{"id":59,"date":"2011-11-22T21:30:46","date_gmt":"2011-11-22T21:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/freerodneystanberry.com\/blog\/?p=59"},"modified":"2011-11-22T21:51:00","modified_gmt":"2011-11-22T21:51:00","slug":"justice-is-denied-when-justice-is-delayed-holding-district-attorney%e2%80%99s-accountable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freerodneystanberry.com\/blog\/?p=59","title":{"rendered":"Justice is Denied, When Justice is Delayed: Holding District Attorneys Accountable"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>November 22, 2011<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<strong>Justice is Denied, When Justice is Delayed: Holding District Attorneys Accountable\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Free Rodney Stanberry\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cEVURKsGoMI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.statesman.com\/opinion\/bar-must-act-forcefully-in-pursuit-of-justice-1965320.html?printArticle=y\">http:\/\/www.statesman.com\/opinion\/bar-must-act-forcefully-in-pursuit-of-justice-1965320.html?printArticle=y<\/a><\/p>\n<p>This is a very good editorial written by staff at <em>The Statesman<\/em> that one would love to see in the <em>Mobile Press Register<\/em>.\u00a0 Many of the practices carried out to get the conviction of Michael Morton, who spent 25 years in prison for crimes he did not commit, are similar to tactics engaged by the Mobile District Attorney\u2019s Office to get a conviction of Rodney K. Stanberry, who is in his 15<sup>th<\/sup> year in prison for crimes he did not commit. Rodney is about to spend his 15<sup>th<\/sup> Thanksgiving in prison and his 15<sup>th<\/sup> Christmas in prison.\u00a0 I am sure that when Michael Morton reached his 15<sup>th<\/sup> year, the\u00a0 prosecutor in his case (Williamson County (TX) District Attorney\u2019s Office), no doubt, cared nothing about him and if someone mentioned Morton to the prosecutor, he may have said something about doing the time for doing the crime. \u00a0Well, to quote Gov. Rick Perry, \u201coops,\u201d for Morton actually did not do the crime, but he certainly did the time. \u00a0\u00a0The same for Rodney, he is doing the time because the prosecutor did not care to prosecute those who did the crime.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Below are three highlights from the <em>The Statesman<\/em> editorial as it relates to Rodney\u2019s case.<\/p>\n<p><strong>State Bar Associations Must Act Forcefully in Pursuit of Justice<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2026.\u00a0 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.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Alabama Bar Association and the Mobile Bar Association have not responded to letters I&#8217;ve written to them in the past about Rodney&#8217;s case (click here to see one of the letters sent to them: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.freerodneystanberry.com\/sample_letters_to_rileytyson_alabama_and_mobile_bar_associations\">http:\/\/www.freerodneystanberry.com\/sample_letters_to_rileytyson_alabama_and_mobile_bar_associations<\/a>). These letters have been to inform them about Rodney\u2019s 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.\u00a0 While I have received one response from the American Bar Association essentially directing me to the state bar association, I\u2019ve never received any form of communication from the Alabama and Mobile Bar Associations.\u00a0 The last line of the article from <em>The<\/em> <em>Statesmen<\/em> is very important to sink in for those who truly believe in justice and fairness: \u201cThe Texas legal system certainly needs the State Bar watchdog to bark. But a watchdog that is unwilling to bite cannot effectively protect the house.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Arrogance of Prosecutors, Discarding Ethical Rules to get a Conviction<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2026.But Morton&#8217;s case denies us that comfort. We&#8217;re learning that mistakes or unintentional errors were not the cause of an unjust outcome. Instead, we&#8217;re seeing through court records the actions of an arrogant legal team that bent, broke or entirely discarded ethical rules to convict Morton.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0The editorial speaks about the arrogance of former Williamson County District Attorney \u00a0Ken Anderson (prosecutor in Morton\u2019s case and now Judge) and his team that &#8220;bent, broke or entirely discarded ethical rules to convict Morton (who spent 25 years in prison for crimes he did not commit). Rodney&#8217;s case was listed as a victory for former Mobile DA John Tyson, Jr.&#8217;s \u201cMurder Team.\u201d His prosecutor, Joe Carl &#8220;Buzz&#8221; Jordan, one can easily argue, bent, broke and\/or entirely discarded ethical rules to convict Rodney K. Stanberry. Go to www.freerodneystanberry.com and read what even the late Judge Ferrill McRae said in court about Jordan\u2019s practices when interviewing Rodney at his work site, Jordan\u2019s Motion in Limine- which made hearsay everything that could have exonerated Rodney- and see what Mr. Jordan himself says about visiting someone he (and Mobile DA\u2019s Office) says was the shooter of the victim at a prison in Riker&#8217;s Island New York while on vacation, he says, so he didn&#8217;t take notes, meaning the notes from this visit was not given to Rodney&#8217;s lawyers. On the other hand, he claimed that Rene Whitecloud (the person the DA\u2019s Office says was the shooter) said to &#8220;follow the husband&#8221; so he tainted the trial with some sort of murder for hire scheme, but he did not pursue this as a charge against anyone, not even the husband, but used this to get a conviction of Rodney. But again, there will likely be no editorial such as the one written by <em>The Statesman<\/em> written by the <em>Mobile Press Register<\/em> and Mobile District Attorney Ashley Rich, like Mobile District Attorney John Tyson, Jr, will continue to sanction practices pursued to convict Rodney K. Stanberry.\u00a0 The Mobile District Attorney\u2019s Office is not being held accountable for practices that have, can and will continue to produce wrongful convictions.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<strong>Mobile District Attorney Ashley Rich<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Mobile District Attorney Ashley Rich should do more to address wrongful convictions by her office in the past and to put in mechanisms to help prevent wrongful convictions in the future.\u00a0 During the campaign, she said in response to a question that if you withhold exculpatory evidence, then your career is over. She talked about the importance of operating within ethical rules (go to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.freerodneystanberry.com\/exculpatory_evidence\">http:\/\/www.freerodneystanberry.com\/exculpatory_evidence<\/a> to listen to her radio interview during the campaign). As District Attorney she must be held accountable.\u00a0 She shouldn\u2019t develop the mentality that once you are convicted, we are going to make sure that that conviction is maintained at all costs, no matter if there is evidence of a wrongful conviction, and\/or evidence of prosecutorial misconduct.\u00a0 She has been the District Attorney for less than a year (and the Assistant District Attorney (ADA) under John Tyson, Jr. for 14 years).\u00a0 Just as she feels honored to receive an award for sending people to death row <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.al.com\/live\/2011\/07\/mobile_da_ashley_rich_wins_awa.html\">http:\/\/blog.al.com\/live\/2011\/07\/mobile_da_ashley_rich_wins_awa.html<\/a>),\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 she should also implement a Conviction Integrity Unit similar to the one established by Dallas County, TX District Attorney Craig Watkins and feel equally honored for being recognized for doing so.\u00a0 Just as she feels proud that her Assistant District Attorney\u2019s are blocking paroles, she should feel proud when she creates an environment where cases will be reopened and seriously reviewed by independent investigations when there is evidence of wrongful convictions. (The latest tweet from the Mobile District Attorney\u2019s Office about blocking paroles was posted on approximately Nov. 8<sup>th<\/sup> and read like this:\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/user?screen_name=MobileDA\" target=\"_blank\">MobileDA<\/a> Happy to report that Chief Assistant Tillman was successful in stopping the early release of 4 prisoners today at the Parole Board), courtesy of www.mobileda.org.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0In Mobile District Attorney Ashley Rich\u2019s upcoming election in 2016, she may have a tougher primary opponent who does not get caught up in a high profile murder case and a general election opponent who does more than put up a website.\u00a0 In the event of this occurring, she wants high conviction rates to go along with awards for putting people to death, and the high number of paroles blocked to secure her reelection.\u00a0 And in this scenario, the high conviction rate, in my opinion, trumps how those convictions are gotten!\u00a0 Again, I refer you to the case of Michael Morton where the prosecutor in his case went on to become a judge: http:\/\/www.innocenceproject.org\/Content\/Texas_Man_Freed_After_Serving_Nearly_25_Years_for_Murdering_His_Wife_That_New_DNA_Evidence_Shows_He_Didnt_Commit.php.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<strong>Toby Priest: 3 Years in Prison Before Mobile DA Dropped His Case <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><em>\u201cI still fell 90 percent sure that he did it, I feel there is a 10 percent (chance) he didn\u2019t, and I\u2019ve been in the D.A.\u2019s office about eight years, and I\u2019ve prosecuted a lot of cases, and I\u2019ve never tried a case where I wasn\u2019t 150 percent sure that the person committed the crime. I just didn\u2019t feel comfortable going forth, although a big portion of me in my heart of hearts believes he did it, but I didn\u2019t feel comfortable going forward.\u201d Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Wright<\/em><strong> (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.lagniappemobile.com\/\">www.lagniappemobile.com<\/a>&#8211;<em> <\/em><\/strong><em>the November 16<sup>th<\/sup>-29, 2011<sup> <\/sup>edition. Article is entitled\u201d Did Toby Priest Spend Three Years in Jail\u00a0 for a crime He Didn\u2019t Commit?\u201d and it is written by Ashley Trice)<\/em><em><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>As what point did ADA Wright\u2019s belief percentages about Priest\u2019s guilt move from 150% to 90%? \u00a0Was it when she tried him in the first trial, before Judge Graddick overturned his conviction, or after the DA\u2019s office dropped the robbery charge and she was asked about it by <em>Lagniappe<\/em>? This matters because the defendant\u2019s rights, especially if they are innocent, shouldn\u2019t begin and end with a trial. Even if all of Priest\u2019s appeals were exhausted, if a prosecutor believes that there is a chance that he may be innocent, then the prosecutor should work to ensure that the individual is not serving time in prison for crimes he did not commit!<\/p>\n<p>In a previous blog post, I wrote about the case of Toby Priest\u00a0 (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffreerodneystanberry.com%2Fblog%2F2011%2F11%2F16%2Freaction-to-article-in-lagniappe-about-the-toby-priest-case%2F&amp;h=pAQGjuwwSAQH5eBcdi0lU6OfTAmeOKcxAQhTSQtP4BWyyow\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/freerodneystanberry.com\/blog\/2011\/11\/16\/reaction-to-article-in-lagniappe-about-the-toby-priest-case\/<\/a>). Priest spent three years (some consider him fortunate given the number of years so many released had to serve, but one day is too many if you\u2019re innocent) in prison for crimes he may not have committed. \u00a0From the <em>Mobile<\/em><em> Register<\/em>:<\/p>\n<p>MOBILE, Alabama &#8212;\u00a0 In an unusual move today, prosecutors abruptly dropped a robbery charge against a Mobile man in the middle of his trial.<\/p>\n<p>Toby Priest, 42, said he spent more than three years in prison for a crime that he didn&#8217;t commit.<\/p>\n<p>Priest&#8217;s mother, Shirley Cato, hugged him and wept after he walked free. &#8220;The DA&#8217;s Office failed the city of Mobile, failed the state of Alabama, and they failed my son,&#8221; Cato said. (<a href=\"http:\/\/blog.al.com\/live\/2011\/10\/prosecution_drops_robbery_case.html\">http:\/\/blog.al.com\/live\/2011\/10\/prosecution_drops_robbery_case.html<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>Circuit Court Judge Charles Graddick and former Mobile District Attorney, who is also running for the position of Chief Justice of the Alabama State Supreme Court, overturned this conviction, which is surprising (take a look at my blog post on Toby Priest for my rationale). \u00a0Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Wright was the prosecutor for Priest\u2019s trial and for his second trial granted by Graddick.\u00a0 From the <em>Mobile Press Register<\/em>: \u201cAssistant District Attorney Jennifer Wright said that she still believed Priest committed the crime, but she wasn&#8217;t prepared to move forward on a case with doubts.\u201d \u00a0(I hope that if a judge other than Graddick had overturned the conviction that the Mobile District Attorney\u2019s Office would have acted in the same manner). Wright, by the way, is also Rich\u2019s Prot\u00e9g\u00e9, according to the <em>Mobile Bay Times<\/em>, and may have ambitions to be a judge.\u00a0\u00a0 Rodney K. Stanberry and so many others who were wrongfully convicted by the Mobile District Attorney\u2019s Office do not have a chance of having their cases reopened with an honest and open investigation when the mentality that I believe he is guilty, regardless of what the evidence may show, is prevalent. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>When DA\u2019s are seeking reelection and ADA\u2019s are seeking judgeships, the conviction trumps everything. \u00a0Exculpatory evidence withheld? Doesn\u2019t matter; Prosecutors tainting the jury with murder for hire charge to get a conviction, doesn\u2019t matter; prosecutor misleading the public, press, and jury (ie victim said Rodney shot her from the moment she awoke from a coma, when he knows that isn\u2019t true, prosecutor misleading jury, media and public about the shooter being brought to Mobile for a trial)? Doesn\u2019t matter; Getting a conviction so that prosecutors can have a high conviction rate? Priceless and Does matter.\u00a0 Getting a high conviction rate in the hopes that you\u2019ll be the next District Attorney? Priceless! That mentality will not change as long as District Attorney\u2019s Offices are not held accountable.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As I\u2019ve said many, many, many times before, one can be law and order and tough on crime, while also ensuring that there is integrity in every conviction. And as I also said before, I truly wish District Attorney Ashley Rich success in her role as District Attorney. I just think that part of her success has to be an effort to seriously address cases where there is evidence of a wrongful conviction, addressing cases by allowing an independent investigator to review said cases, even if all appeals have been exhausted. One can be as tough as nails on crime, while also ensuring the integrity of every conviction.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Sincerely,<\/p>\n<p>Artemesia Stanberry<\/p>\n<p>PS &#8212;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>To read more about Michel Morton\u2019s case, please go to: http:\/\/www.innocenceproject.org\/Content\/Texas_Man_Freed_After_Serving_Nearly_25_Years_for_Murdering_His_Wife_That_New_DNA_Evidence_Shows_He_Didnt_Commit.php<\/p>\n<p>Please read: http:\/\/www.freerodneystanberry.com\/the_shooter-_what_they_want_to_wish_away<\/p>\n<p>Finally: <em><strong>Please contact Mobile District Attorney Ashley Rich at (251) 574-8400 or <a href=\"mailto:ashleyrich@mobileda.org\">ashleyrich@mobileda.org<\/a> or\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:chadtucker@mobileda,org\">chadtucker@mobileda,org<\/a> to request that she reopens Rodney&#8217;s case. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"al2fb_like_button\"><div id=\"fb-root\"><\/div><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n(function(d, s, id) {\n  var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n  if (d.getElementById(id)) return;\n  js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;\n  js.src = \"\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=Free Rodney K. Stanberry\";\n  fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n}(document, \"script\", \"facebook-jssdk\"));\n<\/script>\n<fb:like href=\"https:\/\/freerodneystanberry.com\/blog\/?p=59\" layout=\"standard\" show_faces=\"true\" width=\"450\" action=\"like\" font=\"arial\" colorscheme=\"light\" ref=\"AL2FB\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"al2fb_send_button\"><div id=\"fb-root\"><\/div><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n(function(d, s, id) {\n  var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n  if (d.getElementById(id)) return;\n  js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;\n  js.src = \"\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=Free Rodney K. Stanberry\";\n  fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n}(document, \"script\", \"facebook-jssdk\"));\n<\/script>\n<fb:send ref=\"AL2FB\" font=\"arial\" colorscheme=\"light\" href=\"https:\/\/freerodneystanberry.com\/blog\/?p=59\"><\/fb:send><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>November 22, 2011 \u00a0Justice is Denied, When Justice is Delayed: Holding District Attorneys Accountable\u00a0\u00a0 http:\/\/www.statesman.com\/opinion\/bar-must-act-forcefully-in-pursuit-of-justice-1965320.html?printArticle=y This is a very good editorial written by staff at The Statesman that one would love to see in the Mobile Press Register.\u00a0 Many of &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/freerodneystanberry.com\/blog\/?p=59\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/freerodneystanberry.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/freerodneystanberry.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/freerodneystanberry.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freerodneystanberry.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freerodneystanberry.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=59"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/freerodneystanberry.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62,"href":"https:\/\/freerodneystanberry.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59\/revisions\/62"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/freerodneystanberry.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=59"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freerodneystanberry.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=59"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freerodneystanberry.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=59"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}