Mary Sloan, KCADP Executive Director, ties a yellow ribbon around the Tree of Healing at the annual Commemoration Ceremony. Thank you to all of those who participated!
Read more about the ceremony here.
Photo and Story by Glenn Bartlett (Kansas First News)
Kirk Bloodsworth, Advocacy Director of Witness to Innocence and a death row exoneree, will speak on wrongful convictions and the death penalty here in Kansas (please see below for locations, dates, and times of each event).
Mr. Bloodsworth was accused and convicted of a horrific crime: murdering and raping a nine year-old girl. The evidence used to convict him was the testimony of five eyewitnesses. He spent eight years in prison before DNA evidence proved his innocence. Mr. Bloodsworth is one of 142 individuals in the US to be sentenced to death and later found innocent. Ten years after the initial tests, investigators matched DNA from the case to the real killer.
In Kansas, DNA evidence has played a role in exonerating both Eddie Lowery and Joe Jones of rapes that they did not commit. To date, DNA evidence has led to the release of 305 individuals in the US wrongfully convicted and incarcerated from crimes they did not commit.
While in Kansas, Mr. Bloodsworth hopes his story will highlight how anyone can suffer the injustice of a wrongful conviction: “I was a former Marine with no criminal record, who was nowhere near the scene of the crime, but I was still convicted and sentenced to death for a crime I didn’t commit. If it could happen to me, it could happen to anybody. And it does.”
EVENTS:
Sunday, April 14th
9:15am – Grace Gathering Room at Grace UMC, 11485 S Ridgeview Rd., Olathe, KS 66061
(free to the public)
6:30pm – An Evening with Kirk Bloodsworth Dinner Event, St. David’s Episcopal Church, 3916 SW 17th St., Topeka, KS
($25 per person)
Monday, April 15th
7:00pm – Big 12 Room, Kansas Union, Level 5, University of Kansas, 1301 Jayhawk Blvd, Lawrence, KS
(free to the public)
Tuesday, April 16th
7:00pm – Dugan-Gorges Conf. Ctr., Dugan Library & Campus Ctr., Newman University, 3100 McCormick, Wichita, KS
(free to the public)
Wednesday, April 17th
7:00pm – FHSU Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center, 600 Park St., Hays, KS
(free to the public)
“The Disturbing Case of Eddie Lowery ” will air Friday, December 16, 2011 at 9pm (central time) on MSNBC.
Eddie James Lowery was wrongfully convicted of the rape of an Ogden, KS woman in 1981 and spent ten years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. This MSNBC documentary tells the story of Lowery’s wrongful conviction, his difficult journey to justice and the emotional toll imprisonment had on him and his family.
We hope you’ll have a chance to watch the documentary and learn about how an innocent person can be wrongfully convicted of a crime.
Kansas is not immune to the problems that other states face within the justice system. The first Kansan exonerated through DNA evidence after serving time in a Kansas prison granted an exclusive look into the challenges he has faced since being punished for a crime for which he was innocent.
Of the more than 270 people in the United States exonerated by DNA evidence since 1989, 75 percent were originally convicted based in part on mistaken eyewitness identification, according to the Innocence Project, a New York-based organization that assists with exonerations and DNA testing.
To read this powerful story, please click here.
On Tuesday over 80 people, students and community members alike, gathered at the Ecumenical Campus Ministries at the University of Kansas to hear the heart wrenching story of Darryl Hunt, who was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1984.
During the event, a documentary, “The Trials of Darryl Hunt,” was shown, explaining the series of legal errors and neglect which led to Hunt’s imprisonment for over 2 decades. In 1984, an all-white jury convicted Hunt, a black man, of a the murder of a white copy editor of the Winston-Salem paper. Hunt maintained his innocence for decades and was only released after the real killer confessed; a full decade after DNA evidence had exonerated him.
Darryl Hunt and Imam Khalid Griggs, who helped start the Darryl Hunt Defense Fund were present to answer questions and discuss race and justice issues with the crowd. Hunt and Griggs noted that had the death penalty been Hunt’s punishment, he would not have made it long enough to prove his innocence.
For the LJ World Report click here.
For more information on the Darryl Hunt Project click here.
Innocent Lives in the Balance
In a death penalty system, there is always a real and unacceptable risk of executing an innocent person.
Since 1973, 138 people nationwide have been exonerated from death row because new evidence came to light after they were sentenced to die for crimes they did not commit.
Even with the best intentions, police officers, lab technicians, prosecutors, judges, and witnesses can make mistakes or errors in judgment. In a capital case, even a small mistake can risk the execution of an innocent person.
In Kansas, a quarter of the death sentences handed down since 1994 have been overturned by the Kansas Supreme Court due to errors made during trials.
In recent years, Kansas has also seen a prominent felony exoneration for Eddie Lowery, who was mistakenly convicted of rape in 1982. In 2010, Lowery received a settlement of $7.5 million from Riley County and the City of Manhattan for his wrongful conviction and imprisonment.
To help clarify just how innocent people can be convicted and executed for crimes they never committed, KCADP has put together a series of profiles on innocence cases. In come of these cases, mistakes led to wrongful imprisonment. In other cases, men were wrongfully placed on death row, and some were even executed.
Please visit the “Voices of Innocence” section of our website to read about these cases.
Eddie Lowery: A Kansas Wrongful Conviction
Eddie Lowery
In the early morning hours of July 26, 1981, an Ogden, Kansas woman was brutally raped in her home. Nearby that same night, Eddie Lowery, a 22 year-old soldier stationed at Fort Riley, was involved in a car accident.
Because of his accident’s proximity to the location of the rape, Lowery was questioned by police about the rape all day with no food or rest. When he requested an attorney, he was told he did not need one.
“I didn’t know any way out of that [situation], except to tell them what they wanted to hear. And then get a lawyer to prove my innocence,” said Lowery in 2010.
Exhausted and scared, Lowery confessed to a crime he did not commit, believing the truth would come out in court. After his arrest, Lowery quickly recanted his confession. But, during his trial, it was used as evidence against him.
Lowery was convicted of the rape, and sentenced to 11 years to life in prison. He served nearly 10 years at the Lansing Correctional Facility for a crime he did not commit. In 1991, he was paroled, required to register as a sex offender and was dishonorably discharged from the military.
With the help of his attorney and the Innocence Project, Lowery paid to have the rape kit and other evidence from his case tested in hopes of proving his innocence. Twenty years after his wrongful conviction, Lowery was officially exonerated by DNA evidence. In 2010, the City of Manhattan and Riley County settled a $7.5 million civil suit for Lowery’s wrongful conviction and the 10 years he served in prison.
Eddie Lowery’s case is a clear example of how even with the best intentions, mistakes happen in Kansas criminal trials. Since 1994, a quarter of Kansas death sentences have been overturned by the Kansas Supreme Court due to errors made during the trials. As long as Kansas has the death penalty, wrongful convictions and wrongful executions remain an unacceptable risk.
A Death Row Exoneration.
Juan Melendez
Juan Melendez spent nearly 18 years on Florida’s death row for a crime he did not commit. Convicted of the brutal murder of Delbert Baker in 1984, Melendez was eventually exonerated in 2002.
But how does an innocent man get convicted of murder?
Barely able to understand English at the time of his arrest, Melendez unknowingly waived his rights. Even though Melendez had a strong alibi, more than 16 pieces of evidence proving his innocence were withheld by the prosecution during the trial. Less than a week after his trial began, Melendez was convicted and sentenced to death.
Additionally, Melendez’s conviction was bolstered by the testimony of two questionable witnesses: a police informant with a criminal record and a co-defendant who was threatened with execution, but received a deal for two years probation after testifying against Melendez.
Melendez’s exoneration was only possible after the discovery of a transcript of a taped confession from the real killer, which was found 16 years after Melendez was sentenced to death.
These errors can happen in any trial, but when the death penalty is involved, even one small mistake can put an innocent life at risk. Since 1978, 138 people nationwide have been exonerated because new evidence came to light after they were sentenced to die for crimes they did not commit. An execution cannot be undone. Replacing the death penalty with life without the possibility of parole is the only way to ensure that an innocent person is never at risk of being executed.
Executed. Innocent.
Cameron Todd Willingham and daughter
On December 23, 1991, Cameron Todd Willingham was at home with his three children. Willingham later recalled waking up to the cries of his 2 year-old daughter, and found his house filled with smoke and flames. Willingham remembered frantically trying to reach his daughters in their room, but he could not find them. During his search, his hair caught on fire, and debris fell from the ceiling, burning his shoulder. He fled his burning home through the front door. His three children did not survive the fire.
Willingham was almost immediately suspected of arson. During Willingham’s trial, the lead arson investigator testified that the fire had been deliberately set and pointed to evidence, including specific burn patterns in the home. The arson investigators believed that Willingham had used an accelerant to set the fire and that he had deliberately blocked the exits of the home so the children could not escape.
Cameron Todd Willingham was convicted and sentenced to death in 1992. In 2004, the State of Texas executed Willingham.
Willingham could have accepted a plea agreement and received a life sentence, but he declined, maintaining his innocence. Tragically, the truth about his innocence was discovered before his execution, but Governor Rick Perry did not take any action to stay the execution.
After Willingham’s conviction, each example of arson presented to convict him was found to be scientifically invalid when reviewed by other arson experts, who determined that the fire was accidental.
In 2009, David Grann of the New Yorker published a thorough report on Willingham’s conviction and the likelihood of his innocence. As Willingham’s case shows, executing an innocent person is not just a possibility, but a terrible reality. Mistakes happen. When the death penalty is on the table, even a minor error can lead to the irreversible execution of an innocent person. Replacing the Kansas death penalty with life without parole would ensure that an innocent person could never be executed in Kansas.
An Execution and a Prosecutor’s Regret
Ruben Cantu was 17 years old at the time Pedro Gomez was murdered and Juan Moreno was wounded. On November 8, 1984, both Gomez and Moreno were shot, but Moreno survived the attack with serious injuries. Moreno, who was not a legal citizen of the United States at the time, was pressured into identifying Cantu as the perpetrator. He provided the sole testimony against Cantu.
Cantu had no prior convictions and a solid alibi– he was in a different city the night of the attack. But, Moreno’s emotional testimony swayed the jury. Cantu was convicted and sentenced to death in 1986. Juan Moreno later recanted his testimony, but Ruben Cantu was executed in 1993.
In 2005, 12 years after Cantu’s execution, the Houston Chronicle began investigating the case, and uncovered the serious errors that lead to his conviction and execution. Juan Moreno told the Houston Chronicle that he is certain that Cantu was not the killer, and that police had pressured him to say Cantu had committed the murder.
“It was a case of an innocent person being killed,” Moreno said of Cantu’s execution.
Sam Millsap, the Bexar County District Attorney who made the decision to charge Cantu with a capital offense, has taken personal responsibility for the execution of a likely innocent man.
“The person I prosecuted in 1985, Ruben Cantu, was probably innocent,” said Millsap.
As a former prosecutor, Millsap is one of the last people expected to be opposed to the death penalty, but he knows the risks of the
Sam Millsap
death penalty better than most.
“We have a system that permits people to be convicted based on evidence that could be wrong because it’s mistaken or because it’s corrupt,” Millsap said.
When Millsap visited Topeka, KS, in 2009, he spoke about the lingering doubts about Cantu’s execution, saying that even after all of these years, “the most serious questions imaginable remain.”
As long as the death penalty is an option, there is the unacceptable risk of executing the innocent. As Sam Millsap knows, “…our criminal justice system is driven, on its very best day…by imperfect human beings. These people make mistakes from time to time.” Despite the best intentions, these mistakes can and do happen. Replacing the death penalty with life without parole will ensure that Kansas never executes an innocent person.
