Jailed because he had a criminal first name

[andymstevens]

Anyone see Frontline on PBS last night?

A kid was arrested and then jailed because he has the same first name as a criminal. (and that he's black) When the judge and d.a. figured out their mistake, they covered their a$$e$ and denied an appeal.....even after they got the right guy....and get this..a signed confession.

This happened in North Carolina. Check out the story at the following link......it just smacks of Jim Crow.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ordinary/

I think that if I lived in Johnston county NC, I'd be afraid....very afraid. :mad:

Andy

 

[Boozer]

scary when you think about it.

 

[Milquetoast]

Very, very scary.

 

[andymstevens]

Looks like he may get a fair trial this time.

From the Raleigh News and Observer, February 5, 2001
New trial ordered for Garner

By ANNE SAKER, Staff Writer

SMITHFIELD -- Terence Garner walked out of the Johnston County Courthouse into his mother's arms today after a judge set aside his conviction in the 1997 holdup of the Quality Finance Co. in Princeton.

Superior Court Judge Jerry Cash Martin, visiting from Stokes County, granted Garner's motion for a new trial, which cited new evidence pointing to his innocence. As expected, District Attorney Tom Lock, who prosecuted Garner in the first place, did not oppose the motion.

A courtroom full of Garner's supporters cheered and applauded as Martin set a $25,000 secured bond for Garner and adjourned the court session. Afterward, about 100 people screamed and chanted as Garner, 21, walked down the central staircase of the courthouse and embraced his mother, Linda Chambers of Goldsboro. Garner, 21, and his supporters have insisted that he is innocent of the crime, and their case was bolstered last month by a public television documentary.

Two men who admitted taking part in the robbery also say that Garner was not there and have implicated a third man, Terrance Deloach, the cousin of one of the robbers. Deloach confessed to the robbery and shooting of secretary Alice Wise, who lost her left eye, but subsequently recanted.

The new evidence cited in the defense motion consisted of statements by new witnesses who say Deloach also confessed to them. With his release today, Garner thanked his lawyers and the Wayne County sheriff's deputies who took up his case following his conviction in Johnston County. He then headed to a service at a Missionary Baptist Church in Smithfield.

After the Frontline documentary aired, a group of ministers in Johnston County formed a coalition to press for garner's release.

Garner is still charged with the crimes of armed robbery and attempted murder, which occurred when he was 16, though no date for a retrial has been set. Lock did not say anything in court today about how and when he intends to pursue the case.

Garner had been serving a 34- to 43-year sentence for the crimes. Wise, the wounded secretary, has said repeatedly that he was the man who shot her. One of the robbers, Keith Riddick, also identified Garner as Wise's assailant but later said he lied to preserve a plea bargain.

Another robber, Kendrick Henderson, has said all along that Garner was not involved. He said that Riddick's cousin, whom he knew only as "Terrance," was the real culprit. Terrance Deloach, Riddick's cousin, is now in prison in New York for another armed robbery.