PUBLISHER'S NOTE: This Blog is interested in false confessions because of the disturbing number of exonerations in the USA, Canada and multiple other jurisdictions throughout the world, where, in the absence of incriminating forensic evidence the conviction is based on self-incrimination – and because of the growing body of scientific research showing how vulnerable suspects are to widely used interrogation methods such as the notorious ‘Reid Technique.’ As all too many of this Blog's post have shown, I also recognize that pressure for false confessions can take many forms, up to and including physical violence, even physical and mental torture.
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog:
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POST: "Ron Williamson: Time served: 11 years", published by The Innocence Project.
GIST:" Ron Williamson grew up in Ada, Oklahoma, and was the youngest of three children and his parents’ only son. A talented baseball player, he was the 41st pick in baseball’s 1971 amateur draft. A shoulder injury ruined his career though, and Williamson returned home in the late 1970s.
In 1988, Williamson, along with Dennis Fritz, was convicted of the murder of Debra Sue Carter. Her body had been found six years earlier. Williamson was sent to death row and spent eleven years in prison before being exonerated.
In December 1982, twenty-one year old Carter was found sexually assaulted and murdered in her apartment in Pototoc County, Oklahoma. Fritz and Williamson were known to frequent the restaurant where the victim worked and allegedly the victim had complained to a friend that they “made her nervous.” Williamson had also been seen at the restaurant the night of the murder, according to a man named Glenn Gore.
Investigation and Trial:
Williamson and Fritz were not charged until five years after the murder (the charge was delayed by state exhumation of the victim after an incorrect analysis of fingerprints at the scene was noted). An inmate that Fritz was paired with eventually came forward and stated that Fritz had confessed to the murder. This confession came one day before the prosecution would have been forced to drop the charges against Fritz. Another informant testified that she had heard Williamson threaten to harm the informant’s mother as he had the victim. Additionally, police said that Williamson told them he had a dream about committing the crime. He allegedly told police that he dreamed that he stabbed and strangled the victim. This statement was treated as a confession. Forensic testing was performed on various items of evidence. Seventeen hairs were recovered and were “matched” to both Fritz and Williamson, though we now know that this type of hair analysis is not a validated forensic science practice. Furthermore, the semen evidence found at the crime scene was subjected to blood testing, and the results suggested that the perpetrator(s) were non-secretors, and both Fritz and Williamson are non-secretors. Williamson was sent to death row and Fritz was sentenced to life in prison."
Post-Conviction Investigation
After their convictions, Fritz and Williamson filed separate appeals. Upon the denial of his claim, Fritz contacted the Innocence Project and learned that Williamson’s lawyers were planning to test the physical evidence. The Innocence Project filed an injunction to make sure that the cases were joined with regard to DNA testing and were granted testing in 1998. The test results proved conclusively that neither Fritz nor Williamson was the source of the semen found and that none of the “matched” hairs belonged to them. Further testing of the evidence matched to Glenn Gore, the state’s main witness at trial. Williamson and Fritz were released and exonerated in April 1999, after spending 11 years in prison for a crime they did not commit. Williamson had, at one point, come within five days of execution.
Life after Exoneration:
Soon after their release, Williamson and Fritz visited New York, where they took a tour of Yankee Stadium. Williamson said he “just got a taste of how much fun they were having up here.” Williamson and Fritz filed a civil lawsuit against the Pontotoc County district attorney and others, which was settled for an undisclosed amount of money. Sadly, on December 4, 2004, Williamson died in an Oklahoma nursing home, surrounded by his family. He had recently been diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver. He was 51 years old. Williamson and Fritz’s case is the subject for John Grisham’s first nonfiction book, The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town, which was published in 2006 and was a bestseller.
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INNOCENCE PROJECT CLASSIFICATIONS:
Contributing Causes of Conviction: False Confessions or Admissions, Government Misconduct, Inadequate Defense, Informants, Unvalidated or Improper Forensic Science
Type of Forensic Science Problem: Flawed Serology, Hair Analysis
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The entire post can be read at:
https://www.innocenceproject.org/cases/ron-williamson/------------------------------------------------------------------
Read National Registry of Exonerations entry on Willkiamson and Fritz at the link below: "Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz were convicted in 1988, in Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, of the murder of Debra Sue Carter. Her body had been found six years earlier. Fritz was sentenced to life in prison. Williamson was sent to death row.
The
21-year-old victim had left her waitressing job and was found raped and
murdered in her apartment the following day. Fritz and Williamson were
known to frequent the establishment where the victim worked. The
prosecution presented evidence that Carter had previously complained to a
friend that they “made her nervous.” Williamson had been seen at the
restaurant the night of the murder without Fritz.
Fritz was not
charged until five years after the murder (delayed by state exhumation
of the victim after an incorrect analysis of finger prints at the scene
was noted). An inmate that Fritz was paired with eventually came forward
and stated that Fritz had confessed to the murder. This jailhouse
snitch gave a two-hour taped interview revealing what Fritz had
allegedly confessed to him. This confession came one day before the
prosecution would have been forced to drop the charges against Fritz.
Another informant testified that she had heard Williamson threaten to
harm the informant's mother as he had the victim. Williamson was also
been seen at the bar the night of the murder, according to a witness
named Glenn Gore.
Additionally,
police said that Williamson told them he had a dream about the crime.
In his book, "The Innocent Man," John Grisham recounted that police
quoted Williamson as saying, "Okay, I had a dream about killing Debbie,
was on her, had a cord around her neck, stabbed her, frequently, pulled
the rope tight around her neck." Although seconds later, the officers
said Williamson said, "I would never confess" and asked for a lawyer,
that statement was treated by the prosecution as a confession.
Forensic
testing was performed on various items of evidence. Seventeen hairs were
recovered and were “matched” to both Fritz and Williamson. The semen
evidence suggested that the perpetrator(s) were non-secretors, as Fritz
and Williamson are. Fritz could not remember his exact whereabouts
during the day of the crime due to the amount of time, five years, that
had passed.
Williamson's
initial appeals were denied. He then filed a federal petition for a writ
of habeas corpus. In 1995. a federal judge granted the petition and
ordered a new trial. The judge held that the prosecution had failed to
disclose a 1983 videotape of Williamson making exculpatory statements
after taking a polygraph examination as well as a tape of another
suspect admitting he committed the crime. The court also found that
Williamson's trial attorney had provided an inadequate legal defense by
failing to develop evidenece of Williamson's mental problems and failing
to seek a compentency hearing.
Meanwhile,
Fritz’s appeals were denied as well and he later contacted the Innocence
Project for help. It was learned that the physical evidence was going
to be tested due to appeals filed by Ron Williamson’s lawyers. Fritz
filed an injunction to make sure that the evidence would not be totally
consumed until the cases were joined with regard to DNA testing.
DNA testing
revealed that neither Fritz nor Williamson deposited the spermatozoa
found in the victim. Further testing proved that none of the many hairs
that were labeled “matches” belonged to them. The profile obtained from
the semen evidence matched Glenn Gore, one of the state’s witnesses at
trial. Gore escaped from work release shortly after testing was
concluded and was later apprehended.
Dennis Fritz
and Ron Williamson were exonerated and released in April 1999.
Williamson had, at one point, come within five days of execution. The
two had been wrongfully incarcerated, respectively, for eleven years.
Fritz and
Williams later filed a lawsuit and each received $500,000 from the City
of Ada. The State of Oklahoma settled with each man for an undisclosed
amount.
Five years
after his release, Williamson was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver.
On December 4, 2004, he died in an Oklahoma nursing home, surrounded by
his family.
https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=3752
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https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=3752
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices.""
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20191210/da-drops-murder-charge-against-taunton-man-who-served-35-years-for-1979-slaying
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