Three hundred sixty-five years
February 27, 2002

by Kevin Acers, president
Amnesty International/Oklahoma City

This was the sentence imposed on Arvin McGee, an innocent prisoner recently released after DNA evidence cleared him of a 1987 sexual assault in Tulsa. He spent 14 years behind bars. Fourteen out of three hundred sixty-five, later “reduced” to 298 years-—still a sentence of life in prison until death.

Thank God that Arvin McGee’s freedom was won after fourteen years.

And thank God that the 20-year old victim of this crime survived her brutal attack. For her, for her loved ones, and for Arvin McGee.

Had this unfortunate woman been killed as well as raped and robbed, is there any doubt that the jury would have sentenced Arvin McGee to death? The jury viewed the crime worthy of a three-hundred-plus years sentence. If murder were involved, McGee would surely have been sent to death row.

After fourteen years on death row, where would McGee be now? Quite possibly in a body bag.

This was not a capital case. This was not a murder.

But if it had been, Oklahoma would have sent yet another innocent man to death row--and might have already killed him.

A system that hands down lengthy sentences to innocent men is too flawed to be trusted with the death penalty. If the system cannot guarantee that no innocent person will be executed—and how can it, looking at what happened to Arvin McGee?--then the death penalty must be abolished.

Arvin McGee’s wrongful imprisonment is a tragedy, and his lost 14 years can never be replaced. It is no small thing that his liberty, at least, has been restored.

McGee is the third innocent prisoner released from Oklahoma prisons in under a year thanks to DNA testing. It is not a stretch to assume that there are other innocent prisoners convicted of crimes which left no DNA evidence behind.

It is likewise not a stretch to assume that one of these unknown innocents may be sitting in a cell on death row, and will be executed with his innocence undiscovered.

When a mistake is made and an innocent prisoner has been sentenced to a lengthy prison term, liberty can at least be restored. If that prisoner has been executed, nothing is left but deep, irrevocable shame.

We must face the fact that our system makes the kinds of mistakes that rule out the death penalty as an acceptable practice.