LARRY GRIFFIN; PART ONE; "THE FOURTH CASE"; STANDDOWN TEXAS PROJECT;

Larry Griffin has been described by the StandDown Texas Project as "the fourth case."

"The fourth case" is described in a note dated June 19m 2007, on the Project's Web-site;

"In recent years, journalists have identified four cases in which likely innocent men were sentenced to death and executed," the note begins;

"Three of those cases involve men executed in Texas, Ruben Cantu, Carlos DeLuna, and Todd Willingham," it continues; (This Blog is following the aftermath of all of these controversial executions);

"The fourth case is that of Larry Griffin, executed by Missouri in 1995. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch broke the story in 2005."

AP notes that the report of an official investigation is expected to be completed shortly. This AP dispatch is available via the Joplin Globe.

A two-year investigation into whether a St. Louis man was executed for a crime he didn’t commit is expected to wrap up soon, the lead investigator in the case told The Associated Press Monday.

Rachel Smith, an assistant circuit attorney, is among three attorneys and two police investigators who have been looking into the case of Larry Griffin since July 2005.

Griffin was executed in 1995 for a fatal 1980 drive-by shooting. Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce ordered the investigation after the victim’s family, among others, came forward and expressed concern that Griffin was wrongfully convicted and executed.

Smith said she expects to turn in her report to Joyce by the end of this month. Unless Joyce orders further investigation, the report could be released to the public soon after that, Smith said.

Saul Green, a Detroit attorney who was among those pushing for Joyce to reopen the case, said the Missouri case is among four or five around the country in which investigators are looking into whether innocent people were executed.

At the time of the execution, Griffin’s lawyers said the sole eyewitness had recanted. They said another man claimed to have joined three others in killing Moss.

Asked by The Associated Press days before the execution if he killed Moss, Griffin declared, “I did not! If I’m going to be punished for something, it ought to be for something that I did. Innocence doesn’t mean anything.”

Smith said her investigation involved nearly 80 interviews of people ranging from police to prostitutes who knew Griffin. She declined to discuss the findings but said she was confident in them.

The original St. Louis Post-Dispatch does not seem to be available on the Post-Dispatch website. Here is a brief that appeared in the New York Times, July 13, 2005

"Prosecutors in St. Louis are investigating whether a man may have been wrongly executed in 1995. Jennifer Joyce, the St. Louis circuit attorney, said Monday that she had reopened the case of Larry Griffin, who was convicted in a drive-by killing in 1980, after she was approached by several people with doubts. Prosecutors said Mr. Griffin killed Quinton Moss, who had been questioned but not charged in the killing of Mr. Griffin's brother. A witness identified Mr. Griffin as the gunman. But at the time of the execution, Mr. Griffin's lawyers said the witness, who was in the federal witness protection program, had recanted. They said another federally protected witness claimed to have joined three other men in killing Mr. Moss.""

Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;