115th NATIONAL INNOCENT DEATH ROW PRISONER RELEASED

[softheart]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

115th NATIONAL INNOCENT DEATH ROW PRISONER RELEASED
After Seven Years, Ryan Matthews Finally Free

National anti-death penalty group to host Ryan and his family at speaking
events this Fall

On Monday, August 9, 2004, innocent Louisiana death row prisoner Ryan
Matthews was cleared of all charges after spending over a month on house
arrest following six years on death row for a murder he didn¹t commit. After
four DNA tests proving his innocence and months of dragged-out hearings,
this is justice long overdue.

Ryan¹s family, his lawyers, and activists across the country had been
fighting to draw attention to the case for years.

I'm very happy that Ryan is finally free. Pauline Matthews, Ryan
Matthews mother told Amy Goodman on 'Democracy Now! Because the last
seven years has really been hard having my child incarcerated for a crime he
clearly did not commit. You know, all the visits to Angola, the phone calls,
Ryan¹s been away. It's been a burden.

I really didn't know whether he would be eventually absolved of the crime,
but I always knew that Ryan was innocent. I always believed in my heart that
he was innocent. He always said he was innocent...I tried my best to hold my
child up and, you know, and -- and then let him have that hope that he would
eventually be free. And today he is here.

Matthews is the 115th death row inmate in the United States to be exonerated
in the past 25 years and the seventh cleared in Louisiana since 1981.

ABOUT RYAN MATTHEWS

Ryan Matthews spent six years as an innocent man on death row at Angola
State prison in Louisiana. For reasons far beyond his verifiable innocence,
Ryan¹s case embodied the most serious failures of the American criminal
justice system. He was arrested on April 7, 1997 just two weeks after his
17th birthday for the murder of a shop clerk. Two years later, still a
teenager, and mentally retarded, Ryan was sentenced to death.

Numerous disturbing facts point to both Ryan¹s innocence and to the deeply
racist atmosphere of his trial. Among the factors undermining the case:
· No physical evidence exists linking Ryan to the crime; In fact, DNA
evidence extracted from a ski mask worn by the murderer actually matches
another convicted killer, Rondell Love.
· According to witness testimonies, the murderer was a small man who
jumped into his car through the passenger window upon fleeing the crime
scene. Ryan Matthews is six feet tall; the corresponding window of the car
in which he was arrested was damaged, which made it impossible to open.

The trial participants included:

· A jury of 11 whites and 1 African American, in a county with a 30%
minority population.
· A prosecution so bloodthirsty, members have been known to wear neckties
decorated with nooses to the courtroom.
· A judge so bent on obtaining a verdict he refused to dismiss the jury
until 5:00 a.m. after an all-night deliberation, when the exhausted
dissenters finally capitulated to the pressure for a guilty verdict.

Ryan has maintained his innocence from the day he was arrested. The state of
Louisiana thinks that the life of a mentally retarded black juvenile is
expendable. The state is wrong. The Campaign to End the Death Penalty
condemns this miscarriage of justice and calls upon the state of Louisiana
to free Ryan, an innocent man victimized by a brutal, racist system, once
and for all.

ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN TO END THE DEATH PENALTY

The Campaign to End the Death Penalty is a national grassroots organization
that has chapters in several cities across the country, including New York.
The Campaign held a national speaking tour in 2004 featuring Ryan Matthews's
family and will host Ryan and his family at speaking events this Fall. We
are committed to the fight to end the death penalty in the United States. We
hold meetings and forums to help educate the public and expose the truth
about the racism and unfairness of the death penalty. We also hold rallies,
demonstrations and press conferences to pressure our public officials.

[Mrs. OB]

Good news! I think my friend has hope too .....

[softheart]

That is wonderful Angry Ram, there is always hope.

softie

[Phil in Paris]

Originally Posted by softheart

· A prosecution so bloodthirsty, members have been known to wear neckties
decorated with nooses to the courtroom.

What does that mean ?????????


That's good news, thanks for sharing Rhea.

Phil

[JJT]

Originally Posted by Phil in Paris

What does that mean ?????????


That's good news, thanks for sharing Rhea.

Phil

The prosecution lawyers wear neckties that have images of a hangmans noose (knot) on it. Thereby giving the indication that they are out for someone to hang, ie, blood.

Not an eloquent explaination...... hope it helped.

JJT

[softheart]

Phil it means no matter what they are out to get that person. They want that person to die, that is were the saying comes out for blood.

The neckties had little hangman nooses on them a rope with a knot in it when they hang someone.

softie