Archive for the ‘Exonerated Persons’ Category

Brian Banks, Exonerated Sex Abuser Gets Contract with NFL’s Atlanta Falcons

Brian Banks, Exonerated Sex Abuser Gets Contract with NFL’s Atlanta Falcons

This is such great news. It’s always nice to see those who are proven to be innocent of crimes be literally blessed  and able to move on and move up in the world. Brian Banks deserves every good thing that comes his way. God bless him!!

Read report below and his gracious comments on his brand new contract with The Falcons!:

Brian Banks said signing with the Atlanta Falcons is his second-biggest accomplishment.

The biggest was Banks’ exoneration of rape charges one year ago.

Innocent man freed after 14 years not angry: Johnny Williams had Faith in God!

It was just 14-years ago when Johnny Williams was accused of raping a 9-year-old girl on her way to school. 

He told police they had the wrong guy, but the family of the young girl allegedly jumped to conclusions and thought he was the ‘Johnny’ who…Read full article, here.

 

Source: Sanctified Church Revolution

abclocal.go.com

Convicted Man John McNeil Freed from Jail After 6 Years, Wife Dies of Breast Cancer Days Before

Cobb homeowner who shot intruder released from jail

Convicted Man John McNeil Freed from Jail After 6 Years

John McNeil may be free man now but he was a convicted murderer and sentenced to life in prison. He spent six years in prison until this week when he left a courtroom a free man. He may have plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the 2005 in the death of his contractor. It was a case that drew national attention as an example of a stand-your-ground law ignored, reports say.

AJC news reported:

Texas Man In Prison 30 Years Awaiting Re-Trial While Murder Conviction Overturned?

Jerry Hartfield murder trial overturn

Texas Man In Prison 30 Years Awaiting Re-Trial While Murder Conviction Overturned?

Jerry Hartfield was still a young man when an uncle visited him in prison to tell him that his murder conviction had been overturned and he would get a new trial. This man needs some real justice because as you will read below, he is still incarcerated. SMH

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Hartfield’s murder conviction in 1980 because it found a potential juror improperly was dismissed for expressing reservations about the death penalty. The state tried twice but failed to get the court to re-examine that ruling, and on March 15, 1983 – 11 days after the court’s second rejection – then-Gov. Mark White commuted Hartfield’s sentence to life in prison.

Wrongly Convicted Murder Suspect in 1980, Frees Santae Tribble After 28 Years

 

santae tribble conviction overturned

Photo: washington post

1980 Murder Conviction of Santae Tribble Overturned By DC Judge

This is yet another sad yet victorious story about a man who was convicted of a crime he did not commit and spent 28 years in prison. We thank God for DNA technology and the Innocent Projects across the country or these men would have never been released and found innocent.

Read his story below:

A D.C. Superior Court judge has overturned the conviction of a District man who wrongly served 28 years in prison for the killing of a taxi driver.

Department Of Justice Knowingly and Falsely Imprisoned More Than 60 Black Men In NC

Department Of Justice Knowingly and Falsely Imprisoned More Than 60 Black Men In NC

We’ve heard of some tough laws but NC definitely takes the cake in downright disregard for those who have been found innocent of crimes by which they were false convicted. Read the report below and see for yourself what kind of justice system we have in America.

Terrell McCullum did not commit a federal crime by carrying a shotgun and a rifle out of his ex-girlfriend’s house.

The National Registry of Exonerations Reveals Newly Freed Prisoners Were Systematically Imprisoned

natl registry of exonerations

Photo courtesy of natl registry of exonerations

The National Registry of Exonerations Also Reveals Newly Freed Prisoners are African Americans

Two universities have compiled a registry that revealed more than 2,000 prisoners were incorrectly imprisoned for serious crimes since 1989. The astonishing news is more than half of the newly exonerated prisoners were African American, according to Newser.

Newser reported:

The National Registry of Exonerations claims to be the largest database of its kind, and it covers the era since DNA testing began to be commonly used. Many of the wrongful convictions can be traced to police corruption and witnesses who lied or later recanted, but there has also been a surprising number of people who confessed to crimes they didn’t commit while under intense interrogation.

Exonerated Death Row Inmate Carlos De Luna Finally Gets Justice 23 Years After Execution

We feel for this case because we covered a number of exonerees here at AT2W last year and Carlos De Luna was one of them.

At that time we wrote:

Evidence that came to light in 2006 suggesting that DeLuna was executed for murder because of a case of mistaken identity. He died by lethal injection in Texas in 1989 for a 1983 stabbing that he maintains was committed by another man who he directly named, but was never investigated. The Chicago Tribune did a follow up investigation focusing on the family of the man named by the victim, Carlos Hernandez, also revealing other facts that made the prosecuting attorney question the ruling. Hernandez died in 1999, but reportedly repeatedly bragged about the fact that another man went to death row for his crimes to his relatives. Texas has executed almost a third of the people condemned to death in the United States since 1982. [ Source]

Two Texas Men convicted of raping and shooting a woman almost 30 years ago Freed by new DNA evidence

These two Texas men, James Curtis Williams and Raymond Jackson spent almost 30 years of their lives in prison for a crime they did not commit.   You know when we examine this case, we ought to think about how it must feel to be falsely accused while two other “black” men who actually committed the crime enjoyed life.  This is why we cannot necessarily follow some civil rights activists whom are yet only focusing on racial issues.  Yes, of course, there is still racism in America, but there are also enemies who are black against black and have no problem with their own kind being falsely accused and blamed for something they did not do.   These sort of issues, we do not hear Rev. Al Sharpton speak about.   Tell us, isn’t it just as wrong for the actual criminals, Marion Sayles and Frederick Anderson in the below photos to allow these two other black men, Williams and Jackson to be blamed for their crimes?  Isn’t that just as bad as the white supremacists in slavery days who lynched, beat and forced labor on black people in the cotton fields?  What these two criminals did to these two freed men is a form of slavery, because it was not fair for them to go on with life as though they did nothing wrong…Read full article, here.

Source, Video and Photo Courtesy: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

Fugitive Ronald Bridgeforth After 42 Years Turns Himself In and Gets One Year In Jail: God Was With This Man Because of His Integrity and Honesty

Fugitive Ronald Bridgeforth had been on the run for 42 years and even changed his name to dodge authorities.   He had cleaned up his life, got married, worked as a guidance counselor and earned a Master’s degree.  This seems like a changed man, because he possibly gave his life to the Lord Jesus Christ.   This is why we try to encourage all of our readers, if you truly repent to God for your sins, He will forgive you, it does not matter what anyone else has to say about your past.  Ronald Bridgeforth’s life is a testimony and he is a perfect example of what God can do and how He can be fair after you admit the truth about your mistakes in life.
Ronald Bridgeforth is not just a man who had done wrong and avoided paying the consequences, he is a man who God allowed to go through his own trial to reveal transformation.   This man lived an honest life, not one who decided to continue to steal like he once was accused of doing, he chose to do right.  Possibly, he only jumped bail…Read full article, here.