985 and may reach earlier if records are available, people familiar with the process said. Such FBI examinations have taken place in federal and local cases across the country, often in violent crimes, such as rape, murder and robbery.( http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/local\/crime\/justice-dept-fbi-to-review-use-of-forensic-evidence-in-thousands-of-cases\/2012\/07\/10\/gJQAT6DlbW_story.html)<\/p>\n

Regardless of the potential financial cost, this is very necessary, as you can\u2019t put a monetary value on justice. This certainly isn\u2019t to say that everyone or even most of the inmates whose cases will be reviewed will be determined to be innocent, but for those who truly are, this gives them a chance to obtain their freedom. \u00a0A Washington Post<\/em> series published earlier this year highlighted additional cases of wrongful convictions pursued by the Department of Justice. The opening paragraph of one article in the series begins: \u201cJustice Department officials have known for years that flawed forensic work might have led to the convictions of potentially innocent people, but prosecutors failed to notify defendants or their attorneys even in many cases they knew were troubled\u201d (http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/local\/crime\/convicted-defendants-left-uninformed-of-forensic-flaws-found-by-justice-dept\/2012\/04\/16\/gIQAWTcgMT_story.html<\/a>).\u00a0\u00a0 You can read this series to see several questionable cases. One can easily argue that the advocacy and investigative reporting by the press led to this decision by the Department of Justice.\u00a0 The advocacy of the press (and public) is also needed to help bring about justice in states where many innocent people also languish in prison as a result of a wrongful conviction at the state and local level.<\/p>\n

How Many Innocents are in Prison?<\/strong><\/p>\n

This past May I wrote a blog, an open letter, actually, to the President asking him to openly address wrongful convictions. http:\/\/freerodneystanberry.com\/blog\/2012\/05\/17\/an-open-letter-to-president-obama-wrongful-convictions\/<\/a> In the blog, I stated that on May 21, 2012,\u00a0a report was released about the number of\u00a0wrongful conviction exonerations since 1989.\u00a0 As reported by Newsone \u201cA new registry compiled by two major universities reveals that more than 2,000 prisoners were incorrectly imprisoned for serious crimes since 1989. After perusing the registry, it has been uncovered that more than half of the newly exonerated prisoners were African American, according to Newser<\/strong><\/a>\u201d (http:\/\/newsone.com\/2016580\/study-half-of-wrongly-accused-prisoners-are-black\/<\/a>). <\/em>The registry was compiled by the University of Michigan School of Law and Northwestern University School of Law.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It is common belief by those who study wrongful convictions that this is a small representation of the many people who have been wrongfully convicted and incarcerated.\u00a0 And, as stated on the Innocence Project\u2019s webpage, the average time that these individuals spend in prison is 13 years!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0(http:\/\/www.innocenceproject.org\/Content\/Facts_on_PostConviction_DNA_Exonerations.php<\/a>).<\/p>\n

More recently, the Birmingham News<\/em> editorial board (Birmingham, AL) wrote an editorial entitled\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOUR VIEW: Another reason to be a little less confident about the outcomes at criminal trials: A new study suggests it’s more common than once thought for people to be wrongly convicted of homicide and sexual assault.\u201d\u00a0 This editorial provides even more grim statistics on the number of innocent people who could be behind bars right now. Citing a Department of Justice funded study conducted by the Urban Institute, the editorial board wrote: \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThose in the legal profession tell us juries get it right more often than not. And more often than not, they do.<\/p>\n

But sometimes, they don’t, a fact driven home in a new study released this week. Specifically, the findings suggest wrongful convictions in cases involving homicide and sexual assault are more common than many assumed. Past estimates were that the rate of wrongful convictions was 3 percent or even less. But in this new study, researchers studying old homicide and sexual assault cases found DNA exonerated a convicted offender 5 percent of the time. When the sexual assault cases were singled out, the DNA tested did not match 8 percent to 15 percent of convicted offenders.\u201d http:\/\/blog.al.com\/birmingham-news-commentary\/2012\/06\/our_view_another_reason_to_be.html<\/a>\u00a0 A 15% chance of being wrongfully convicted, by a jury of your peers! Are these odds that we can be comfortable with? Can we continue to be comfortable with prosecutors responding to cases where there is evidence of wrongful convictions that the jury decided and we can\u2019t be in the position of overturning a jury\u2019s decision. We should fully respect and trust our jury system while also putting mechanisms in place to ensure that in the cases where there was a wrongful conviction, it will be addressed.\u00a0 This is the step that the DOJ is taking, but states should and must follow suit.\u00a0 Sitting in prison as an innocent person goes beyond cruel and unusual punishment.\u00a0 It is mental torture, and it can be, as was the case of Timothy Cole, a college student wrongfully convicted, who died during his 13th<\/sup> year in prison of an asthma attack, a death sentence.\u00a0 One day is too may, 13 years is torture.\u00a0 Anthony Graves knows this far too well as during a significant portion of the 18 years he spent in prison was on death row and in solitary confinement and if you have the stomach for it, see and hear what he experienced in his own words-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 http:\/\/www.democracynow.org\/2012\/6\/22\/from_death_row_to_exoneration_fmr<\/p>\n

Congress- A Step in the Right Direction<\/strong><\/p>\n

An email from the Innocence Project revealed that Senator John D. Rockefeller (D-WV) and Representatives Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Donna Edwards (D-MD) and Daniel Lipinski (D-IL) introduced a bill in their respective houses of Congress that \u201cwill help prevent wrongful convictions by bringing reliable, science-based standards to forensic science (letter sent to subscribers\u2019 inbox from www.innocenceproject.org<\/a>).\u00a0 S. 3378 and H.R. 6106 were introduced on July 12th<\/sup>.\u00a0 As of July 22, 2012, there are no co-sponsors on Sen. Rockefeller\u2019s bill and no additional co-sponsors on the House bill other than the three mentioned.\u00a0 We should applaud members of Congress for seeing the need to ensure that there is integrity in every conviction, but too often bills are introduced only to die in committee. With the Department of Justice and the FBI\u2019s announcement about reviewing cases, Congress should show support by supporting this legislation and moving it forward.\u00a0 This is about human lives. In June of this year, the U.S. Senate held what is considered its first hearing on solitary confinement.\u00a0 Anthony Graves said this to Amy Goodman on Democracy Now<\/em> following his testimony before the Senate hearing:<\/p>\n

Well, you know, the state, they compensated me, but you can never compensate it\u2014compensate me enough for what you stole from me. An apology, it\u2019s never been official, but several people higher up in the government have apologized to me. And I\u2014I mean, you know, I thank them for that, you know, but a true apology would to be\u2014would be to really sit down and analyze our system and realize that we have a big, big problem in our system and that we\u2019re sentencing men to death row and just in prison for crimes that they did not commit, because we have gotten so off track with seeking justice, because we\u2019ve placed the politics over it. And I just wish that, you know, if they\u2019re going to be sincere about an apology, then that would be the way to be sincere about it, is to really take in consideration that our system is definitely broken, and we need to reform it.<\/p>\n

We need to fix it, because it\u2019s for all of us. It\u2019s not just for those; it\u2019s for all of us, because the minute you start thinking that it doesn\u2019t affect you, next thing you know, your neighbor is going to jail for something he didn\u2019t do, and you realize that, you know, it\u2019s just right next door to you. When does it come to you next? Then that\u2019s when you start to realize that it\u2019s part of us all, and we all have a part in this. I\u2019m talking about from the voters, you know, and to the judge, to the jury. We all have a part in this here. And if it\u2019s going to work, we all have to play our hand. I mean, the citizens of our nation, we have to hold those that we elect accountable. We definitely have to. We have to start being the overseers, because our system has gotten way off track, and it threatens all of us now. http:\/\/www.democracynow.org\/2012\/6\/22\/from_death_row_to_exoneration_fmr<\/a><\/p>\n

Are you comfortable enough to believe that you, a family member, a neighbor, or a distant friend would not be among the 15% of individuals wrongfully convicted due to faulty forensics evidence? And if it happens to you, are you willing to wait on average 13 years- spent in an overcrowded prison with actual criminals- to be exonerated?\u00a0 This is why it is important for this type of legislation to be supported.\u00a0\u00a0 In reading through S. 3378, I discovered that the bill calls for a Forensic Science Advisory Committee.\u00a0 This committee is a collaborate effort that would include academic scientists, social scientists, statisticians, law enforcement and victim advocate organizations to implement uniform standards and policies to further the goals of the legislation (http:\/\/thomas.loc.gov\/cgi-bin\/query\/z?c112:S.3378:) .\u00a0 You can call your member of Congress in support of this legislation. The number to the Capitol Switchboard is (202) 224-3121.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Conviction Integrity Units<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dallas County, Texas District Attorney Craig Watkins recognized that people in his county had been wrongfully convicted.\u00a0 Unlike most District Attorneys, he did not put up a \u201cwall of denial,\u201d rather, he opted to set up a Conviction Integrity Unit where he worked with innocence projects on cases where there was evidence of innocence. The result was a number of exonerations, including that of Cornelius Dupree, who spent 30 years of a 75 year prison sentence in prison for a rape and robbery that he did not commit. If he were in most jurisdictions around this country, he likely would still be in prison. He was given a chance at parole if he admitted guilt and that he was a sex offender. He refused, even knowing he would remain in prison (http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2011\/01\/04\/cornelius-dupree-jr-prove_n_804010.html.) The leadership and compassion of DA Craig Watkins who wants to put away all the bad people in his county, while also ensuring that the innocent are not serving alongside those people. This should be a model to be followed!\u00a0 Why isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 Here is an overview of his Conviction Integrity Unit:<\/p>\n

Established by District Attorney Craig Watkins in July of 2007, the Conviction Integrity Unit reviews and re-investigates legitimate post conviction claims of innocence in accordance with the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Chapter 64 (Motion for Forensic DNA Testing).\u00a0 In addition, the Conviction Integrity Unit reviews and prosecutes old cases (DNA and non-DNA related) where evidence identifies different or additional perpetrators.\u00a0 Special Field Bureau Chief Russell Wilson supervises the Conviction Integrity Unit, the Appellate Division, the Public Integrity Division, the Federal Division and the Mental Health Unit, as well as public information, evidence destruction and expunctions at the District Attorney\u2019s Office.\u00a0 The Conviction Integrity Unit is staffed by two assistant district attorney, one investigator and one legal assistant.\u00a0 This special division is the first of its kind in the United States. http:\/\/dallasda.co\/webdev\/<\/p>\n

It seems that this can be done without an expense to District Attorney Offices.\u00a0 In 2010, the Manhattan District Attorney\u2019s Office created a Conviction Integrity Unit.\u00a0 From its webpage:\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Manhattan District Attorney\u2019s Office spares no effort in seeking justice in every case that comes before it.\u00a0 Through the years and around the country, innocent men and women have been convicted of crimes they did not commit.\u00a0 This not only robs an innocent person of his or her freedom, it leaves a criminal on the street, free to commit more crimes.<\/p>\n

To protect New Yorkers and ensure justice, District Attorney Vance created the Conviction Integrity Program in March 2010.\u00a0 The Program is comprehensive in scope, and is unique in purpose: not only does it address claims of actual innocence, it also seeks to prevent wrongful convictions from occurring.\u00a0 The Program has three components: a Conviction Integrity Committee, a Conviction Integrity Chief, and an outside Conviction Integrity Policy Advisory Panel. (http:\/\/manhattanda.org\/preventing-wrongful-convictions<\/a>).<\/p>\n

One of the cases this unit has before it is the case of Jon Adrian \u201cJJ\u201d Valasquez, whose case was highlighted on Dateline. Luke Russert and NBC spent a decade investigating his case.\u00a0 Please take a moment to review his case: http:\/\/openchannel.msnbc.msn.com\/_news\/2012\/02\/10\/10374404-conviction-a-reporters-10-year-quest-for-answers-in-a-little-known-murder-case?chromedomain=insidedateline<\/a>. \u00a0I saw the report when it aired and recently watched it again.\u00a0 It is an even more disturbing case the more one reviews it.\u00a0 Sadly, as an official stated on the show, that if you think that going to district attorneys with evidence of innocence is going to get someone released, you\u2019re wrong, the system doesn\u2019t work that way. Why doesn\u2019t it?\u00a0 Why shouldn\u2019t it?\u00a0 I sent Luke Russert a tweet asking if it generally takes him and NBC a decade to investigate the a case and if there was an update on Valasquez. His response: \u201c@<\/span>artiestan<\/strong><\/a> JJ’s case is still before the wrongful conviction unit of the #<\/span>NYC<\/strong><\/a> DA. Will update story once decision is issued.\u201d This is from June 21, 2012.\u00a0 I urge you to review Valsquez case and then click on the Manhattan\u2019s District Attorney\u2019s Office to let them know that you are concerned and interested in his case.\u00a0 If you watch the segment on Dateline, you\u2019ll see an individual the police brought in as a witness saying that he did not know nor see Valasquez at the club where an individual was shot. The witness said he was brought into the police department with heroin on his person, but all the police were concerned with was getting him to id someone, anyone, apparently. So he looked through tons of pictures and finally picked someone, that someone being Valasquez.\u00a0 This is a case worthy of a serious review!\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rodney K. Stanberry<\/strong><\/p>\n

Finally, I have a special interest in wrongful convictions because for 16 years, I\u2019ve been advocating for my cousin, Rodney K. Stanberry, who is in his 16th<\/sup> year of a wrongful conviction (www.freerodneystanberry.com<\/a>). I have asked former Mobile District Attorney John Tyson, Jr. and current Mobile DA Ashley Rich to establish a Conviction Integrity Unit.\u00a0 While she was running for office, I sent DA Rich, and her opponent, emails about Rodney\u2019s case and asking how they\u2019d address wrongful convictions.\u00a0 Candidate Rich responded that her office reviews claims of innocence internally, but wouldn\u2019t commit to establishing such a unit. The Mobile District Attorney\u2019s Office has several teams\/units, including a check unit team, a child advocacy team, an investigations team, led by Mike Morgan and a White Collar Crime Team, led by Martha Tierney (see this article featuring Rodney K. Stanberry, Mike Morgan is quoted: http:\/\/newsone.com\/1809115\/rodney-k-stanberry-is-alabama-still-the-land-of-jim-crow\/<\/a>).\u00a0 Although the Mobile District Attorney\u2019s Office has been in a battle with the Mobile County Commission over funding for her office, instituting a Convictions Integrity Team would strengthen the District Attorney\u2019s Office and move District Attorney Rich closer to her campaign vow that there is integrity in every conviction.\u00a0\u00a0 You can call or email her office to ask that she looks into Rodney\u2019s case (251) 574-8400 or ashleyrich@mobileda.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There are people in prison for crimes they did not commit. Are we comfortable as a society when we hear about people such as Mike Morton (freed and exonerated after spending 25 years in prison), Greg Taylor, free and exonerated after spending 17 years in prison, Darryl Hunt, free and exonerated after spending nearly 19 years in prison, and Timothy Cole (posthumously pardoned- he died in prison). If not, then email your members of Congress, District Attorneys, and state officials asking them to implement reforms. There are tangible and intangible costs to incarcerating the innocent.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

Peace,<\/p>\n

Artemesia Stanberry<\/p>\n

artemesia@freerodneystanberry.com<\/a><\/p>\n

PS To hear Candidate Ashley Rich discuss wrongful convictions while he was running to be the District Attorney, u7am0916AshleyRich<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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