Showing posts with label death penalty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label death penalty. Show all posts
Monday, October 24, 2011
More than meets the eye
At quite a young age I was confronted with a death in the family. At this very first funeral I didn't know how to act. As I stood next to my parents, I noticed my father wasn't crying. He didn't seem to be really upset. After we left the funeral, he was making jokes in the car. I asked my father why he wasn't upset. He asked me:"Why do you think I'm not upset?"I answered him that most people were crying at the funeral and he wasn't. He replied by asking me:" So in order to be upset, you have to cry?" I hesitated for a moment and then answered:" I guess not, I just thought because everyone was crying..."
My father explained to me that just because he hadn't cried, it didn't mean he wasn't upset. "There is no wrong in how people react to a shocking event. You can't always see on the outside, how someone feels on the inside." I never forgot his words.
Throughout the years I have become a person that doesn't show much emotion. I can act tough, but that doesn't mean things don't effect me. Sometimes there is more than meets the eye.
I have been writing with men on death row and life without parole for quite some years now. I have also been always interested in criminal cases and have read many the past few years. I have read trial transcripts, police reports, blogs and stories. In some cases the defendant was innocent and in some he was not. What struck me most that in the judicial system in the States the jury sometimes convicts on appearance and behavior instead of mere facts. In a way this is understandable. But I dont think it is right.
Some of the reasons jury members gave for finding someone guilty:
He seemed indifferent. He didn't look innocent. He didn't show remorse. It was just crocodile tears. He gave me the creeps. He looked like a monster. He had dark, evil eyes. He didn't cry. He seemed so cold. He was making jokes with his attorney. He looked away when they showed the crime scene photos. He just stared at the crime scene pictures. The tears weren't real. He acted guilty. He didn't seem to moarn the loss of his 'wife/friend/son'. He was staring at the floor. He was smiling and waving at his family. He yawned.
I wonder if some jury members had the same thoughts when they convicted Anthony Graves, when they found Joe D'ambrosio guilty, when they gave Juan Melendez the death penalty or when they sentenced Jeremy Sheets to die. After spending years on death row they were found innocent.
Susan Smith made a heartwrenching plea to he alledged kidnappers of her two children at a press conference. She cried and trembled when she told the media how much she loved her children. Her husband had to hold her so she wouldn't collapse. A few months later she herself was arrested for the murder of her children and later on also confessed to the crime. She had fooled almost everyone.
On both sides this shows there is more than meets the eye. Every person is unique and every person responds in their own unique way. Do I get judged by how I react to certain events in my life? Of course. But luckily my life doesn't depend on it.
Let's just stick with the facts.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Juan Melendez discusses injustice of capital punishment
“I hope he’s not innocent . . . I hope he’s not innocent . . . I hope he’s not innocent . . .”
Whenever Juan Roberto Melendez saw the lights flickering in his cell, that was the mantra he repeated over and over in his mind. After spending 6,446 days on death row in Florida for a crime he did not commit, Melendez began to tell his story all across the country. On Tuesday, Oct. 4, he gave a lecture that delivered a single, powerful message: The death of one innocent man invalidates the entire system of capital punishment.
“It’s all about details, education,” Melendez said in his speech. “People need to know that it does not deter crime. People need to know that it costs too much. People need to know that it’s racist. People need to know that it’s cruel and unnecessary.”
Melendez was brought to campus as a speaker by a joint effort between Walla Walla Community College (WWCC) Sociology Instructor Susan Palmer and Peterson Endowed Chair of Social Sciences Keith Farrington.
“When you have a speaker that comes to a shared event, it in some ways doubles the amount of work you need to do,” Farrington said. “Susan dealt with the large organization that handles the bureaucratic aspect.”
Melendez spoke at both campuses and attended classes taught by both professors.
“It’s important for people to be realistic about flaws in our justice system,” Palmer said. “In this case, I think it’s important for students to hear a personal story, as opposed to just a statistic. To be able to have some level of empathy, that the system in some cases might be flawed.”
Melendez’s approximately 17-year-long ordeal began when he was arrested for armed robbery and first-degree murder in 1984 and convicted after a week-long trial by a mostly white jury based on the testimony of two police informants who cut deals with prosecutors.
“No physical evidence against me,” Melendez said. “On the defense side, I had four witnesses say that the police informant was a snitch who had a grudge against me, but I had a problem—every witness on my side was from the African-American race. When a black man and a black woman testify for the defense, all of a sudden, the credibility is gone.”
Speaking to a crowd in Olin Hall 130 so large it threatened to violate the fire code, Melendez next described the squalid conditions he faced in prison and the friendship of other inmates who helped him survive by teaching him to read, write and speak English.
One of the night’s most harrowing anecdotes came when Melendez related how close he came to committing suicide, near the tenth year of his imprisonment. He began by explaining how his friends on death row would bribe “runners” from the main prison to bring them garbage bags so that they could hang themselves.
“I took that bag, and I made a rope, and then I put a noose in it. Then I looked at my bunk, and I looked at the rope, and I said to myself, ‘I’d better lay down and think about this a little bit more,’” he said. “I fell into a deep, deep sleep, and I start dreaming. In the dream, I’m a little kid again, doing the things I used to love. I find myself on the most beautiful beach in the world, at least to me. Every time I wanted out of there, every time suicide thoughts came to my mind, I would pray to God, ‘send me a beautiful dream.’”
The tale of a good friend’s death due to staff negligence offered a further glimpse into the disturbing realities of prison life.
“There’s a brother on the ground (from a heart attack or stroke) so we tell [the nurse], ‘He’s not breathing! He needs air!’ But telling the so-called nurse to give mouth-to-mouth to a brother on the ground—you’re wasting your time,” he said. “He died in my arms.”
“I wasn’t saved by the system. I was saved in spite of the system,” Melendez said of the case that finally freed him.
Distraught over the execution of five of her other clients, his longtime attorney handed his case over to a crack legal team, who petitioned for a change of venue based on the fact that the county judge had been Melendez’s first public defender.
Once moved to Tampa County, the case fell into the hands of Barbara Fletcher. After retrieving the case files, Fletcher discovered that the attorney had withheld critical evidence from the court, including a taped confession of the real killer and the corroborating testimonies of 16 witnesses.
Armed with this information, Fletcher wrote a 72-page opinion in which she chastised almost every official involved with the case. Her opinion led prosecutors to throw out the case against Melendez.
“I can honestly say I owe that brave woman my life,” Melendez said.
The lecture ended with a hopeful note, as Melendez described how his fellow inmates applauded as he was released and how he learned to live more richly after being deprived of simple pleasures for so long.
Melendez extended his stay in Walla Walla so that he could attend a dinner in his honor Wednesday evening. Speaking to a group of students from Whitman and WWCC, Melendez predicted that the death penalty would be abolished within the next ten years, and described meetings with recently executed inmate Troy Davis and anti-execution New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.
“I told him, you’re the one in power,” Melendez said of Richardson. “You make the changes. I gave him lots of reasons.”
WWCC student Anthony Martinez described being surprised and affected by the speech.
“It was pretty amazing the way he told his story,” Martinez said. “I expected him to tell it sad. He told it in a way like he enjoyed it, and it was cool how he managed to live through it, how he managed to move forward through it.”
The final words of Melendez’s lecture echoed his hopeful prediction, asking the audience to join him in fulfilling his dream of ending the death penalty.
“I have a confession to make: I’m still a dreamer,” he said. “But this dream cannot come true if all of you don’t get involved. You see, you are part of my dream now!”
Whenever Juan Roberto Melendez saw the lights flickering in his cell, that was the mantra he repeated over and over in his mind. After spending 6,446 days on death row in Florida for a crime he did not commit, Melendez began to tell his story all across the country. On Tuesday, Oct. 4, he gave a lecture that delivered a single, powerful message: The death of one innocent man invalidates the entire system of capital punishment.
“It’s all about details, education,” Melendez said in his speech. “People need to know that it does not deter crime. People need to know that it costs too much. People need to know that it’s racist. People need to know that it’s cruel and unnecessary.”
Melendez was brought to campus as a speaker by a joint effort between Walla Walla Community College (WWCC) Sociology Instructor Susan Palmer and Peterson Endowed Chair of Social Sciences Keith Farrington.
“When you have a speaker that comes to a shared event, it in some ways doubles the amount of work you need to do,” Farrington said. “Susan dealt with the large organization that handles the bureaucratic aspect.”
Melendez spoke at both campuses and attended classes taught by both professors.
“It’s important for people to be realistic about flaws in our justice system,” Palmer said. “In this case, I think it’s important for students to hear a personal story, as opposed to just a statistic. To be able to have some level of empathy, that the system in some cases might be flawed.”
Melendez’s approximately 17-year-long ordeal began when he was arrested for armed robbery and first-degree murder in 1984 and convicted after a week-long trial by a mostly white jury based on the testimony of two police informants who cut deals with prosecutors.
“No physical evidence against me,” Melendez said. “On the defense side, I had four witnesses say that the police informant was a snitch who had a grudge against me, but I had a problem—every witness on my side was from the African-American race. When a black man and a black woman testify for the defense, all of a sudden, the credibility is gone.”
Speaking to a crowd in Olin Hall 130 so large it threatened to violate the fire code, Melendez next described the squalid conditions he faced in prison and the friendship of other inmates who helped him survive by teaching him to read, write and speak English.
One of the night’s most harrowing anecdotes came when Melendez related how close he came to committing suicide, near the tenth year of his imprisonment. He began by explaining how his friends on death row would bribe “runners” from the main prison to bring them garbage bags so that they could hang themselves.
“I took that bag, and I made a rope, and then I put a noose in it. Then I looked at my bunk, and I looked at the rope, and I said to myself, ‘I’d better lay down and think about this a little bit more,’” he said. “I fell into a deep, deep sleep, and I start dreaming. In the dream, I’m a little kid again, doing the things I used to love. I find myself on the most beautiful beach in the world, at least to me. Every time I wanted out of there, every time suicide thoughts came to my mind, I would pray to God, ‘send me a beautiful dream.’”
The tale of a good friend’s death due to staff negligence offered a further glimpse into the disturbing realities of prison life.
“There’s a brother on the ground (from a heart attack or stroke) so we tell [the nurse], ‘He’s not breathing! He needs air!’ But telling the so-called nurse to give mouth-to-mouth to a brother on the ground—you’re wasting your time,” he said. “He died in my arms.”
“I wasn’t saved by the system. I was saved in spite of the system,” Melendez said of the case that finally freed him.
Distraught over the execution of five of her other clients, his longtime attorney handed his case over to a crack legal team, who petitioned for a change of venue based on the fact that the county judge had been Melendez’s first public defender.
Once moved to Tampa County, the case fell into the hands of Barbara Fletcher. After retrieving the case files, Fletcher discovered that the attorney had withheld critical evidence from the court, including a taped confession of the real killer and the corroborating testimonies of 16 witnesses.
Armed with this information, Fletcher wrote a 72-page opinion in which she chastised almost every official involved with the case. Her opinion led prosecutors to throw out the case against Melendez.
“I can honestly say I owe that brave woman my life,” Melendez said.
The lecture ended with a hopeful note, as Melendez described how his fellow inmates applauded as he was released and how he learned to live more richly after being deprived of simple pleasures for so long.
Melendez extended his stay in Walla Walla so that he could attend a dinner in his honor Wednesday evening. Speaking to a group of students from Whitman and WWCC, Melendez predicted that the death penalty would be abolished within the next ten years, and described meetings with recently executed inmate Troy Davis and anti-execution New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.
“I told him, you’re the one in power,” Melendez said of Richardson. “You make the changes. I gave him lots of reasons.”
WWCC student Anthony Martinez described being surprised and affected by the speech.
“It was pretty amazing the way he told his story,” Martinez said. “I expected him to tell it sad. He told it in a way like he enjoyed it, and it was cool how he managed to live through it, how he managed to move forward through it.”
The final words of Melendez’s lecture echoed his hopeful prediction, asking the audience to join him in fulfilling his dream of ending the death penalty.
“I have a confession to make: I’m still a dreamer,” he said. “But this dream cannot come true if all of you don’t get involved. You see, you are part of my dream now!”
Friday, July 8, 2011
Letter to the clemency board for Brett
Dear members of the Parole Board, June 27, 2011
I am writing you in regard of the planned execution of Brett Hartmann on August 16th.
I want to urge you to give Brett Hartmann a stay of execution.
I have known Brett for over 4 years now. I have read the trial transcripts and the police reports myself. I have come to the conclusion that there is too much doubt about his guilt to execute Brett.
The facts of this case:
There were hairs found on the victims body and also a used condom. Despite different attempts, the Summit County Prosecutor refused to have these important pieces of evidence tested.
There was evidence supporting Brett’s own story; he was with the victim the night before she was murdered and he found her hours after the murder. The evidence of the time of the murder, like the alarm clock and finger prints found, were sent to the lab, but the results were never shared. Other evidence at the time of the murder were never tested at all.
At the time of the murder Brett was at home (15 minutes away from the crime scene) on the phone with a friend. The testimony of that friend and phone records support this.
The defense failed to call expert witnesses on the stand who contradicted the testimony of the expert witness of the Prosecutor, Rod Englert. His theory and testimony about the blood found on Brett’s t-shirt were false.
When comparing the police reports with the testimonies of several police officers, it becomes clear that these police officers committed perjury in favor for the Prosecution. For example there was a fingerprint found on the alarm clock (the cord was used to strangle the victim) and sent to the lab, but the results were never shared. Members of the police testified the fingerprint was not clear enough to send it to the lab.
The police and Prosecutor failed to pursue the most likely alternative suspect. He didn’t have an alibi at the time of the murder, he had a master key of the building and he was the ex boyfriend of the victim. Witnesses have heard him threaten the victim on several occasions.
There is questionable testimony from a jailhouse snitch. Perjury involving the primary government informant in the case would bring the reliability of the jury’s guilty verdict into question.
Brett as the person I know:
I have come to know Brett as a generous, loving and caring person. He has been a great friend over the years. I have had contact with Brett through letters, on the phone and on several visits. Despite his situation he has always been there for me and always supported me through all my ordeals. He is a calm, intelligent and thoughtful person. He has successfully finished his paralegal studies, became an ordained minister and has done several other studies while incarcerated. He has also painted the walls in the prison and has made several paintings for family and loved ones. Brett is a huge contribution to many peoples’ lives. He certainly is to mine.
Finally, I have the upmost sympathy for Winda Snipes’ family and friends. But when there is so much doubt about Brett’s guilt, executing him will bring them no justice either.The real killer might still be walking the streets. I am urging you, not only for Brett’s sake, but also for Winda, her loved ones and for the safety of everyone else, that you give Brett Hartmann a stay of execution. With this stay DNA can be tested and we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Brett is in fact innocent. When you don’t give Brett a stay, the streets are not safer, Winda and her loved ones haven’t gotten justice and the real killer remains unpunished.
Sincerely,
I am writing you in regard of the planned execution of Brett Hartmann on August 16th.
I want to urge you to give Brett Hartmann a stay of execution.
I have known Brett for over 4 years now. I have read the trial transcripts and the police reports myself. I have come to the conclusion that there is too much doubt about his guilt to execute Brett.
The facts of this case:
There were hairs found on the victims body and also a used condom. Despite different attempts, the Summit County Prosecutor refused to have these important pieces of evidence tested.
There was evidence supporting Brett’s own story; he was with the victim the night before she was murdered and he found her hours after the murder. The evidence of the time of the murder, like the alarm clock and finger prints found, were sent to the lab, but the results were never shared. Other evidence at the time of the murder were never tested at all.
At the time of the murder Brett was at home (15 minutes away from the crime scene) on the phone with a friend. The testimony of that friend and phone records support this.
The defense failed to call expert witnesses on the stand who contradicted the testimony of the expert witness of the Prosecutor, Rod Englert. His theory and testimony about the blood found on Brett’s t-shirt were false.
When comparing the police reports with the testimonies of several police officers, it becomes clear that these police officers committed perjury in favor for the Prosecution. For example there was a fingerprint found on the alarm clock (the cord was used to strangle the victim) and sent to the lab, but the results were never shared. Members of the police testified the fingerprint was not clear enough to send it to the lab.
The police and Prosecutor failed to pursue the most likely alternative suspect. He didn’t have an alibi at the time of the murder, he had a master key of the building and he was the ex boyfriend of the victim. Witnesses have heard him threaten the victim on several occasions.
There is questionable testimony from a jailhouse snitch. Perjury involving the primary government informant in the case would bring the reliability of the jury’s guilty verdict into question.
Brett as the person I know:
I have come to know Brett as a generous, loving and caring person. He has been a great friend over the years. I have had contact with Brett through letters, on the phone and on several visits. Despite his situation he has always been there for me and always supported me through all my ordeals. He is a calm, intelligent and thoughtful person. He has successfully finished his paralegal studies, became an ordained minister and has done several other studies while incarcerated. He has also painted the walls in the prison and has made several paintings for family and loved ones. Brett is a huge contribution to many peoples’ lives. He certainly is to mine.
Finally, I have the upmost sympathy for Winda Snipes’ family and friends. But when there is so much doubt about Brett’s guilt, executing him will bring them no justice either.The real killer might still be walking the streets. I am urging you, not only for Brett’s sake, but also for Winda, her loved ones and for the safety of everyone else, that you give Brett Hartmann a stay of execution. With this stay DNA can be tested and we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Brett is in fact innocent. When you don’t give Brett a stay, the streets are not safer, Winda and her loved ones haven’t gotten justice and the real killer remains unpunished.
Sincerely,
Monday, June 20, 2011
My letter for Brett
I keep procrastinating it, because I don't want to do it. Because when I do, it is reality. When I do, the truth is going to hit me like a ton of bricks. August 16. Just another date for so many people. But that date has been hunting me. I've had nightmares about that date. For more than 4 years he has been such a close friend. And now I need to write a letter to the Clemency Board to save his life. Brett has an execution date for August 16.
He is innocent, so how can this happen? Let me put one thing straight. I am not saying he is innocent, because I want him to be innocent, because I think he is innocent or because he told me he is innocent. I am saying he is innocent, because I know he is innocent. Some of my friends think I have poor judgement when it comes to his innocence. They think I got too personally involved and that this has blurred my objectivity. The great thing about Brett is when we met, he didnt emphasize his innocence. He just sent me the trial transcript and all the police reports and told me to judge for myself. I was amazed by the complete lack of evidence against him and similarily amazed by the pile of evidence supporting his innocence. People have elevated their careers because of Brett's conviction. He has been on death row for over 13 years now. It makes me angry, it makes me pissed off and it makes me feel completely powerless. I want to slap the members of the Clemency Board in their face with all the evidence supporting his innocence. I want to scream at them that they are about to execute an innocent man and that the real murderer is still out there. I am astonished that prosecutors, policemen and so called expert witnesses have willingly commited perjury and thereby signed his death sentence to help their own careers. If Brett would have pleaded guilty, he would have gotten life without parole. But because he didnt show remorse according to the judge and kept claiming his innocence, he got the death sentence. Brett will never admit guilt, even if he can save his life with it. Not then and not now. The legacy he wants to leave is not that of a murderer. But right now most people see him this way.
And now I have to write a letter to the Clemency Board. Can words persuade them to give him a stay?
Should I tell them about all of the wonderful memories we shared? Does it matter to them that he loved waking me up with his 3am phonecalls, he learned how to speak Dutch, but couldnt pronounce the letter 'G' and we couldn't stop laughing when throwing food at each other at visits? Do they care that he gave me the nickname Roadrunner and Bula, he made a lot of beautiful paintings for me and that I just don't want to lose such a dear friend? Will they quickly read through the letter and then lay it aside or will they read it and let the words really sink in?
Brett doesn't deserve to die. He doesn't need to die. Brett is such a beautiful, warm and gentle person. He blames himself that we became close friends, because he doesn't want to leave me devastated when he is executed. When his execution does happen, I will be left devastated, but I will never regret knowing him and loving him. I will never regret all the moments we shared. It was all worth it. I wouldn't change a thing.
I hope the words will make them realize that Brett shouldn't die. I hope Brett will be spared. I hope Brett will live. I hope. I will keep hoping.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Returning home
When you just lost someone, the memories hurt like hell. You try so hard to erase all the memories, because you can't stand the pain. You pray for amnesia, because maybe that will help you move on. Everywhere you go, everything you do, reminds you of the person you lost. After a while the pain eases a little bit and for the first time the memories make you smile.
My (second) mom passed away almost a year ago. I am planning to go see her son, my dear friend Brett, pretty soon. Brett has spent the last 13 years on death row for a crime he did not commit.
When I arrive in the States, she won't pick me up from the airport. She won't be smoking Richmond cigarettes and won't buy us donuts for our afternoon coffee. She won't be watching Law and Order in the kitchen. She won't say she needs to put her face on before going out (God how that always made me smile). She won't put her arms around me and tell me she loves me.
Mom was one of the strongest women I have ever known. Her heart was bigger than the state she lived in. There were so many beautiful things about her that defined the person she was. Even in time of darkness, she still had hope. She never gave up the fight to free Brett. I admire her beyond words. In every way, she is the definition of my hero.
Writing this brings back memories. It makes me smile, but cry at the same time. No one can ever take away the moments we shared and all the beautiful memories I have of her. I only wish there would have been more memories. I wish you were still here mom. God how I miss you.
I know it will hurt like hell to go back without her being there. She ended her last email to me with " Luv you little one.. Mom". The last time I saw mom, she told me I would always have a family there to come home to.
So mom I'm coming home.
My (second) mom passed away almost a year ago. I am planning to go see her son, my dear friend Brett, pretty soon. Brett has spent the last 13 years on death row for a crime he did not commit.
When I arrive in the States, she won't pick me up from the airport. She won't be smoking Richmond cigarettes and won't buy us donuts for our afternoon coffee. She won't be watching Law and Order in the kitchen. She won't say she needs to put her face on before going out (God how that always made me smile). She won't put her arms around me and tell me she loves me.
Mom was one of the strongest women I have ever known. Her heart was bigger than the state she lived in. There were so many beautiful things about her that defined the person she was. Even in time of darkness, she still had hope. She never gave up the fight to free Brett. I admire her beyond words. In every way, she is the definition of my hero.
Writing this brings back memories. It makes me smile, but cry at the same time. No one can ever take away the moments we shared and all the beautiful memories I have of her. I only wish there would have been more memories. I wish you were still here mom. God how I miss you.
I know it will hurt like hell to go back without her being there. She ended her last email to me with " Luv you little one.. Mom". The last time I saw mom, she told me I would always have a family there to come home to.
So mom I'm coming home.
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