Radley Strikes Again

Radley Balko, aka "The Agitator", has another good article on the net, this one for Slate. He argues that it would be prudent for prosecutors to test all probative DNA evidence before trial, rather than argue whether more should be tested after trial. He uses the Hank Skinner case as an example of the problems associated with the "Test Some and Argue More" later approach.

Given the length of his article, he provides what may be the best and most balanced summary of Hank's complex case I've seen so far. If you are following Hank's case, Radley's article is certainly worth a read. It also has a rather unflattering picture of Rick Perry, perhaps the most unflattering I've seen so far.

That makes it tough to resist, doesn't it?

The Disturbing Case of Lamont Reese

Late last week, I invited readers to follow along, and even participate in an inquiry into the execution of Lamont Reese. I provided two links to the case summary, and invited any reader interested to provide a preliminary analysis of that case. Since there were no takers, I'll begin to discuss my concern about that case here. My concern is substantial.

I have a bad feeling about this one.

While searching for the 54 innocent people Texas may have executed, I allowed the case of Lamont Reese to pass through my coarse filter because of his persistent and demonstrative expressions of innocence. Other than that, the cards seemed stacked pretty well against him. Allow me to provide you an overview based on summaries provided by Wikipedia and the Texas Execution Information Center.

On March 1, 1999, 3 men flirted with Lamont Reese’s 18-year-old girlfriend, Kareema, outside a Fort Worth convenience store. After an exchange of words, Reese, Kareema, and 3 of his companions left the store and armed themselves. Kareema drove them drove them back to the store, bringing her 2-year-old son with her. Reese shot the three men who had flirted with Kareema, as well as two bystanders. Three of those who were shot died.

After the murders, Reese and his friends returned to Kareema's home where they bragged about their crime. One of them told another man who had not participated in the shooting that Reese had shot three people with an assault rifle. Reese did not dispute this statement. Instead, he boasted that he got the men who were at the pay phone at the store.

On the heels of his arrest police impounded Reese's vehicle and found five live cartridges in the glove compartment that were identical to several live rounds of ammunition discovered at the crime scene.

After his arrest Reese approached the jailer and asked if he was classified as a “celebrity inmate.” The jailer responded that Tarrant County had no such classification but instead classified appropriate inmates as “high profile.” When he assured Reese that he would check on his classification Reese announced, “Hell, I killed three people.”

Reese was convicted of capital murder. He forced his jailers to carry him to the death chamber. After being strapped to the gurney, Reese explained his behavior. ""I want everyone to know that I did not walk to this, because this is straight-up murder. I am not going to play a part in my own murder. No one should have to do that."

Reese also addressed the victims' relatives who were in attendance. "I do not know all of your names, and I don't know how you feel about me, and whether you believe it or not, I did not kill them." 

Reese's girlfriend Kareema and his three friends / accomplices were each convicted of capital murder. Kareema was sentenced to life. The others to 50 years, 45 years, and 30 years.

I had little luck finding information about the case. Generally, I can find written decisions by appellate courts that provide insight into a case. I found none for Lamont Reese. I found instead several adverse decisions unaccompanied by any written opinion. At one point Reese went on a hunger strike to draw attention to his poor legal representation, but that too was to no avail. He was sped through the appeals process and executed with hardly a whimper from the press, public, or legal profession.

Finally I stumbled across a defense for Lamont Reese, the only one I have found so far. It was an open letter written by a fellow death row inmate. I include that defense in its entirety below. 

From: MICHAEL TONEY

3872 F.M. 350 S. #999314
Livingston, Texas 77351
Website: www.michaelaim.org
Email: innocentmanintx@yahoo.com

June 15, 2004

***URGENT PLEA FOR HELP******

On March 1st, 1999 at approximately 9:00 PM as 21-year-old Lamont Reese, his 18- year-old girlfriend, Kareema Kimbrough and their 2-year-old son were at a Hollywood Video Store returning some videos and renting others, a gang related shooting was taking place at a convenience store about three miles away.

5 young men were shot, 3 died. The two survivors testified that they did not see who shot them. The following day 15-year-old Steven Kindred shot 18-year-old Curtis Sealy purportedly to silence him in regard to the previous nights murders. Steven Kindred, AKA: “Little Hoova,” was subsequently arrested for the aggravated assault (shooting) of Curtis Sealy. During police interviews Kindred began trying to “deal” his way out of his predicament. When he was questioned about the convenience store shootings he pointed the finger at someone other than Lamont Reese and Kareema Kimbrough. In his efforts to save his own skin, his stories evolved and he eventually pointed the finger of blame at Lamont and Kareema. As time progressed and the lies became more complex, a total of five people were charged in the shooting, including Steven Kindred.

Desperate for someone to corroborate his version of the events, 15-year-old Kindred turned to his 25-year-old girlfriend. He in turn told her to tell the authorities that Lamont Reese went to her house minutes after the shooting and allegedly “confessed” to her and then went to the video store. When Kindred’s adult girlfriend approached the police with her story, she was told that she could be charged with “aggravated sexual assault of a child,” because of her sexual relationship with the juvenile, Kindred.

To make a long story short, 3 of the 5 who were charged with this crime (shooting, murders) used lies to bargain their way out of death or life sentences. Lamont Reese was sentenced to death, and Kareema, life in prison. Kindred’s girlfriend was given “transactional immunity” for the charge of Aggregated Sexual Assault in return for her testimony. If that wasn’t adequate motive for perjury, I’m sure it was enhanced by her desire to help her juvenile lover.

No physical evidence was presented to support the testimony of Kindred’s girlfriend, who admitted she had been smoking crack all the day of the shooting.

I have no way of verifying any of this and no investigator has ever attempted to talk to any of the co-defendants or supposed witnesses, including the “crack smoking child molester.” However, Lamont has in his possession a receipt that shows he was in fact at the Hollywood video around 9 PM returning videos and renting more. He frequented this store often. The store security video shows Lamont, his girlfriend and their child in the store around this same time. The tape has never been properly analyzed to break down the exact times.

The problem is he is about to get an execution date. His case has moved through the courts at an alarming rate of speed. The crime happened March 1st, 1999. He was sentenced to death December 4, 2000. His direct appeal was affirmed November 6, 2002, the state writ application; relief was denied April 30th, 2003 and then by law he had one year to prepare and file his Petition for writ of Habeas Corpus in Federal Court, but the judge ordered it due in 45 days. The state responded 45 days after that and relief was denied August 14th, 2003. Now the Fifth Circuit has denied COA, May 10th, 2004. He expects an execution date very soon.

His federal writ attorney (appointed) was none other than Lisa Mullen, who as an Assistant D.A. in Tarrant Co. sent a handful of men to death row. Some have been killed.

I’m trying to be as brief as possible, but it seems if someone would take enough interest and investigate the case, especially the crack smoking lady who was given “immunity” for the charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child, enough new evidence may be found that allows Lamont to file a “Subsequent State Writ Application.”

Also, Lamont may very well be mentally retarded. The federal judge stated something to the affect “If he was smart enough to go to the video store for an alibi, he is not mentally retarded.” That is not a direct quote, but a synopsis of what was written in the opinion.

I, too, am without question a victim of a miscarriage of justice in the same county, so I know how easily it happens. If I could be wrongfully convicted in my situation, I’m certain he could be in the scenario I have just described. Personally, I believe Lamont is telling the truth. I believe him, because he has not detoured from his story under my constant scrutiny, because of the video receipt and tape, but mostly because he is determined to help his girlfriend obtain justice after he is (God forbid) killed by the State of Texas. He is more concerned with helping someone he loves than he is with himself. I perceive that as indicative of an innocent person.

Anyone who is willing and able to help Lamont can contact him at the following address.

Mr. Lamont Reese #999374
3872 F.M. 350 S.
Livingston, TX 77351

I determined that Michael Toney was accurate about at least one aspect of his story. "I, too, am without a question a victim of a miscarriage of justice in the same country, so I know how easily it happens."

I did a Google search on him. The first hit provided this tidbit.

Toney's conviction was overturned on December 17, 2008 by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals because the prosecution suppressed evidence relating to the credibility of its only two witnesses against him. The Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office subsequently withdrew from the case based on the misconduct findings. In September 2009, the Attorney General's Office, which had been specially appointed to the case in the wake of Tarrant County’s withdrawal, dismissed the indictment against Toney.  He had consistently maintained his innocence.  The case had gone unsolved for 14 years until a jail inmate told authorities that Toney had confessed to the crime.  The inmate later recanted his story, saying he had hoped to win early release.

It also provided this tidbit.

Michael Toney, who recently became the 136th person exonerated and freed from death row since 1973, died in a car crash on October 3 in East Texas.  He had been released from jail one month ago on September 2 after the state dropped all charges against him for a 1985 bombing that killed three people.

How very, very sad.

Please read carefully what Michael Toney had to say about Lamont Reese. I won't ask anyone to submit a discussion of the case. I'll simply ask instead for someone to post a comment regarding whether or not this case deserves further consideration, and a brief thought on why.

I'll wait a bit before providing my perspective.

Good night.

The Possibly Transformative Case of Lamont Reese

This may be just another of several million blog posts that go down the cyber drain hole every day. On the other hand, this may be the post that launches the next phase of the actual innocence movement. Please keep reading.

There are approximately 60 innocence projects in the US. In a good year, some of them may help free one, rarely two, factually innocent people from prison.

There are somewhere between 20,000 and 200,000 factually innocent people incarcerated in the US. I'm working to substantiate and narrow that order-of-magnitude estimate, but for now I'll simply submit it in good faith.

While I always caution users against attempting math without formal training, the point here is painfully obvious. Innocence Projects, noble and praiseworthy as they certainly are, cannot possibly handle the workload that awaits them. Check with any of them. They are swamped, overloaded, deluged, inundated, barraged, engulfed and overwhelmed while being underfunded, understaffed and under-appreciated.

We need a new model for investigating potential cases of wrongful convictions, for setting right what we have, as a society, done wrong.

At this point, I formally propose nothing. I have, however, been thinking about thousands (rather than dozens) of innocence projects, each representing a single individual (rather than a large region of the country), each sharing its experience, skill, and talent with the others via the internet.

I am entertaining the idea of an Army of Davids Innocence Network.

I adopt here Glenn Reynolds' concept of an Army of Davids. From the Amazon description, I excerpt the following explanation:

In Army of Davids, author Glenn Reynolds, the man behind the immensely popular Instapundit.com, provides an in-depth, big-picture point-of-view for a world where the small guys matter more and more. Reynolds explores the birth and growth of the individual's surprisingly strong influence in: arts and entertainment, anti-terrorism, nanotech and space research, and much more.

"George Orwell feared that technology would enable dictators to enslave the masses. Glenn Reynolds shows that technology can empower individuals to determine their own futures and to defeat those who would enslave us." -- Michael Barone

"Blogger extraordinaire Glenn Reynolds shows how average Americans can use new technologies to overcome the twin demons of corporate greed and incompetent government. Reynolds is a compelling evangelist for the power of the individual to change our world." -- Ariana Huffington

"Glenn Reynolds is an engaging, uniquely qualified guide to the do-it-yourself movements transforming business, politics, and media." -- Virginia Postrel

From personal experience, I have reason to believe that an Army Of Davids approach to innocence project efforts can work. From that same experience, I know that such efforts are not for the faint of heart, the easily discouraged, or those equipped only with good intentions. And based on my experience, I fear both failure and success.

So rather than simply jumping in, I've decided to dip my toe.

Now finally, after all this time, I am ready to mention Lamont Reese, the subject of this post. And now that I have mentioned him, I won't be speaking much more of him, at least for now. That's because I hope to work through his case with you, the readers of this blog. I want to see if we can work together to investigate the case of Lamont Reese and, if appropriate, set right what we may have done wrong.

I'm giving you an opportunity to become directly involved in the work of identifying and freeing those we have wrongfully convicted. I am giving you the chance to join an Army of Davids, to be among the very first to enlist in a ragtag team of actual innocence foot soldiers.

The first step, assuming you wish to participate, is to review the paltry evidence available on the internet. Usually I summarize these cases for you, but this is actual innocence boot camp, and you must do this yourself. Should any of you decide to investigate and to prepare a cogent summary of why one might be concerned about this case, I will be pleased to post your summary here, on this blog, under your name if you wish to reveal it. Email your summary to skepticaljuror@gmail.com

Once we have a decent overview of the case, we will decide whether it's worth pursuing further and, if so, what we might do next. For now, however, you are on your own. I offer but two links to get you started.

Texas Execution Information Center

Wikipedia

Off Topic: 2 June 2010

I can't help myself on this one. I have to post it. The entire video is great, the last scene is spectacular.

By my calculation, they achieved 0.0007 miles per gallon. Assuming they can do as well when they shoot for the moon (a dubious assumption), they will need somewhat over 600 million bottles of Coke Zero and around 3.7 billion Mentos.

Original YouTube video here.

The Surprising Case of The Despicable Claude Jones

While making my way around the internet, I noticed a post on Steve Weinberg's blog about efforts to prove that Texas executed an innocent man, specifically Claude Jones.

Now, I've looked into, at least briefly, each of the 450+ Texas executions in the "modern era", and I allowed 60+ of those through my coarse filter for more thorough analysis, but I didn't recall anyone by the name of Claude Jones. So I opened my database, did a quick search, and sure enough: Claude Howard Jones, #239, executed 8 December 2000.

I looked at the score I gave him during my coarse screening. On a scale of 0 to 10, I gave him a zero.

I re-read the summary by the Texas Execution Information Center, and didn't see anything that would cause me to score it other than zero. I was therefore interested to learn how others now intend to prove Claude Jones innocent, though executed. Allow me to first excerpt the case from the Texas Execution Information Center.

In November 1989, Jones entered Zell's liquor store in Point Blank and asked the owner, Allen Hilzendager, to retrieve a bottle for him. As Hilzendager turned to get the bottle, Jones shot him three times with a .357 Magnum revolver. Jones took $900 from the cash register and fled in a getaway vehicle waiting outside. Waiting in the car were Jones' two accomplices, Kerry Daniel Dixon Jr. and Timothy Mark Jordan.

Three days later, the trio robbed a bank in Humble, Texas, obtaining $14,000 in loot. ... About three weeks after the liquor store robbery, Jones was arrested in Florida for bank robbery.

Jones ... had eleven prior convictions in Texas for crimes including murder, armed robbery, assault, and burglary. ... In 1976, he was convicted of murder, robbery, and assault in Kansas and received a life sentence. While in Kansas prison, Jones killed another inmate. He was paroled in 1984.

Kerry Dixon also had a lengthy prior record that included murder and two prison terms.

The evidence at Jones' trial was conclusive. A number of witnesses placed Jones at the scene of the crime, including Leon Goodson, who heard the shots and watched Jones leave the liquor store. A strand of Jones' hair was found at the murder scene. Also, Timothy Jordan testified against his partners in crime.

Jones was convicted of capital murder and received the death sentence. Dixon was convicted of murder and received a 60-year prison term. Jordan received a 10-year prison term.

I should add a little factoid about the murder Claude Jones committed while in Kansas prison. He doused an inmate with lighter fluid and, in the words of his own defense attorney, "torched him."

I'll be shedding no tears for Claude Howard Jones. Now on to the case for his actual innocence.  Here's what I've learned.

No witnesses actually "placed Jones at the scene of the crime." Leaon and Wendy Goodson testified only that they saw a man enter the store who appeared to be like Claude Jones. Given that it was night time, and given they were on the other side of the highway, they could  not be sure. They were sure, however, that the man was of medium height, middle age, had a pot belly, and was wearing a gray sweatshirt.

Witness Terry Hardin testified that he knew Claude Jones, and the description fit him. Hardin also testified that Jones had been wearing a gray sweatshirt that day. Hardin then conceded the description could also describe Danny Dixon, the other man sentenced for the crime.

So much for the eyewitness identification. Still, there was the testimony of Timothy Jordan.

Timothy Jordan testified that Claude Jones confessed to having committed the robbery and having killed the clerk. There are some difficulties with Jordan's testimony, however. First, the .357 revolver used in the killing belonged to Jordan, not Jones. Second, Jordon was paid for his testimony. (That's not what the prosecution calls it, of course.) Because Timothy Jordon helped Texas nail Claude Jones, Jordan had a separate murder charge dropped, and was sentenced to just 10 years for the robbery during which Jordan murdered that other person.

And that's not quite all. Jordan later recanted his testimony. In a 2004 affidavit, he stated that everything he reported at trial about robbery and killing he learned not from Claude Jones, but from Danny Dixon, the so called getaway driver. "I took a deal because I was scared, and I testified as to what they told me to say."

So much for Timothy Jordan's testimony. But still, there was the matching hair.  Except ...

It turns out the hair was a mere 1" segment found near the cash register. The Texas crime lab initially found it so small as to be unsuitable for comparison. They later changed their mind and testified that it microscopically matched Claude Jones, but did not match any of the other 15 people that they knew had been in the store. 

So the case ends up resting entirely on that 1" hair segment. Given that microscopic hair matching is notoriously unreliable, the state is not left with much, other than a successful execution. Someone noticed the tenuous nature of this seemingly unquestionable execution, and decided to conduct mitochondrial DNA testing on the hair sample. The county of San Jacinto refuses to allow testing of the hair, and indeed wants to destroy it. (Sound familiar?)  So law suits follow, terms such as "writ of mandamus" fly hither and yon, and before too long the court may rule on whether the hair must be turned over for testing, or can be destroyed.

I have generated an Actual Innocence Scorecard for Claude Jones. Based on all the information I now have at hand, I score him at 52. If the hair is allowed to be tested, and the hair matches Danny Dixon, as many people suspect it will, then I will incorporate that information into the scorecard, and Claude Jones' Actual Innocence Score will convert to 100. Texas will have been proven to have executed an innocent man.

Suddenly, the death penalty walls are closing in around Rick Perry. He must neuter the commission set up to investigate the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, he must navigate the tricky waters of Henry Watkins Skinner, and he must pray that a 1" hair segment is never tested, or is proven to belong to the possibly-innocent, but certainly dead Claude Jones.

UPDATE:
Be aware that I have updated this story in Update on The Surprising Case of the Despicable Claude Jones.