Christy Sheppard,Debra Sue Carter's Sister Is Working To Free The Wrongly Convicted and Prevent Wrongful Convictions

Women Gain When Men Wrongly Accused of Rape Are Freed

Run Date: 07/27/06
By Maddy deLone
WeNews commentator
The Innocence Project often opens the prison gates for men falsely accused of sex assault. Its staff is often asked whether its work serves the interests of rape survivors and women generally. Commentator Maddy deLone says the answers are yes and yes.

Editor's Note: The following is a commentary. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily the views of Women's eNews.
(WOMENSENEWS)--Earlier this month, Alan Newton walked out of a Bronx courtroom a free man. Twenty-two years after he was convicted for a brutal rape that he didn't commit, he was finally exonerated. For the first time since 1984, he decided what he would wear and what he would do.
One of the first things he did was approach several dozen reporters to talk about the rape survivor who mistakenly identified him as the perpetrator, leading to his conviction. Before addressing his own wrongful conviction and his new freedom, he said his thoughts were with the rape survivor. His voice chocked with emotion, he expressed compassion and sympathy for her.

To date, 182 people nationwide have been exonerated with DNA testing. The Innocence Project represented many of them, just as we represented Alan Newton. Because we only take cases where DNA can yield conclusive proof of innocence, many of our clients are men who were wrongly convicted of sexual assault. Ninety percent of the 182 exonerations involved sexual assault (sometimes in combination with murder and other crimes). While the criminal justice system began using DNA testing two decades ago to help identify the guilty and exonerate the innocent, it has become more prevalent and more sophisticated in recent years.

Since our clients are primarily men convicted of heinous crimes against women, some people wonder whether our work serves the interests of rape survivors and women generally. I strongly believe that it does in very specific, individual ways, and also more broadly and profoundly.

When No Justice Is Served
When the wrong man is convicted of assaulting a woman, nobody sees justice. The true perpetrator can remain at large, unpunished for a horrible crime and able to rape again. In one-third of the 182 DNA exonerations, we haven't just proved someone's innocence; the DNA has been used to help identify the true perpetrator.

As Alan Newton recognized earlier this month, wrongful convictions--once they're finally overturned--reopen crime victims' wounds and prevent them from moving forward, often decades after a crime. Once DNA proves that the wrong man was convicted, rape survivors are often brought right back to the night of the crime. Many are left questioning how they identified the wrong man, and wondering whether they will have to endure another trial, years later. The pain survivors experience at such times could be avoided if wrongful convictions were prevented in the first place.

Beyond the substantial consequences for the wrongly accused and individual rape survivors, wrongful convictions concern many of us because people of color and poor people are disproportionately targeted by our criminal justice system. That's troubling enough, but when it's done in the name of protecting the public and punishing violence against women, we cannot stand by.

More Men of Color Convicted
Among the 182 exoneration cases, where the race of wrongly convicted people is known, nearly 75 percent are men of color. No two cases are alike, but in many of them, police focused on an African American man immediately and ignored information that might have led to other suspects. In some of them, police coerced confessions, prosecutors concealed evidence and defense attorneys for poor defendants failed to challenge faulty evidence and law enforcement tactics.

The leading cause of wrongful convictions--playing a factor in about 75 percent of the exoneration cases--is eyewitness misidentification. The day after Alan Newton was exonerated in the Bronx, a member of a "men's advocacy" group called our office. He wasn't calling to help Newton find a job or offering other support to him, as many others have. He wanted to know why the Innocence Project doesn't pursue perjury charges against rape survivors who identify the wrong man.

Aside from the patently offensive notion of putting rape survivors on trial, the truth is that eyewitness misidentification is often the result of flawed law enforcement techniques that lead crime victims to identify a suspect who police already presume is guilty. The Innocence Project pursues policy reforms to improve identification techniques nationwide so crime victims aren't led to misidentify innocent people. These include specific changes to police lineup procedures, which have already been adopted by a number of cities, states and counties.

Women Who Help Our Work
A number of rape survivors and crime victims work with the Innocence Project to remedy the deeply embedded problems in our criminal justice system that cause wrongful convictions in the first place. They are all incredibly strong, powerful and amazing women. A particularly inspiring partner in our work is Christy Sheppard of Oklahoma.

Her cousin, Debra Sue Carter, was brutally raped and murdered in 1982. Six years later, Dennis Fritz and Ron Williamson were convicted; Fritz was sentenced to life in prison, while Williamson received the death penalty and came within five days of being executed. In 1999, both men were exonerated with DNA testing, which indicated that the state's main witness against them was actually the perpetrator.

In the years since, Christy Sheppard has pressed for state legislation to create an Innocence Commission that would study wrongful convictions in the state and identify steps to avoid future wrongful convictions. She says this advocacy is her way of fighting for real justice for her cousin, and for countless other women.

In very different ways, Christy Sheppard and Alan Newton remind us why working to free the wrongly convicted and prevent wrongful convictions is critical for everyone involved. They show us not just what's at stake, but that all of us can--and must--do our part to correct injustice.

Let me preface this by saying that I have an enormous amount of respect for the efforts of The Innocence Project. Those involved devote their time to freeing individuals who have been wrongly convicted and it is through their efforts that many men who have been falsely accused of rape and other crimes have been freed.

For this, I applaud them.

That said....the premise of this article is to convince people that it is beneficial to women if innocent men who are wrongly convicted of rape are freed from jail.

WHO CARES?

What bearing should it have upon the righting of a heinous wrong if it serves the interests of women? It is done because it is right; it is done because anything less should be unthinkable.

Unquestionably, we all benefit and the greater good is served when right and justice prevail but even if this were not the case; even if it could be indisputably proven that women were negatively effected by innocent men being released from jail....WHO CARES?

It's a telling commentary that this issue is even addressed....that even for one minute, when discussing the wrongful imprisonment of innocent men, there should be a need to expound upon it's mutual benefits to women.

Is this how we now define justice? Is right now determined by whether or not something benefits women? Do we need to convince the masses that something will ultimately serve the best interest of women in order for it to be deemed worthy of action?

An innocent man should not have to sit one day behind bars. An innocent man should not have to have his life destroyed for something he never did. An innocent man should be set free from jail because he is innocent. Whether or not such an action is beneficial to women is immaterial. It is an offense to justice, truth and right that this question was ever asked. Above all, it is an offense to the innocent men whose lives have been wasted behind bars for crimes they didn’t commit.

From A Great Blog - Equal but Different: It's Only Right When It Benefits Women

Innocent Man Walking to Raise Awareness of The Struggle of Those Who Have Been Wrongfully Imprisoned

The founder of a group dedicated to improving the treatment of America's wrongfully accused prisoners made his way through Carson City last week as part of his plan to jog across the country.
The mission is to raise awareness of the struggle of those who have been wrongfully imprisoned, to provide funds to assist with gaining their release, and to offer hope and help to those who have been exonerated.
"This isn't just a local problem," Steve Ivanovich said as he took a breather in front of the state Supreme Court. "In 28 states including Nevada, people who serve time and (then) are found innocent get nothing.
They're just supposed to pick up their lives right where they left off, even if they've been in prison for years. That's not how it works."

Ivanovich, an Indiana native who served jail time after what he describes as an incidence of self-defense against a politically connected neighbor, said he formed Innocent Man Walking to help people in similar situations.

To draw attention and sponsors to the nonprofit effort, he has pledged to travel from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Statue of Liberty entirely on foot.

"Honestly, I haven't been cleared yet, and I'd love to see that happen," he said. "But this isn't about me anymore. It's about giving any innocent person in a jail cell some hope. I can't even describe what it feels like to be (in that position)."

While reports of people being jailed for crimes they did not commit are notoriously unreliable, even the lowest estimates seem to indicate that thousands of inmates across the nation deserve to have their cases reviewed, Ivanovich said. He said that if even one out of every 10,000 inmates was wrongfully imprisoned, that would mean some 230 people are being unjustly held nationwide.
Ivanovich began his walk on March 1 and hopes to finish within four months, he said. By then, he hopes to have raised enough money to provide housing, counseling and job assistance to anyone who can present court papers verifying that they were wrongfully convicted of a felony, he said.

He also hoped that his walk would encourage citizens to lobby for law changes in the states that don't compensate people who are exonerated after being punished. "We're going to need major sponsors," he said. "I had to sell my car just to get started. But that's OK. I've never been political in my entire lifetime until this happened, and I don't have quitting in me.
Source rgs.com staff and Wire Reports

Video of Steven Training to Walk/Run Across the US Here to bring awareness to the struggle of people who have been wrongfully convicted.
Steven's Website
Here
MISSION STATEMENT:
Innocent Man Walking is a nonprofit organization for charitable and educational purposes. The mission is to raise awareness of the struggle of those who have been wrongfully imprisoned, to provide funds to assist with gaining their release, and to offer hope and help to those who have been exonerated.

Innocent Man Walking seeks requests for assistance and provides funding to obtain necessary services for those who have been wrongfully imprisoned or those who have been exonerated. Recipients are selected based on their needs and the likelihood of their being able to those services in another manner.

GET INVOLVED!!
Learn how to get involved with Innocentmanwalking.org

Actual Innocence

The Actual Innocence awareness database, provides a listing of United States resources to those interested in the area of wrongful convictions. Recently launched by the Tarlton Law Library at the University of Texas School of Law.

I highly recommend this great new site for anyone contemplating a legal career, law students, attorneys and anyone else interested in the topic area of wrongful convictions in criminal law. It encompasses the categories of popular media (such as newspaper articles and segments which aired on television news magazines), journal articles, books, reports, legislation and websites.

The materials are classified into what are considered the primary causes of wrongful conviction: forensics/DNA; eyewitness identification; false confessions; jailhouse informants; police and/or prosecutorial misconduct; and ineffective representation.
Links for law review articles with text in PDF. The site is well organized by subtopics and RSS-enabled to allow users to receive automatic notices of updates.

I also highly recommend reading the book "Journey Toward Justice", author Dennis Fritz. I believe Dennis Fritz's book should be required reading for everyone involved in our justice system. Dennis Fritz is the other innocent man in John Grisham's book, "The Innocent Man.

Dennis Fritz tells his personal story of his unwarranted prosecution, and wrongful conviction in his book,"Journey Toward Justice". Dennis served 12 years for a murder he did not commit. A chilling illustration of how one prosecutor's reckless pursuit of justice shattered his life.

With the aid of Barry Scheck and The Innocence Project, devoted to exonerate the wrongfully convicted, Dennis Fritz was exonerated. The real killer, turned out to be one of the prosecution's key witness.