"Devereux said Kagonyera eventually pleaded guilty to second-degree murder because he was told by prosecutors and attorneys that he could face a sentence of life in prison or death if convicted at trial. He was sentenced to 12-15 years in prison.
Kagonyera repeatedly asked for the results of DNA tests on bandanas and gloves found on the roadside near the crime scene, Devereux said.
But Devereux said Moore’s office never passed along a State Bureau of Investigation lab report on the findings, which showed that saliva on the bandanas didn’t come from any of the six men who were charged."
REPORTER CLARKE MORRISON: ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES'
Photo: Kenneth Kagonyera;
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BACKGROUND: Kenneth Kagonyera had been in the county jail for 13 months when he finally gave in. Prosecutors and investigators interrogated him repeatedly, he says, and told him he faced at least 25 years in prison for first-degree murder, with life or a death sentence possible. So he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 2000 slaying of Walter Rodney Bowman. "It just kind of wore down on me," he later told the commission investigating whether the justice system wrongly imprisoned him. Kagonyera was sentenced to 15 years in prison, as was his co-defendant, Robert Wilcoxson. Both continue to maintain their innocence. The two men are currently having a hearing before a three-judge panel that could free them. The hearing comes after the N.C. Innocence Inquiry Commission in April found enough evidence to indicate the men are innocent. That evidence includes the confession of another man and DNA testing that points to other suspects. (BCNN1.com)
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"ASHEVILLE — Not long after a home invasion that left Walter Rodney Bowman dead from a shotgun blast, a clearly upset Robert Earle Rutherford walked into the Trophy Club, a former friend testified, The Asheville Citizen-Times story by reporter Clarke Morrison published earlier todau under the heading, "Murder confessions recalled at Asheville Innocence Hearing."
"Then came the confession, Kevin Polk told the court Thursday," the story continues.
"“He was distraught,” Polk said. “I said, ‘What’s wrong?’
“That’s when he told me they tried to rob Mr. Bowman. He also told me that Brad Summey was the one who shot him.”
Polk’s testimony came on the fourth day of a special hearing before a three-judge panel in Buncombe County Superior Court to determine if two men convicted of Bowman’s murder — Kenneth Kagonyera and Robert Wilcoxson — are really innocent.
Bowman, 51, was killed on Sept. 18, 2000, after three men stormed into his house, their faces covered with bandanas, according to witnesses.
The defendants’ attorneys contend that Rutherford, Summey and Lacy “J.J.” Pickens actually committed the crime but weren’t seriously investigated.
Polk, who served 10 years in federal prison before his release last year, said he and Rutherford were fellow drug dealers in Asheville when Bowman was killed.
“I sold drugs for Robert Rutherford at one time,” he said.
Polk’s testimony is consistent with that of a federal drug agent who told the court earlier this week that Rutherford called him from a federal prison in 2003 and confessed, naming Summey and Pickens as his accomplices.
Also Thursday, Rutherford’s cousin took the witness stand.
Alexander McKenzie, who is serving time in a Kentucky prison for robbing an Asheville bank in 1997, said an April article in the Citizen-Times about consideration of the case by the N.C. Innocence Inquiry Commission prompted him to write a letter to District Attorney Ron Moore.
McKenzie said he learned in the article about Rutherford’s confession to the drug agent. He wanted to tell Moore what he knew about the case.
Moore and Assistant District Attorney Kate Dreher drove to the prison in Inez, Ky., in June to interview McKenzie about the homicide.
“I told them that when I called my cousin, he told me they were planning to rob Walter Bowman,” he said.
McKenzie said he talked with Rutherford again about two weeks later.
“He said things had gone bad,” he said. “He said the dude got dropped.”
“What did you take that to mean?” defense attorney Chris Fialko asked.
“Killed,” McKenzie said.
Under cross-examination, McKenzie said he contacted Moore in hopes of getting a reduction in his prison sentence in exchange for information, but that wasn’t the only reason.
“I felt it was wrong for the old man to die the way he did,” he said. “It had been on my mind since I read it in the paper.”
Rutherford was brought to Buncombe County as a potential witness from a prison in Texas, where he’s serving time for a drug conviction. But defense attorney Noell Tin said Rutherford has refused to testify.
Sean Devereux, Kagonyera’s former attorney on the murder charge, testified that his client was implicated in Bowman’s murder by other suspects, but he always maintained his innocence.
“Mr. Kagonyera was adamant that he wasn’t involved,” he said.
Devereux said Kagonyera eventually pleaded guilty to second-degree murder because he was told by prosecutors and attorneys that he could face a sentence of life in prison or death if convicted at trial. He was sentenced to 12-15 years in prison.
Kagonyera repeatedly asked for the results of DNA tests on bandanas and gloves found on the roadside near the crime scene, Devereux said.
But Devereux said Moore’s office never passed along a State Bureau of Investigation lab report on the findings, which showed that saliva on the bandanas didn’t come from any of the six men who were charged.
“This document is not in my file,” he said. “If I had had this, I certainly would have spoken to (Kagonyera) about it. If I had had this and handed it to Kenneth Kagonyera, he would not have pleaded guilty.”
Testimony is to resume Monday."
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The story can be found at:
http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20110916/NEWS/309160046/Innocence-hearing-testimony-recounts-murder-admissions?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
For a breakdown of some of the cases, issues and controversies this Blog is currently following, please turn to:
http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=120008354894645705&postID=8369513443994476774
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
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