"Johnny Small was 16 years old when he watched his life evaporate. What
he must have felt in 1989 when the judge sentenced him to life and an
additional 16 years in prison for the murder of 32-year-old Pam Dreher
is unfathomable. Small maintains to this day that he was truly innocent......... In 2012, those dark thoughts were quelled by a spark of hope. David
Bollinger, Small’s childhood friend who was the key witness against him
in the 1988 trial, contacted the North Carolina Center on Actual
Innocence with a shocking admission. Bollinger said he lied on the stand in 1988, and he doesn’t think Small killed anyone. The Center’s director, Chris Mumma, filed a motion on Small’s behalf, seeking to have him exonerated. On
Monday, Wilmington, N.C., Superior Court judge W. Douglas Parsons held
the first of several hearings this week that will consider the motion...“There
is more than a reasonable possibility that had Bollinger’s testimony
not been admitted at Small’s trial, a different result would have been
reached,” the motion stated. Now, Bollinger has taken it all back.........The
two weren’t even together at the time of Dreher’s death, Bollinger
said. Instead, he was driving his boss to an automobile auction in South
Carolina. He said that he lied because Wilmington Police
Department detective James Lightner told him to and threatened to arrest
him for murder if he didn’t cooperate. Bollinger said Lightner told him
that he would be charged with Dreher’s murder and receive the death
penalty, the Associated Press reported. Bollinger said he was naive about how the court system worked and believed Lightner. “They
questioned and interrogated me one night, and the rest of the time it
was coaching — telling me what to say,” Bollinger said, according to the
Star. “I lied on him,” Bollinger said, WRAL reported.
“(The investigator) told me, if I didn’t say (that Small did it), he
was going to prosecute me for murder, and I would get the death
penalty.” “I’m sorry. I was forced to do something I didn’t want
to do and I can’t take it back,” Bollinger said, looking at Small who
raised his wrists, still handcuffed together, to dab tears from his
eyes, the Associated Press reported. Bollinger
said he told his grandfather, a former police officer and FBI agent,
about the police forcing him to lie, but his grandfather encouraged him
to stick to that story. “He told me to go along with the story. He knew I would get into trouble, and he didn’t like Johnny,” Bollinger said. Eventually, Small took the stand. Small
is a hulking figure, intimidating with his broad shoulders, shaved head
and arms covered in prison tattoos — a sleeve on his right and an
emblem on his left. “I swear on my life I didn’t do it,” Small said........." Not everyone, though, thinks Bollinger is telling the truth now. Assistant Attorney General Jess Mekeel said Small’s motion should be dismissed. “Innocence is in vogue now,” he told the judge, the Associated Press reported. Exonerations
are certainly on the rise. Last year, about 150 people were exonerated,
a record number, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. In this case, though, Mekeel thinks Bollinger’s just telling a story. “I
think you’ve also heard the phrase, never let the facts get in the way
of a good story,” Mekeel said. “This is a good story. The facts will get
in the way.” Mekeel continued, stating that he considers
reopening cases based on recanted testimony to be a threat to the
American legal system. “This is an attempt to retry a 28-year-old
case. Twelve jurors made that determination already. They heard the
evidence. They concluded the defendant was guilty,” Mekeel said,
according to WRAL. Added Mekeel, “They jeopardize the stability and reliability of our justice system.” Small’s family, though, maintains his innocence......... The hearings are expected to last throughout the week."
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
Johnny Small; David Bollinger: North Carolina; (Police coersion of vulnerable key witness?) Bulletin: Johnny Small spent 28 years in prison after his friend Bollinger accused him of murder. Now, David Bollinger, the friend said he lied. Small's lawyers want him exonerated. Prosecutor Jess Mekeel said Small’s motion should be dismissed... “Innocence is in vogue now,” he told the judge, the Associated Press reported. Exonerations are certainly on the rise. Last year, about 150 people were exonerated, a record number, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. In this case, though, Mekeel thinks Bollinger’s just telling a story. “I think you’ve also heard the phrase, never let the facts get in the way of a good story,” Mekeel said. “This is a good story. The facts will get in the way.” The hearing continues in Willmington, North Carolina; Reporter Travis M. Andrews. The Washington Post.
