Wrongful
Convictions/Miscarriages of Justice
According
to the U. S. Department of Justice, 294 persons were sentenced to death in
Oklahoma between 1973 and 1999. Of
these, in 128 cases the sentence or conviction was overturned, and in 1 case
the sentence was commuted. This is
a reversal rate of 43.9%. [i]
Oklahoma has convicted
a number of men who have been sent to death row and then later exonerated,
usually due to the efforts of family members or outsiders.
· Ronald Williamson,
convicted 1988, released 1997
Williamson
came within three days of execution when stay was ordered to allow DNA testing
of evidence kept by witness/expert. DNA
evidence pointed to another man, who had testified against Williamson and
his co-defendant Dennis Fritz.
· Adolph Munson, convicted 1985,
acquitted 1995
Munson's
conviction was unanimously overturned by Oklahoma's highest criminal appeals
court in December, 1994 because the state withheld material evidence tending
to exonerate Munson. Some of the forensic evidence at trial was provided by
Dr. Ralph Erdmann, who was subsequently convicted of seven felony counts involving
misrepresentation of facts in other cases and stripped of his license. Munson was acquitted at a re-trial in April,
1995.
· Robert Lee Miller, Jr., convicted 1988, released 1997
Miller
was convicted of the rape and murder of two elderly women in 1988. However, recent DNA evidence points to another
defendant who was already incarcerated on similar charges. Oklahoma County
Special Judge Larry Jones dismissed the charges against Miller in February,
1997, saying that there was not enough evidence to justify his continued imprisonment.
Miller's original conviction was overturned in 1995, and he was granted a
new trial.
· Larry Dean Smith:
convicted1978, released 1984
Smith
was convicted of the murder of a man who burned to death in a camper pick-up
truck. Although he at first admitted his involvement in the related robbery,
he maintained he had nothing to do with the murder. The U.S. Supreme Court
vacated his death sentence, and the Oklahoma Attorney General recommended
that the murder conviction be set aside. On remand, the Oklahoma Court of
Criminal Appeals refused to uphold Smith's conviction for the robbery.
· Charles Ray Giddens:
convicted 1978, released 1982
Conviction
and death sentence reversed by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on the
grounds of insufficient evidence and the charges were dropped.
· Gregory R. Wilhoit:
convicted 1987, acquitted 1993
Convicted
of killing his estranged wife while she slept. His conviction was overturned
and he was released in 1991 when 11 forensic experts testified that a bite
mark found on his dead wife did not belong to him. The appeals court also
found ineffective assistance of counsel. He was acquitted at a retrial in
April, 1993.
· Clifford Henry Bowen,
convicted 1981, release 1986.
On
June 25, 1986, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals
·
Richard Neal Jones,
convicted 1983, acquitted 1988.
The
Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma remanded the case for retrial. The Court
held the jury was prejudiced by the improper admission of hearsay testimony
and inflammatory photographs. The Court also agreed that the case should be
remanded on the basis of prosecutorial misconduct. Moreover, the court held,
the case was not one in
which
Jones' guilt was "overwhelming" and that Jones' involvement was
disputed by the evidence.
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2001, Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. All rights
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