Ten years ago, Willie Manning came within an hour of execution, an experience that can only be described as terrifyingly traumatic.

Now prosecutors are once more seeking Willie’s execution. Inevitably, this must revive harrowing memories for him of the day in May 2013 when Mississippi nearly killed him, despite his unswerving declaration of innocence.

Willie’s innocence claim has recently become even stronger, with his filing of significant new evidence. Strikingly, Earl Jordan, a key witness, has now retracted his trial testimony:
“My trial testimony was not true. My statements to the sheriff about Manning’s confession were also not true. Manning never told me that he killed anyone.”
Jordan refers to the sheriff’s “way of making it clear that he would help me out if I helped him with Manning”. Jordan did, indeed, receive favorable treatment and reward money after his false testimony, despite his denial at Willie’s trial that he had any kind of deal with the prosecutor.
Jordan continues that he was afraid to swear an affidavit before:
“I was afraid to tell the truth. But Dolph Bryan is no longer the sheriff. I am telling the truth now.”

Jordan was not the only witness to have lied at Willie’s trial. Frank Parker’s testimony, that he overheard Willie confessing to his cellmate, Henry Richardson (“Miami”), has been refuted by Richardson. Richardson states that he told law enforcement in 1993 that Willie “never talked to me about any crime, why he was in jail, or a gun”.

Another witness, Paula Hathorn, has changed her trial testimony that she did not see Willie for several days after the student murders. In fact, she remembers seeing him soon afterwards. If she had told the truth at the trial, she could have corroborated defense testimony that Willie was at home the morning after the shootings.

On top of these compelling witness statements, firearms expert William Tobin has updated and strengthened his 2013 ballistics report, emphasizing more than ever that the firearms examiner at Willie’s trial should not have expressed an opinion about which gun fired a specific bullet.

Prosecutors have until December 29 to respond to all this new evidence. We hope that Willie can forget about the threat of execution, knowing that he has presented a good deal of very sound evidence. And that this evidence confirms his innocence.

Happy Holidays, Willie!