Tested

The following appeared as a post on my good friend Randy Mayeux's blog page.  Tested:  How Twelve Wrongly Imprisoned Men Held Onto Hope  was written by a long time supporter of CitySquare.  I hope my post will encourage you to buy a copy and read!  CitySquare has been involved with many of those exonerated here in Dallas County and we continue that involvement. 

I have just finished reading each and every word of the book Tested: How Twelve Wrongly Imprisoned Men Held Onto Hope by Peyton Budd in collaboration with Dorothy Budd — Photographs by Deborah Luster. (Published by Brown Books Publishing Group in Dallas). I say it this way to make a point – though I thoroughly read the books that I present, at times I have to move through the text pretty fast. This one was one to read slowly – and I did.

It chronicles the stories of some men who sat in prison, some for decades, while innocent of the crimes they were sent to prison for. They were wrongfully accused, wrongfully convicted, wrongfully imprisoned. There is now no doubt of the wrongfulness of their convictions. They have been exonerated. The courts admit the wrongful convictions. They are now free.

But, of course, they will never be free. As exoneree Eugene Hinton put it: “There are no psychiatrists who’ve done twenty years in prison for a crime they did not commit, so they really couldn’t offer me a solution.”

The book is written by mother and daughter writing team Peyton Budd and Dorothy Budd. Here’s Peyton’s observation:

These men changed me.

I am a different person now, a better person, for having the chance to know them and tell their stories. Every moment I spent with them altered my view of the world and demonstrated the resilience of the human spirit. They also taught me that our judicial system is broken and must be fixed.

And then, this sad note:

Countless, unimaginable numbers of innocent people still sit in prison and will never be freed.

This must stop.

I frequently share insight on this blog from books I have read. Occasionally, I strongly suggest that you read the book yourself. I do so with this book. It will make you sad, yet hopeful, all at the same time. It will do your heart good. It did mine.

Justice denied, justice affirmed

When things go terribly wrong in a community, steps must be taken to ensure that the same mistakes and misjudgments are never made again. When systems are found to be broken or inadequate, they must be repaired or discarded altogether and replaced.

Take the matter of wrongly convicted, innocent persons who suffer incarceration at the hands of the State of Texas because of flawed and often intentionally misleading interrogation methods.

This week, The Dallas Morning News reported on the latest Dallas County man who has been cleared of all charges against him related to the rape of a co-ed at Southern Methodist University in 1986. The report makes it clear that forces were at work in the investigation that assured a wrongful conviction. Obviously, when tried, Jerry Lee Evans did not receive the benefit of the assumption of innocence until proven guilty in a court of law.

Consider the report by Jennifer Emily:

Dallas County's 20th DNA exoneration expected

Jerry Lee Evans matched the description of the man who abducted and raped a woman in Deep Ellum in 1986. He even had a similar speech impediment.

But today Evans, 47, is expected to walk out of the courtroom a free man because DNA testing shows he is not the man who raped an 18-year-old Southern Methodist University freshman at knifepoint.

Dallas County prosecutors Tuesday pointed to questionable witness identification procedures as a leading reason for his wrongful conviction.

When the woman looked at a six-picture photo spread, Dallas police officers "were leading and encouraging" her to pick Evans out of the photo lineup, said Mike Ware, who oversees the DA's conviction integrity unit. Officers were also "enthusiastically encouraging" after the woman selected Evans.

You'll find the full report here.

Whenever a community's basic systems of justice, fairness and discovery break down this badly, intervention seems necessary. Again, we should be grateful for the leadership of Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins. Where would Mr. Evans be without him and his leadership?

But, I'm wondering if more needs to be done to speed up ongoing investigations of other cases that need review?

We have seen now 20 individuals in Dallas County alone who have been freed after serving hundreds of years in prison for crimes committed by others, many of whom remain at large and a danger to us all. Dallas County should consider the formation of a special citizen's commission, a public "justice review board" of sorts, to consider, not individual cases as such, but the processes and patterns that have led to such terrible, unthinkable failure on the part of our criminal justice system.

It is time for systemic change.

.

At last! Texas shows the way!

As you may have gathered from reading here over the past several months, Central Dallas Ministries has been intimately involved with a very special group of men as they work hard to rebuild their shattered lives. Known around here as "the Exonerees," all were convicted and imprisoned for crimes they did not commit.

Thanks to the efforts of lots of people, including our own Rev. Gerald Britt, the Texas Legislature has placed a new law on Governor Rick Perry's desk that will make Texas the national leader in providing for these who have been treated so unjustly.

Take a look here to read the short little AP note that made The Dallas Morning News last week.

To hear directly from one of these men and to revisit my previous posts go here.

Way to go, Gerald! Your trips to Austin certainly paid off!

.

Justice

We showed the video below at the 14th Annual Urban Ministries Prayer Breakfast last week. Our keynote speaker, Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins challenged the audience of about 1,000 with a message about prison reform and community justice and safety.

It was quite a morning to say the least.

Thanks to new DNA technology and to his own obvious courage and integrity, Mr. Watkins has been responsible for the exoneration of almost 30 wrongly convicted Dallas County residents.

Over the past year or so, Central Dallas Ministries, thanks largely to the leadership and commitment of Gerald Britt, has been privileged to work closely with the Innocence Project of Texas, the non-profit advocacy group representing falsely accused and convicted inmates, and with the men who have been released from prison after decades in prison.

The group of exonerees meets in one of our buildings on a monthly basis for group support and work. We've been fortunate to be able to stand with these men as they work hard to rebuild their lives.

The video that follows is the testimony of just one of our friends who has been through and unthinkable ordeal.

One of our core values at CDM is "justice." Working with these men is a pure play in this regard.

DMagazine Cover Story: Dallas DA Craig Watkins

Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins turns up on the cover of this month's issue of D Magazine.

Mr. Watkins will serve as our keynote speaker at Central Dallas Ministries' 14th Annual Urban Ministries Prayer Breakfast on Tuesday, April 21 at the Hilton Anatole Hotel. Start time is set for 7:15 a.m.

It will be a great morning of inspiration, challenge and conversation concerning justice and faith.

Read the article about Mr. Watkins here.

For information about the prayer breakfast contact Lisa Goolsby at lgoolsby@CentralDallasMinistries.org.

Plan now to join us!

.

14th Annual Urban Ministries Prayer Breakfast

Great news to share today!

Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins has agreed to keynote Central Dallas Ministries' 14th Annual Urban Ministries Prayer Breakfast!

This special, annual gathering of community leaders from every sector--business, political, non-profit, neighborhood and community organizing, donors and folks from every corner of the city--will gather on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 at 7:15 a.m. at the Hilton Anatole Hotel to share in a morning of inspiration and challenge.

Mr. Watkins, elected DA in 2007 and named "Texan of the Year" by The Dallas Morning News, has led a courageous and ambitious effort to re-open a significant number of criminal cases in which DNA evidence and new technology indicated erroneous verdicts by judges and juries here in Dallas County. Working in cooperation with The Innocence Project, Mr. Watkins' efforts have resulted in the exoneration of more than 20 wrongfully convicted individuals.

CDM's own Gerald Britt has been working closely with this wonderful group of men as they work hard to rebuild their lives in our community. We are hoping to hear from one of them during this special morning.














Mr. Watkins will address the importance of pursuing and ensuring integrity and fairness in the administration of criminal justice in a community like Dallas. He will also be discussing the clear link between his own important work and his personal faith walk.

It will be a wonderful event!

Save the date today. Contact us for further information by emailing event director, Lisa Goolsby at lgoolsby@CentralDallasMinistries.org or by calling her at 214.823.8710 ext. 138.

More details soon! Please help us spread the word about this important event.

.

Thanksgiving for the prisoners. . .

". . .when I was in prison, you came to me"

Important value to keep in mind.

No one has "visited" prisoners more effectively than the leaders and students who work in the Innocence Project.

Go here to read a heart-felt thank you from one of the recent exonerees to round out your Thanksgiving holiday reflections.

Freedom is so precious. Justice so important.

.

Our district attorney

Gerald Britt has a way with words. He's also good at analysis and subject selection. Let me hasten to add, Central Dallas Ministries is more than fortunate to have him as our Vice-President of Public Policy and Community Program Development.

These days, the Dallas Morning News has him writing a regular opinion column for the paper. Smart move on their part. Smart words from Rev. Britt.

Did you read his recent comments on Dallas District Attorney Craig Watkins in the November 17 edition of the paper?

As usual, Gerald was right on in his nomination of Watkins for "Texan of the Year." We are fortunate to have Mr. Watkins as our DA.

Here's how Gerald begins:

Jan.1, 2007, the day Craig Watkins was sworn in as Dallas' first African-American district attorney, marked a seismic shift in local politics. Perhaps even more significant than the election of Ron Kirk, our first black mayor, Mr. Watkins' first two years in office illustrate a commitment to just and effective enforcement of the law; citizens expect as much and rightly so.

Mr. Watkins has taken his charge one step further – an equal commitment to justice. The Dallas D.A.'s office is as committed to seeing the innocent go free as it is in seeing the guilty prosecuted – and Mr. Watkins has redoubled those efforts in 2008.

For that reason, Craig Watkins is my nominee for Dallas Morning News Texan of the Year.

Read on here.

.

Exonerees

Friday afternoon I sat in our large conference room here at our headquarters for a few minutes and listened almost breathlessly as 8 men shared their stories of life behind bars for crimes they did not commit.

A couple of the gentleman involved in the conversation had left the building before I made it to the meeting. So, ten men seated around a table trying to make sense out of the meaning of their lives in face of the loss of decades of life thanks to being wrongly accused, convicted and imprisoned.

Thanks to new DNA technology, each of these men had been exonerated and released from prison. (Read more about this issue and Texas here.)

Now they are trying to move back into the world, while dealing with an unimaginable emotional mix of conflicting feelings, fears and anxieties.

Central Dallas Ministries hopes to partner with these men to put forward new legislation that would ensure that such cases result in a clean record. Currently, as hard as it is to believe, even though freed, their conviction stays on their records! A Governor's pardon is not automatic and to receive the financial benefit that the state will pay, each must find legal help to pursue this rather laborious process.

Injustice is written all over this one, as is race.

For those of you who can't comprehend the notion of institutional racism, take a look at this entire, tragic situation.

We'll get involved. It's a fight faith won't allow us to walk away from.

More later.

.