View Justice American Style

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View Justice American Style


Howard Neal, Mississippi: Sentenced to death for the murder of his niece Amanda Joy Neal plus a life sentence for the murder of his half brother Bobby Neal in 1981. He has been on Death Row now for 26 years. The only evidence linking Howard to the crimes was a confession, allegedly made to a policeman after two full days of interrogation without a lawyer present. The statement, later recited by the police in court, was neither recorded, nor signed, nor even written down. He’s verifiable mentally retarded (IQ 55), but nevertheless on death row even if the Supreme Court banned executions for mentally retarded inmates in its ruling in 2002. Howard is still on Mississippi death row, awaiting his execution.

Joseph Nichols, Texas: Sentenced to death in 1981 for the murder of Claude Schaefer together with his friend Willi Williams. Williams admitted too and it was proven at his trial that he was the sole shooter and the only shooter. The prosecutor in his case went to great lengths to prove that Willi Williams acted alone in and his gun only fired the only fatal shot that pierced Mr. Schaefer. The jury in Joseph Nichols first trial could not sentence him to death because it was proven that he was not the shooter and the result was a mistrial. In order to guarantee a death sentence in his second trial, the Harris County district attorney’s office switched arguments; they argued now that Joseph Nichols was the sole shooter and not Willi Williams. The jury rendered a guilty verdict and sentenced Joseph Nichols to death. Willi Williams has since been executed by the state of Texas. Joseph Nichols was killed in 2007 by the state of Texas.

Anthony Shawn Medina, Texas: Sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of David and Diane Rodriguez during a Drive-by shooting. The only evidences the state had were 4 witnesses, but no eye witnesses. It is proven that they lied and that two of them where threatened by the police to get them lie. Medina’s finger prints were never found on the weapon or in the car and there are more than six witnesses who testified that Medina was at the time when the drive by occurred miles away on a New Years Eve Party. The real perpetrator was accused at first of the murders, but the state dropped his accusation after his testimony against Medina on trial. Still on Texas Death Row, waiting for a new trial since 6 years.

Dominique Green, Texas: Sentenced to death in 1992 for gunning down Andrew Lastrapes Jr. Green admitted that he was present at the crime scene, but he insisted he wasn’t the gunman. Two companions, who like Green were black, testified against him at his trial and received lesser sentences for robbery. A fourth person at the scene, a white man, never was indicted, spurring complaints of racial bias from Green's appeals lawyers and Lastrapes' family. His defence attorneys said problems at the Houston crime lab raised questions about the validity of some of the evidence, including the gun. The lab's DNA section has been closed since a 2002 audit revealed possible contamination of evidence, inadequate training for analysts and insufficient documentation. U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas had blocked Dominique Green's execution after his attorneys argued that boxes of improperly stored and catalogued evidence, kept by the crime lab and recently discovered, could contain information relevant to the case. The state attorney general's office objected to the reprieve, which was then lifted by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (news - web sites). The U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) refused to grant a last-minute stay. He was killed by the state of Texas, 27/10/2004.

Charles Walker, North Carolina: Sentenced to death in 1992 for the murder of Elmon Tito Davidson Jr., in Greensboro. Davidson's body was never found and there is no physical evidence of the killing. Four others charged in the crime reached plea agreements with prosecutors. Three of them testified against Walker at his trial and have been released from prison; the fourth is eligible for parole in 2004. These testimonies were the only evidence the state had to link him to the crime. After a new trial in 2006 they sentenced him to LWOP.

Derrick Jamison, Ohio: Sentenced to death in 1985 for the death of a Cincinnati bartender. Jamison was convicted and sentenced to death in 1985 based in part on the testimony of Charles Howell, a co-defendant who had his own sentence reduced in exchange for his testimony against Jamison. The prosecution withheld statements that contradicted Howell’s testimony and that would have undermined the prosecution’s theory of how the victim died, and would have pointed to other possible suspects for the murder. Jamison was exonerated as No. 119 after 21 years on Ohio death row.

Only 5 Examples, but they stand for any number of cases where justice American style was used…