Mr. Preston Hughes III
Polunsky Unit #000939
3872 FM 350 South
Livingston, Texas 77351
[My Address Redacted]
Dear Mr. Allen
Hello. I hope this letter finds you doing very well, in the best of health and spirits and in the comfort of God's graces and care upon your receipt. At the time of the writing of this letter I am doing as well as can be expected of one considering the unfortunate circumstances and conditions I have been forced to endure for twenty-three years.
My name is Preston Hughes III. I have been provided with some of the information you've posted on The Skeptical Juror website concerning the wrongful conviction against me. I'm writing to you today because I thought you may be interested in reading about a matter concerning the wrongful conviction. Please feel free to post this letter (or the relevant portions of it) and materials enclosed on the website.
I have obtained evidence that proves the police illegally searched my apartment prior to arresting me without a warrant and without probable cause, planted false evidence (taken from the crime scene where the victims were found) between the cushions of one of my couches and created a fabricated consent for search and seizure to justify their illegal searches of my apartment. This evidence could help establish the fact that I am innocent as well as prove wrongdoings by the police and prosecutor. However I need the immediate assistance of an attorney to prepare and file an effective appeal arguing the fact that I was denied, in state court, the opportunity for full and fair examination/review of the "original exhibit" Voluntary Consent for Search and Seizure in evidence that is claimed by the police and prosecutor to be an alleged original consent.
An examination of the original exhibit, by a Forensic Document Examiner, will in fact determine the signature, Preston Hughes III, on the fabricated consent isn't authentic. I NEVER signed a consent for search and seizure. The signature on the fabrication wasn't made from ink in an ink pen. It's "XEROXED." I have determined what document bearing the signature Preston Hughes III was used in the creation of the fabrication but I have unsuccessful in my attempts to obtain a copy of the document.
[Omitted: approximately one entire page detailing evidence of faked Voluntary Consent and Seizure form.]
I have been denied a fair trial, under due process of law, and the opportunity to effectively appeal the wrongful conviction against me. I have been trying to get this matter, along with others, exposed for over two decades but have been unable to do so, due to the fact I have been misrepresented by nothing but court appointed attorneys that have been helping the state to keep these matters covered up.
Thursday, June 21, 2012, I received a letter from the ineffective court appointed attorney that has been misrepresenting me for the past several years. He wrote to tell me that I'll be bench warranted to Houston a week or so from the date of this letter (June 19th) for a hearing in which the trial judge is going to schedule an execution date for sometime in November.
Before I make it back to Houston the attorney will have done something he knows I DON'T want him to do, which is file a successive State Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. I don't want him filing the appeal because he's working to help the state keep the wrongdoings against me covered up and trying to help the state wrongfully kill me. Therefore he'll be filing yet another frivolous appeal.
I must raise $5,000.00 dollars immediately to enable me to finance the services of an investigator to obtain evidence and information that establishes my innocence and further wrongdoings by the police and prosecutor. The evidence and information will have to be used for the purpose of getting a stay of execution, since I was unable to locate an attorney to file effective State Petition for Write of Habeas Corpus on my behalf.
To learn more about the wrongful conviction against me and the wrongdoings of the police, prosecutor and court appointed attorneys, and how donations can be made to help me, please log onto: www.mysterycrimescene.com/preston-hughes-time-recap.html and www.prestonhughes.blogspot.com.
I would like to thank you in advance for your time, cooperation, and any assistance you could give in the above matters. Your assistance would be gratefully appreciated. Thank you.
Sincerely,
[Signed]
Preston Hughes III
-----
Offender : PRESTON III HUGHES, ID: 00000939
Sender : John B Allen
Date : 6/30/2012 3:23:05 PM EST, Letter ID: 36641140
Location : TL
Preston,
I received your letter today. I realize time is critical. I'll get straight to the point. I'll also be brief and compact in my writing because of cost considerations associated with JPAY.
I am not an attorney or a licensed investigator, but I have been researching and writing extensively of your case. I have uncovered additional evidence of your innocence.
First, it is impossible that Shandra Charles gave the police your name in a dying declaration. She died soon after she was stabbed, well before the police arrived. Her carotid was transected (completely severed) according to the autopsy reports, which I have obtained. A person can live for only about 90 seconds with a severed carotid. I wrote a half dozen or so posts about that issue on my blog The Skeptical Juror. I'll provide more information to you via U.S. mail.
Second, none of the wounds had a blunt edge, again according to the autopsy report. If a single-edged knife made the wounds, the neck wounds would have revealed a blunt edge. For technical reasons, the chest wounds may or may not have revealed a blunt edge. The neck wounds were made with a double-edged knife, not the single-edged knife they took from your apartment and presented in court as the murder weapon.
Third, I have found additional information that the voluntary consent to search form was fabricated from pieces, as you claim. In addition to the tape lines (visible above your signature AND across the top of the page), the typewriter line spacing is inconsistent between the upper and lower halves of that document. Within the upper half, the line spacing is consistent with a typewriter. Within the lower half, the line spacing is also consistent with a typewritten. Taken together, however, the line spacing is not consistent. It changes somewhere between the upper and lower halves. That document was not created during one pass through a typewriter.
Fourth, I have reviewed the photographs obtained by Barbara Lunsford. Two of those photographs show your apartment from the outside. They were both taken at night. I assume none of the officers who arrived at your apartment that night had a camera with them. If they did not, then those external, nighttime photos are evidence the police returned to your apartment to search it before they had a warrant or a consent (manufactured or otherwise). Those external, nighttime photos are consistent with the time the items taken from your apartment were logged into the property room, i.e. 2:58 AM. I suspect, as you do, that the glasses were planted there during that warrantless, non-consensual search.
The evidence against you seems to consist of Shandra's dying declaration (which we now know could not have happened), the knife found in your apartment (which we now know could not have been the murder weapon), the glasses found in your couch (which we have even more evidence may have been planted), the small spots of blood found on your clothes (which are absolutely inconsistent with someone who just severed two carotid arteries), and your confessions (which show you had no idea of what happened in that field that night.)
In summary, I may be the investigator you've been hoping to find for so long. While I am a writer, rather than a professional investigator, I nonetheless seem to have a knack for finding in the case documents critical evidence that others have missed. And while I might not be exactly what you had in mind, the good news is two-fold: I work pro bono and I have already uncovered additional evidence of your innocence.
I intend to keep researching and writing about your case, now with an even greater sense of urgency. I also intend to search for a capable, assertive, pro-bono attorney to take on your case. Here's what I need from you, by return U.S. mail as quickly as possible.
1. Inform me if you in fact wish my help researching your case and seeking an attorney.
2. Give me permission to tell attorneys I contact that I contact them on your behalf.
3. Inform me of any legal issues I should be aware of. Is it necessary, proper, and/or wise that I coordinate with your court-appointed counsel. In any case, please provide me with the contact information for your attorney. Please tell me whether or not you wish that I touch base with him.
4. Inform me of any restrictions regarding what I send you via U.S. mail. Is there a restriction on length? Is there a restriction on attachments, such as printed images?
5. Understand that I work with case documents. I would like a copy of every document you have. If you have had the document posted online or if you provided the document to Barbara Lunsford, then I already have a copy. If you have any other documents, please copy them (or have them copied) and send them to me as quickly as possible. No telling what I might find in them. I am particularly interested in all the trial transcripts, all the preliminary hearing transcripts, and any police reports. I am currently working with the statements provided by Drew Hartley and Barbara Szekely. They are helpful. If you are aware of police statements provided by anyone else, I would really like a copy.
6. Please explain your appeals status. As I understand, you are out of all standard appeals, including the federal habeas appeal.
7. In your letter to me, you claim that you know which document bearing your signature was used to manufacture the composite voluntary consent to search. Please describe that document in detail to me, including the form number (if any) located at the lower left of the document.
Assuming you are interested in my continued involvement in your case, we will have much to talk about and little time to do so. Respond as quickly as you can. I will use JPAY at least initially to speed up the process on my end. From here on out, please call me John rather than Mr. Allen.
Regards,
John
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11 comments:
At a loss for words right now. I believe it would be criminal to excute Preston with so many unanswered questions. The police officers, investigators and prosecuters could undoubtedly clear alot of this up. I was much more convinced of Anthony Davis's guilt than I am of Preston's guilt. Yet, the Davis case garnered so much public attention.
Depressed
I also say good luck. There was never enough evidence in this case to convict Preston.
Mike
Way to go, John! Greetings from Amnesty International in South Africa!
Way to jump on this TSJ. I'm trying to get a newspaper in Houston interested in this case to hopefully bring this into the light.
Al
I guess you guys missed the part where he says he's on his way to the trial court to receive an execution date.
His execution date is tentatively set for November. Until then anything could happen. It's not like he is going to receive a lethal injection tomorrow.
Until then anything could happen.
Or, not...
How many years has it been since you've glombed onto the case? What have you accomplished? Nothing.
Anonymous,
Assuming you were directing the last comment to Barbara Lunsford, you reveal yourself to be an ignorant and thoughtless oaf. There is more going on behind the scenes than you know. To the extent that Preston is finally getting the attention he deserves, I credit Barbara for that.
Assuming instead you were directing the comment at me, then never mind.
tsj
Why am I always suspicious of people who identify themselves at "Anonymous"? No guts no glory?
I wish you all the very best in this endeavour and although I am on the other side of the pond, I am praying for a favourable outcome. I have only just recently discovered the TSJ blogs and think that it is an inspiration. To think that TSJ single-handedly takes on the system like this along with its many faults to fight potential injustices puts a great many of us to shame. Best of luck and I sincerely, sincerely hope justice prevails.
Let me first say that I am in awe of how articulate Mr Preston is. For me this only adds to the evidence of his innocence. John and Barbara, I agree with the previous poster regarding your effors, skills and morals. I am in awe of you and stand beside you. I promise right now, that I will never step foot on Texas soil again if this man is executed. Enough is enough.
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