Category Archives: racism

The Long Road from Factual Innocence to Exoneration

It is over a year since Willie Manning asked the Mississippi Supreme Court to reconsider its refusal to let him present newly discovered evidence to the circuit court. In his Motion for Rehearing he argued that the court erred in … Continue reading

Posted in death penalty, exonerations, Mississippi, racism, USA, Willie Manning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Discrimination incriminates

Two briefs supporting Willie Manning have been submitted to the Mississippi Supreme Court. The national and local Innocence Projects use theirs to show that jailhouse informant testimony, unreliable forensic science, and prosecutorial misconduct are “leading contributing factors to wrongful conviction”. … Continue reading

Posted in death penalty, Mississippi, racism, USA, Willie Manning, wrongful convictions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Grounds for Optimism

2019 is drawing to a close on an optimistic note! Willie Manning’s fellow death row inmate, Curtis Flowers, has finally been granted freedom (on bail) after being subjected to six trials during nearly two decades. The improper prosecutor strikes for … Continue reading

Posted in capital punishment, criminal justice, Curtis Flowers, death penalty, Mississippi, racism, USA, Willie Manning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Racially Charged Injustice

Like Willie Manning, Rodney Reed is on death row in the south of the USA, with a case that is racially charged: Reed, who is black, was found guilty by an all-white jury of murdering a white woman in Texas … Continue reading

Posted in capital punishment, criminal justice, death penalty, racism, Rodney Reed, Texas, USA, Willie Manning, wrongful convictions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Racial Bias

In violation of Willie Manning’s constitutional rights, the prosecutor at his trial, aided by the judge, unfairly excluded several African Americans from the jury.  Four Mississippi Supreme Court judges were later to recognize this as “a clear pattern suggesting pretextual … Continue reading

Posted in capital punishment, criminal justice, death penalty, jurors, Mississippi, racism, Washington State, Willie Manning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Never give up hope.

Anthony Ray Hinton’s wrongful conviction and death sentence for murder in Alabama is as shocking as it is revealing. Soon after Hinton’s arrest a police officer told him: “You know, I don’t care whether you did or didn’t do it. … Continue reading

Posted in African American, Anthony Ray Hinton, capital punishment, criminal justice, death penalty, Mississippi, racism, The Sun Does Shine, USA, Willie Manning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Travesty of Justice

22 years ago, the conviction of Willie Manning for the murder of two students caused anger in the local community, who believed racism had influenced the verdict. On November 19, 1994, the Oktibbeha County NAACP sponsored a protest march* to … Continue reading

Posted in African American, capital punishmant, criminal justice, death penalty, Injustice, innocence, Mississippi, NAACP, Oktibbeha County, racism, USA, Willie Jerome Manning, Willie Manning, wrongful convictions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Connection with Lynchings

The Movement for Black Lives’ new policy platform is clear about the death penalty’s racism: “The death penalty in the U.S. was designed to bring lynching into the courtroom and has targeted Blacks and other people of color and poor … Continue reading

Posted in capital punishmant, criminal justice, death penalty, Mississippi, Movement for Black Lives, racism, USA, Willie Manning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Shadows from the Confederate Flag

The race war craved by Dylann Roof has so far erupted only with words and petitions, not with violence.  Roof, charged with shooting dead nine African American people in Charleston, South Carolina, faced their relatives last week; incredibly their words, spoken … Continue reading

Posted in African Americans, Charleston shootings, confederate flag, Death Row, Dylann Roof, institutional racism, judiciary, Mississippi, racism, slavery, USA, Willie Jerome Manning, Willie Manning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I Can’t Breathe

On recent letters from Willie Jerome Manning the envelopes have carried a message from him: “I can’t breathe”. These, the repeated last words of Eric Garner, a Staten Island man killed in July in a police chokehold, have become a … Continue reading

Posted in African American, America, capital punishment, criminal justice, death penalty, Death Row, Fly Manning, Injustice, miscarriages of justice, Mississippi, Oktibbeha County, police misconduct, racial discrimination, racism, USA, Willie Jerome Manning, Willie Manning, wrongful convictions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment