STORY: "Death down the hall," by reporter Cody Owens, published by Weld on June, 9, 2015.
SUB-HEADING: "Per capita, Alabama has more inmates on death row than any other state. Where do we go from here?"
SUB-HEADING: "Per capita, Alabama has more inmates on death row than any other state. Where do we go from here?"
GIST: "For 30 years Anthony Ray Hinton lived
down the hall from “Yellow Mama,” the Alabama electric chair that, for
decades, carried out the state’s executions before being decommissioned
in 2002 and put in the attic at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. Hinton, a black man from Birmingham,
watched as 23 men went to go meet “Mama” during his time on death row at
Holman. For 30 years, he sat in his cell and wondered when he would be
called to meet “Mama” while he tried to prove his innocence in a state
that, historically, had only exonerated four death row inmates. On July 25, 1985, while at his mother’s
house, Hinton was arrested and charged in the deaths of two men, one an
assistant manager at a Mrs. Winners’ restaurant on Southside, and the
other at a Captain D’s in Woodlawn. Authorities believed he was
responsible for a string of robberies that left the two men dead and
another wounded. The man who survived, who worked at a Quincy’s in
Bessemer, identified Hinton as the man that shot him. What happened in court involved a
one-eyed defense ballistics expert — the only one Hinton’s lawyer
mistakenly thought he could afford — and a prosecutor who described
Hinton as “evil-looking.” The only physical evidence prosecutors said
linked Hinton to the murders was ballistic. When all was said and done,
Hinton was sentenced to death. And there he sat for 30 years, just down
the hall. On April 3, 2015, Hinton was released
after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled he had ineffective defense counsel,
after a reexamination of the ballistic evidence that could not prove
that a weapon found in his mother’s home was the murder weapon, and
after prosecutors dropped the charges. Jefferson County Circuit Court
Judge Laura Petro dismissed the case. Hinton became the 152nd prisoner
released from death row in the United States since 1983. On June 9,
Alfred Dewayne Brown, a Texas man on death row, was exonerated for the
murder of a Houston police officer, marking the fourth death row case
that has been dismissed by courts in 2015. Hinton’s release helped spark up an old
conversation, not just in Alabama, but nationwide; with so many people
having been set free after being on death row, either because they were
innocent or could not be proved guilty — on average, 4.75 people a year
since 1983 — should the death penalty be put down? .........The tears fell freely as Hinton stepped
out of the Jefferson County Jail and into the arms of his family and
friends. He was entering into a world he hadn’t known in some time. In
many ways it was a familiar world with simple pleasures long forgotten,
he said. “This is the first time I’ve felt the
rain in 30 years,” Hinton said as ABC News cameras followed him after
his release. “It feels amazing. “They had every intention to execute me
for something I didn’t do. For all of us who say that we believe in
justice, this is the case to start showing people,” Hinton said during
his brief comments to the press after he was released. “As for the
victims’ families, I will continue to pray for you, just as I have for
the last 30 years. It was a miscarriage of justice not just to me, but
also to the victims.” The most critical piece of evidence in
Hinton’s case was the gun, which was found at his mother’s house the
night of his arrest, Dunham explained. During the trial, Hinton’s
defense attorney thought he could only afford a one-eyed ballistics
expert, a civil engineer, who was elderly, and more of an expert in
military ordnance than in ballistics. “He was so inept during the trial, he had
to have help to turn on the machine to look at the bullets… The
prosecution just tore him apart,” Dunham said. “Miraculously, he
actually made the correct determination, but the prosecution worked him
over so badly that the jury didn’t consider his opinion.” “All they had to do was test the gun,”
Hinton said after his release. “But when you think you’re high and
mighty and above the law, you think you don’t have to answer to nobody.
But I got news for you, everybody that played a part in sending me to
death row will answer to God.” What happened to Hinton back in 1985
demonstrates how access to money often makes the difference in the
outcome of a case, Dunham explained. “The Alabama system of indigent
representation is not regarded as one of better in the country. The
indigency of the defendant places him or her at risk of an unfair death
sentence. Race plays big role in this as well. You don’t need to look
further than Anthony Ray Hinton for evidence of this,” Dunham said. “Basically he was a prime suspect in the
murder based on an erroneous identification by one of the victims. That
turned out to be a demonstrative error. During the time of one of the
murders, he was in a locked warehouse working, sweeping floors and he
had signed in there. His boss even corroborated this in court,” Dunham
explained. The victim in question worked at a
Quincy’s steakhouse and identified Hinton as the man who shot him. While
Hinton had an alibi, prosecutors at the time attacked the contention
that Hinton was unable to leave work and commit a robbery. They did not
try him in the Quincy’s case, however. Nonetheless, the prosecution focused
their attention toward convicting Hinton. At one point, Dunham said, the
prosecutor made an overtly racist comment toward Hinton, saying,
“Anyone could tell he was evil just by looking at him.” Thirty years later, he was released and
the charges dropped. “So somehow, this one-eyed ballistics expert, all
along, had formulated the correct scientific opinion,” Dunham added. Hinton’s case has shed light on a series
of problems with the lack of consistency among death penalty sentences,
from admissible forensic evidence to eyewitness testimonies that result
in a conviction, Dunham said."
The entire story can be found at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
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:
