Recent Developments in Both Cases

Posted on May 26, 2014 by Justice for Willie

In April and May 2014 there have been developments in both of Willie Jerome Manning’s cases.

In Willie’s 1992 case involving the murders of two students, evidence was found in April during searches at seven locations: the Oktibbeha County Circuit Court, the Starkville Police Department, the Office of the District Attorney, the Mississippi State University Police Department, the FBI, the Mississippi Crime Lab and the Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Department. The searches were ordered by the Oktibbeha County Circuit Court on March 6 2014, following Willie’s request for DNA and fingerprint testing.

For his 1993 case involving the murders of two elderly ladies, Willie submitted a brief to the Mississippi Supreme Court on May 21 2014. In this brief he requests oral argument in court, pointing out that this case involves substantial allegations of State misconduct resulting in wrongful conviction.

Willie makes the following points in this brief and an earlier brief, submitted on December 12 2013:

  • The crucial State witness, Kevin Lucious, committed perjury at the trial when he testified he watched from his apartment in Brookville Garden as Willie entered the elderly ladies’ apartment opposite. (Lucious’s trial testimony was unequivocal that he watched from his apartment; yet police canvass notes show that this apartment was vacant at the time, and that Lucious was not then living in a Brookville Garden apartment).
  • The State erred in failing to disclose these police canvass notes to Willie’s trial counsel.
  • The State is mistaken in asserting that other witnesses corroborated Lucious’s trial testimony about seeing Willie enter the apartment: no other witness confirmed this.
  • Lucious testified at a post-conviction hearing that none of his trial testimony was true, and that he had lied because of pressure brought by the State.
  • Another witness, Herbert Ashford, undermined his own credibility by making statements that were contradictory.
  • The State erred in failing to disclose a crime lab report showing that a bloody shoe print next to one of the bodies could not have been left by Willie (the shoe print was size 8, whereas Willie’s shoe size is 10½).
  • Willie’s trial counsel was deficient in: failing to impeach Kevin Lucious; failing to interview Willie’s brother, Marshon Manning, and call him as a witness; failing to investigate Ashford or interview Teresa Bush, who was then living with Ashford; and failing to investigate the shoeprint.
  • At the evidentiary hearing the Oktibbeha County Circuit Court erred in refusing to authorize for presentation all the documents that Willie had requested.
  • Amicus briefs submitted on Willie’s behalf point out that perjured testimony is the most common cause of wrongful conviction, especially in capital cases; and that incentivized witnesses contribute to these false convictions.
Posted in African American, capital defense attorneys, capital punishment, conviction, criminal justice USA, death penalty, death penalty injustice, Death Row, Exculpatory evidence, Fly Manning, incentivized witnesses, Ineffective trial attorneys, Injustice, Mississippi, Mississippi judicial system, perjured testimony, prosecutorial misconduct, recanting witness, USA injustice, Willie Fly Manning, Willie Jerome Manning, Willie Manning, wrongful convictions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Al Jazeera: Program due June 1

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Justice for Willie

A new TV program featuring Willie Jerome Manning is scheduled to be broadcast on Sunday June 1 2014 (USA times: 9E/6P). The program is an episode in the Al Jazeera America series, The System, which sets out to examine the state of the criminal justice system in the USA. The episode that includes Willie, Flawed Forensics, focuses on the FBI’s faulty hair analysis and testimony. The episode also features a man, also originally convicted of multiple murders, who has been released and is waiting for a retrial.

When interviewed the director, Joe Berlinger, said the series tries to show all sides of an issue. He uses Willie’s case as an example:

“…it’s pretty clear that Willy Manning should have the opportunity for a new trial because the case was botched via FBI forensics handling. On the other hand, we don’t shy away from talking about the fact that he was not a good guy prior to his conviction. That doesn’t mean he should be sentenced to death for a crime he didn’t commit.

In addition, I think we have a very sympathetic portrayal of the family members of the victims in that episode.

Tiffany Miller’s mother, Pam Cole, she is utterly convinced that the guy is still guilty, and we’re not saying whether he’s guilty or not, we’re saying he needs a new trial, but I think there’s a very sympathetic portrait of family members who have come to believe what the police tell them and what prosecutors tell them.”

You can read a review of the series in the New York Times, and see a trailer for the series  here.

 

Posted in African American, Al Jazeera, capital punishment, conviction, criminal justice USA, death penalty, death penalty injustice, Death Row, DNA testing, FBI hair review, fingerprint comparison, flawed testimony, Fly Manning, forensic hair testimony, hair testimony, Injustice, Jon Steckler and Tiffany Miller, junk science, Mississippi, USA injustice, Willie Fly Manning, Willie Jerome Manning, Willie Manning, Willie Manning documentary, wrongful convictions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

One Year Ago: A Highly Biased News Report

Posted on May 7, 2014 by Justice for Willie

On May 7 2013, exactly one year ago, Willie Jerome Manning’s scheduled execution was cancelled with only four hours to spare. Controversy surrounded the Mississippi Supreme Court’s refusal to allow Willie DNA and fingerprint testing; this was heightened when the Department of Justice admitted that FBI agents had presented flawed hair and ballistics testimony at his trial*. National and international media was buzzing with concern that Mississippi might be about to execute an innocent man.

For one news outlet in Mississippi, however, these issues might as well not have existed.

In its news report on May 7 2013, the Columbus Dispatch ignored the significant, contentious points being reported and discussed elsewhere; it seems to have decided that its readers did not need this information. It also differed from other outlets in remaining silent on the defense arguments of Willie’s case, reporting only the prosecution’s version of events from Willie’s trial nineteen years previously. It even cited as incriminating ballistics evidence that had been publicly discounted by the Department of Justice and FBI the previous day. Its one-sided approach contravenes the basic tenets of news reporting – fairness and balance.

This newspaper also chose to publish what amounted to a character assault on Willie. It included opinions as to his guilt in both his cases, given by the Starkville Chief of Police, David Lindley, and the former Sheriff of the Oktibbeha County, Dolf Bryan, despite these men having been key prosecution witnesses at Willie’s trial and therefore not impartial. Willie’s childhood was described only in terms of his contact with the police; there is no evidence of the Columbus Dispatch attempting to interview anyone else about his past, despite the likelihood of obtaining positive or mitigating information (social services case records describe Willie as a well-mannered child who helped take care of his grandmother and helped her get to appointments). The newspaper then gave a lengthy description of the police chase that led to Willie’s arrest for the murders, presumably finding this of greater significance than the defense arguments that it omitted.

As we look back with relief that Willie wasn’t in the end executed one year ago, we should also look to the future. We must recognise the power of the media to influence opinions. And we must be vigilant to expose and condemn any unfair and unbalanced reporting. If Willie is eventually successful in his aim of being granted a new trial, he should not have to face a jury that has been indoctrinated to believe in his guilt.

 

*This controversy related to Willie’s 1992 case involving the murders of two students.

 

Posted in biased news reporting, capital punishment, Columbus Dispatch, criminal justice USA, death penalty, death penalty injustice, Death Row, Fly Manning, Injustice, media bias, Mississippi, Mississippi judicial system, Starkville, USA injustice, Willie Fly Manning, Willie Jerome Manning, Willie Manning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I Could Have…

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Justice for Willie

Willie Jerome Manning has had more developments in both his cases. In his 1992 case involving the murders of two students, searches of seven areas were scheduled to be made on April 16 2014. In his 1993 case involving the murders of two elderly ladies, he has been granted an extension of time, until May 21 2014, to respond to the State’s brief. He must be grateful for the court’s decision to allow extra time, as his lawyers are busy not just with his case, but also with other clients’ cases.

Capital defense attorneys are often reviled for their work, and viewed with no more than tolerance by most. And unlike doctors, rescue workers and others whom society applauds for their skill and heroism in saving lives, capital defense lawyers know that they will probably fail to save the lives of their clients.

David R. Dow, an experienced post conviction defense lawyer, writes about watching the execution of a client whom he believed to be innocent, while an appeal was still pending: “Why hadn’t I done something to stall? I could have kept banging on the window. I could have struggled with the guard if he tried to pull me away. I could have barged into the press witness area and shouted to them what was going on. I could have tried to barricade myself in the holding area. Maybe the guards would have cooperated. Nobody knows. I did not even try to stop them from escorting an innocent man to his death. I was a German watching the brownshirts take his neighbour. I could have rushed into the execution chamber. I could have caused a commotion. I could have tried. I did none of that. I stood there. I was idle. I was a man making phone calls, a wordsmith, a debater, an analyst.

I could have, I could have, I could have. The three words that enable all evil.”*

An embodiment of failure as extreme as this takes its toll. Many post conviction defense lawyers speak of a sadness that pursues them, rarely mentioned but naggingly felt:

“There’s a sadness that never goes away… I mean, it doesn’t intrude into my consciousness when I’m just sort of living every day life, but I think at some level beneath all of this there’s an abiding sadness that’s always there.†”

We are extremely grateful to Willie’s lawyers for persisting with their work despite its unique challenges. Without them, Willie would not be alive.

*From David R. Dow   Killing Time: One Man’s Race to Stop an Execution (Windmill Books, 2011)

†From Susannah Sheffer   Fighting for their Lives: Inside the Experience of Capital Defense Attorneys (Vanderbilt University Press, 2013)

Posted in African American, American justice, capital defense attorneys, capital defense lawyers, capital litigation, capital punishment, criminal justice USA, death penalty, Death Row, executions, Fly Manning, Mississippi, post conviction attorneys, post conviction lawyers, USA injustice, Willie Fly Manning, Willie Jerome Manning, Willie Manning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sentenced to Torture?

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Justice for Willie

While Willie Jerome Manning awaits the completion of forensic evidence searches related to his 1992 case, he must be acutely aware of the threat of execution hanging over one of his fellow inmates, Charles Crawford. And Willie must be feeling greater anxiety than previously about forthcoming executions, because they now have greater potential for torture. As news reaches him about untried drug combinations from unregulated suppliers being used in other states, sometimes with horrifying results, the prospect of a similar experiment in Mississippi must be alarming.

The human rights organisation, Reprieve, explains how states previously obtained supplies of drugs from pharmaceutical companies. Such companies have policies of healing and saving lives; in recent years they have been following through these policies by refusing to sell drugs to USA states that wish to use them in lethal injections.

Democracy Now discusses the lengths to which states are prepared to go to continue carrying out executions. Raw pharmaceutical ingredients are secretly prepared at compounding pharmacies, using unregulated, variable procedures; using these for executions amounts to experimentation on human subjects. In other states this has already led to botched executions: in Ohio Dennis McGuire took a long time to suffocate to death, and in Oklahoma Michael Lee Wilson said as he was dying, “I feel my whole body burning”.

Jackson Free Press states the Mississippi Department of Corrections was forced by a lawsuit to reveal that the State is using a compounding pharmacy in Grenada, Mississippi. This pharmacy, H&W Compounding/Brister Brothers Pharmacy, markets non-prescription herbal supplements. It will be used to procure pentobarbital, vecuronium bromide and potassium chloride for executions.

Associated Press in Gulf Live quotes Vanessa Carroll (an attorney with the MacArthur Justice Center, which brought the lawsuit):

“We have no assurance that this compounded pentobarbital is sufficiently potent and effective. This is an enormous concern because pentobarbital is the first drug administered during a lethal injection, and if it fails to work properly, the prisoner will be suffocated to death by the paralytic agent that is given next, and may be conscious during the excruciating pain caused by the third drug, which causes death by cardiac arrest.”

Jim Craig, an attorney with the same firm, stated: “No one has sentenced … Mr. Crawford to be slowly suffocated to death and to have (his) internal organs burned while conscious of it. That’s not what (he was) sentenced to. (He wasn’t) sentenced to be tortured.”

The willingness to allow torture during executions seems to confirm the opinion of Bob Autobee, father of a murder victim in Colorado, when he said last month, “My life has improved immensely since meeting my son’s killer… The death penalty is a hate crime.”

With the revelations about the incompetence of the medical examiner, Steven Hayne,  the fiasco of Michelle Byrom’s near execution, and compelling questions about whether lethal injections constitute ‘cruel and unusual punishment’, the time is ripe for Mississippi to align with Bob Autobee’s view, and consign the death penalty to the past.

 

Posted in African American, American torture, capital punishment, Charles Crawford, compounding pharmacies, criminal justice USA, death penalty, Death Row, executions, Fly Manning, Injustice, lethal injections, Mississippi, Mississippi judicial system, pharmaceutical companies, USA injustice, Willie Fly Manning, Willie Jerome Manning, Willie Manning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mississippi, we have a problem.

Posted on April 6, 2014 by Justice for Willie

The Michelle Byrom case is starting to raise serious questions in Mississippi. Although Michelle was eventually – and unusually – granted a new trial, she also came very close to being executed. Amazingly, her conviction was for hiring as a killer someone that the prosecutor said didn’t kill anybody. (See previous post on this website, Mississippi Executions: a Pattern of Callous Disregard?)

A Jackson Free Press editorial highlights the complacency that facilitated this ludicrous injustice. It describes Michelle’s steady progress towards execution:

“Nowhere along the way does this mess of a prosecution and sentencing capture much of anyone’s attention outside a handful of anti-death penalty folks. The Democratic attorney general of the state, Jim Hood, asks for a date for her execution, and there is no evidence that either he or the current GOP governor, Phil Bryant, gives a damn about whether she actually is innocent or not.”

The editorial concludes, “Mississippi, we have a problem.”

As the Jackson Free Press alerts the Mississippi public to the wider failings – corruption, even – within their system of law and order, the inequity of a recent decision in Willie Manning’s 1993 case is likely to go unnoticed. Last week the Mississippi Supreme Court denied Willie’s request for fair treatment; instead, it was lenient in authorizing the State’s late filing of a document. The unfairness lies in leniency having been constantly denied to Willie himself. For instance, in his 1992 case he was denied federal review because of a late filing years before, at a time when his appointed attorneys had effectively abandoned him and he lacked the means to provide alternative representation. This denial of federal review preceded his request last year for DNA and fingerprint testing.

The document that the State has filed over a month late is exceptionally long (leniency was also granted to the State in this respect, with the usual rules about document length being waived). Defense lawyers will now have to wade through this long document: it will take them time that could otherwise have been devoted to other cases.

The Jackson Free Press editorial is right to state that the evidence of injustice may well be buried too deep in the system for people to see it. It can be buried in a series of unscrutinized court decisions, often cloaked in legal language in lengthy documents, that prevent most people noticing. And meanwhile cases move on steadily towards execution. Just as Michelle Byrom’s did.

Posted in African American, American justice, criminal justice USA, death penalty, Death Row, Fly Manning, Injustice, Mississippi, Mississippi corruption, Mississippi judicial system, Mississippi Supreme Court, moratorium on death penalty, USA injustice, Willie Fly Manning, Willie Jerome Manning, Willie Manning, wrongful convictions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mississippi Executions: a Pattern of Callous Disregard?

Posted on March 23, 2014 by Justice for Willie

In the days and hours before Willie Jerome Manning’s scheduled execution time last year, the Mississippi Supreme Court was denying him DNA testing and fingerprint comparison, despite there being only circumstantial evidence against him. The state was loud in its support of the court’s decision. It seemed they were both saying, ‘Let’s just kill Willie, anyway’.

This week two more executions are scheduled in Mississippi. One of the cases raises huge concerns (see below*). In an article in the Jackson Free Press, David Voisin (Willie’s lawyer and a consultant for other death penalty cases) is quoted as saying,

“The state doesn’t contest any of (the facts). They’re just trying to raise these technicalities to sweep this under the rug, and say, ‘Let’s just kill Michelle, anyway.'”

Is this just a coincidence? Or does it demonstrate a pattern of callous disregard about who gets executed in Mississppi? If so, it reflects very poorly on the integrity of the judicial system of the State of Mississippi.

We urge readers to sign and share the petition asking Mississippi’s Governor, Phil Bryant, to prevent a miscarriage of justice by halting the execution of Michelle Byrom. You can sign the petition here.

*Michelle Byrom is due to be executed on March 27 2014. The following points about her case appear in the Jackson Free Press:

  • Michelle Byrom, a mentally ill and vulnerable woman, was pressurized by police into confessing that she ordered Joey Gillis to shoot her abusive husband, Edward Byrom Sr. Her son, Edward Jr, was also implicated in this apparent plot.
  • Edward Jr testified in line with this at his mother Michelle’s trial, saying that Gillis was the killer and that Michelle had hired him. He gave this testimony in return for being given a reduced sentence himself.
  • Edward Jr. later made a confession to the state-appointed forensic psychologist, stating that it was he that had murdered the abusive Edward Sr.
  • The trial judge, Circuit Judge Thomas Gardner, was informed by this psychologist of Edward Jr’s confession of guilt; however, Judge Gardner allowed the trial to proceed without disclosing this exculpatory evidence to Michelle’s lawyers. Judge Gardner then sentenced Michelle to death.
  • Edward Jr made at least three other written confessions that echoed his statement to the psychologist.
  • The prosecutor later admitted that Gillis was not the killer.
  • Edward, Jr. was found to have gunpowder residue on his hands; Gillis had none on his hands.
  • Edward, Jr. led police to the murder weapon.
  • Michelle’s inexperienced trial attorneys did not call witnesses who could have provided mitigating testimony, and did not ask for a jury trial at the penalty stage.
  • In a dissent to a Mississippi Supreme Court decision, Justice Dickinson stated that he could not imagine ‘a more egregious case of ineffective assistance of counsel during the sentencing phase of a capital case’.
  • Justice Dickinson also stated that Judge Gardner should not have imposed the death penalty in this case, as he did not have the authority to do this.
Posted in abusive marriage, African American, capital murder, capital punishment, confession made under pressure, criminal justice USA, death penalty, death penalty injustice, Death Row, execution, Fly Manning, Injustice, judges, Michelle Byrom, Mississippi, Mississippi Governor, Mississippi judicial system, police usa, Willie Fly Manning, Willie Jerome Manning, Willie Manning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Danger of Gross Unfairness

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Justice for Willie

Willie Jerome Manning has opposed the State’s request for more time to file its response to his appeal in the 1993 case of two elderly ladies (the Brookville Garden case). He asks the Mississippi Supreme Court to strike any brief filed by the State and to deny the State participation in oral argument. He points out that the State filed its request so late that its proposed new deadline had already passed.

Willie highlights the gross unfairness that would result if the Court were to allow the State’s request. He reminds the Court of the many occasions when, by citing procedural defaults, the State has blocked Willie’s attempts to prove his innocence. In particular, the State used grounds of late filing to convince a court to refuse Willie federal review, even though his appointed attorneys had effectively abandoned him and he lacked the means to provide alternative representation.

Willie expresses surprise that the deadline in a high profile case was missed by over a month, and without proper explanation, despite the large number of experienced attorneys available to the State, in an office dedicated to capital litigation.

Willie urges the Court to enforce the State’s deadline with the same rigor as in the past has been used against him.

We trust the Court will do as Willie has asked, thus averting the potential for gross inequity.

Posted in African American, Brookville Garden, capital litigation, capital punishment, conviction, criminal justice USA, death penalty, death penalty injustice, Death Row, Fly Manning, Injustice, Mississippi, Mississippi Supreme Court, procedural default, prosecutor misconduct, Willie Fly Manning, Willie Jerome Manning, Willie Manning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Further Developments in Both Cases

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Justice for Willie

Willie Jerome Manning has won the right to searches for evidence relating to his 1992 case involving two students. On March 6, 2014 the Oktibbeha County Circuit Court sent out seven orders, requiring ‘diligent’ searches to be made for all evidence related to the homicides of Jon Steckler and Tiffany Miller, and to the burglary of a car belonging to Jon Wise. The searches are to be conducted in the presence of up to two representatives of counsel for the State, and, simultaneously, up to two representatives of Willie’s counsel.

The orders have been sent to the Oktibbeha County Circuit Clerk, the Starkville Police Department, the Office of the District Attorney, District Sixteen, , the Mississippi State University Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation  (FBI), the Mississippi Crime Lab and the Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Department.

Those responsible for the searches are obliged to protect the evidence from damage e.g. by avoiding skin contact. They are told to itemize and store the articles found, or attest that nothing was found during their search. Representatives of both sides will be allowed to photograph items found.

The dates and times for the searches are to be decided by mutual consent of all involved, but all searches must be completed within 60 days of the delivery of the orders.

There has also been a development in Willie’s 1993 case of two elderly ladies (the Brookville Garden case). On March 10, 2014 the State asked the Mississippi Supreme Court for an extension of 30 days in which to respond to Willie’s appeal, which was submitted on December 12, 2013. The State’s response to this appeal was due on February 6, 2014. The State explains that the deadline was missed because of ‘unintentional oversight’. It assures the Court that the extension is being sought not as to delay proceedings, but ‘in order to properly serve the citizens of the State of Mississippi’.

Posted in African American, Brookville Garden murders, criminal justice USA, death penalty, Death Row, DNA testing, fingerprint comparison, Fly Manning, forensics, Injustice, Jon Steckler and Tiffany Miller, Mississippi, murders, Oktibbeha County Circuit Court, police usa, post-conviction DNA evidence, racism, USA injustice, Willie Fly Manning, Willie Jerome Manning, Willie Manning, wrongful convictions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Can of Worms in Mississippi

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Justice for Willie

Radley Balko, writing last month in the Washington Post, describes how the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently turned down a request for post-conviction relief by a man convicted of murder in Mississippi. Tavares Flaggs was convicted largely on the basis of the autopsy testimony of a private medical examiner, Steven Hayne. Hayne dominated the Mississippi autopsy business for well over a decade. It was Hayne that performed the autopsies and testified about them in both of Willie’s cases.

Balko refers to the Mississippi Innocence Project’s revelations about Hayne’s incompetency, which includes: commenting about a dead man’s spleen, though the spleen had actually been removed four years before death; noting the weight of a deceased child’s two kidneys when one of them had previously been removed; and reporting on a decedent’s ovaries and uterus although the victim was male.

Hayne was unqualified (he lied in court about his credentials). He often worked at night because he had another job. He exceeded at least fivefold professional guidelines about the maximum number of autopsies to be performed per annum. Sometimes he used the basement of a funeral home instead of a medical lab for his critically important work.

Tucker Carrington, of the Mississippi Innocence Project, claims judges were complicit: “The state was actively hiding all of this. Trial judges were refusing to grant any discovery about it. All the while Hayne was lying, and getting away with it.”

Hayne was eventually ousted, but not without a fight – the Attorney General, Jim Hood, along with several state prosecutors and coroners, tried to reinstate him (they failed, but Hood later won an election contest based on the issue of Hayne). Prosecutors and coroners said Hayne was a good witness; critics interpret this quality as a willingness to say what prosecutors needed him to say in order to win convictions.

There has been no review of the testimony that Hayne provided in thousands of cases. Even now he is allowed to testify in some situations, for instance, at retrials.

Balko highlights the reluctance of federal courts even to address issues raised by the defense or the Innocence Project in this case and others. This connivance, Balko asserts, neatly avoids the opening of a ‘potentially messy can of worms’.

It is no wonder that in a letter Willie referred to a newspaper cutting about Hayne and asked, “Am I supposed to put my trust in people like these?” The answer should certainly be, “No”.

Posted in autopsies, capital punishment, coroners, criminal justice USA, death penalty, death penalty injustice, federal courts, flawed testimony, Fly Manning, forensics, Injustice, Jim Hood Attorney General, judges, junk science, Mississippi, Mississippi judicial system, prosecutors, Steven Hayne, USA injustice, Willie Fly Manning, Willie Jerome Manning, Willie Manning, wrongful convictions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments