Robert Hupf

11/10/2009

ENG 331

Innocent Lambchop = Death Row Inmate #1349

133. “I am innocent.”

Sitting at the defense table, Nicholas Yarris probably drew assurance from the fact that in

America, one is “innocent until proven guilty”. Surely the system would not, could not, find him

guilty of a crime he never committed, guilty based solely on jailhouse gossip. Ruling: guilty.

133. “I am innocent.”

Listening to the facts, Curtis McCarty had to feel confident inside. The only viable,

tangible evidence against him was the unreliable testimony of a flip-flopping specialist, a

specialist in the field of hair analysis. Hair analysis has been accepted by much of the legal

community as undependable evidence at best (Steck-Flynn). Ruling: guilty.

133. “I am innocent.”

Talking with his attorney, Frank Lee Smith was identified by a distraught mother looking

for her daughter’s murderer. The character profile she described: a large, black man. In no way

could the jury be convinced that this fulfilled the required “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard

(Death Penalty Information Center). Ruling: guilty.

133. “I am innocent.”

Since Gregg v. Georgia in 1976, the United States has seen the reinstatement and

acceptance of the death penalty as a possible form of punishment. Whether for reasons of

redemption, closure, future deterrence of other crimes, protection of society, or even a general

recognition that some offenses are simply inexcusable, capital punishment is the final means of

justice our court system has to dispense, the ultimate sentence. And for many, this is fair and

righteous.

In this same period of time, the Death Penalty Information Center reports 133

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“exonerated individuals”. These are defendants sentenced to death who have since fulfilled a

unique description: either their conviction was overturned and they were acquitted at the re-trial

(or all charges dropped) or an absolute pardon was granted by the governor absolving defendant

of all guilt. “The individual, who came close to execution, could not even be convicted of a traffic

violation” (Death Penalty Information Center).

Let’s take a closer look at the numbers.

The average number of years between being sentenced to death and exoneration has been

calculated to be about 9.8 years (Death Penalty Information Center). A decade essentially. As

college students, let us imagine a decade back. Personally, in that period of time, I learned how to

integrate, how to derive. I developed the ability to dance like a “soldier boi” and traveled across

the world, appreciating countries like China, Italy, and Guatemala. I shared my first kiss. I

celebrated with my friends in Times Square the arrival of a new millennium. I chose, applied, and

went to college. I began to drive.

Ten years is such a huge amount of time, a huge amount of time to have stripped away, to

instead live life in jail falsely accused. And ten years is just the average.

The Innocence Project reports that DNA testing has allowed 17 of those 133 people to be

exonerated. All 17 of these individuals have even more unique qualifications: DNA testing was

the central element to the individuals defense (without it, the individual would have no defense)

and DNA testing allowed them to reverse their cases, dropping all charges. Seeing as biological

evidence is typically unavailable in murder cases, many of these individuals were only facing

rape charges.

And all these requirements and qualifications to be counted under the “exonerated”

statistics, it begs the question doesn’t it? If these are just the people the system is aware about and

acknowledges, could there be others? Could innocent people still be on death row, people without

the opportunity, money, or just general luck to get someone to fight for them and acquit them?

Could an innocent person be executed?

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 In 1990, Jesse Tafero was executed for murdering two police officers with his

accomplice, Sonia Jacobs, and his accessory, Walter Rhodes. Walter Rhodes in 1982 claimed full

responsibility and Sonia Jacobs was released in 1992 when the case was thrown out. In 1996,

Wayne Felker was executed for murder. His appeals attorneys presented evidence of hidden

testimony, deceit by the prosecution, and even a signed confession from another suspect. DNA

testing was later used to prove his innocence. In 2004, Cameron Willingham was executed by

lethal injection for murdering his 3 daughters. The Texas Forensic Science Commission in 2009

compared the testimony against Willingham to “mystics or psychics.”

The relevance of all this is simple. The death penalty may indeed be the ultimate

deterrent, the means of protection against violent crimes. However, if the system cannot ensure

that the people executed are actually guilty, then capital punishment instead becomes something

exceedingly dangerous. It becomes a means to end the life of an innocent, to deny the basic right

of life and enjoyment that is given to everyone inherently. And even the risk of such a horror

should make us extremely hesitant to use it. In the category of innocent people, we ourselves

represent an individual, a possible unprotected defendant.

I can hear the murmurs, the head nodding, the disagreements already. It is so easy to

dismiss the argument of innocence, to weigh the virtues of the death penalty instead. Really, what

are 133 “accidents” in the grand scheme of things, right? And it won’t ever happen to me.

133 people were once like the rest of us. They believed that they could never be falsely

imprisoned, could never face the harsh wrath of our most severe sentence. And yet, they did.

Yarris is still in prison, sentenced for committing crimes when he tried to escape, to deny such a

harsh reality. Curtis, he with the hair, came home and told friends he felt like he had missed the

“entirety” of his adult life. And Smith, the big “black man”, well Smith died of cancer in prison.

Before he was ever acquitted. These were all innocent men just like you and me.

133. “I am innocent.”

Works Cited

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"Death Sentences By Year: 1977-2008 |." Death Penalty Information Center. Web. 11 Nov. 2009.

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/death-sentences-year-1977-2008

"Death Sentences Per Capita by State |." Death Penalty Information Center. Web. 11 Nov. 2009.

http://deathpenaltyinfo.org/death-sentences-capita-state

"Executions in the United States, 1608-1976, By State |." Death Penalty Information Center.

Web. 11 Nov. 2009. http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions-united-states-1608-

1976-state

"Frank Lee Smith |." Innocence Project of Florida. Web. 12 Nov. 2009.

http://floridainnocence.org/content/?page_id=53

"Innocence: List of Those Freed From Death Row |." Death Penalty Information Center. Web. 12

Nov. 2009. http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-list-those-freed-death-row

"The Innocence Project - Know the Cases." The Innocence Project - Home. Web. 12 Nov. 2009.

http://www.innocenceproject.org/know/

Steck-Flynn, Kathy. "Trace Evidence: Hair." Welcome to Crime and Clues. 20 Sept. 2009. Web.

12 Nov. 2009. http://www.crimeandclues.com/index.php/physical-evidence/trace-

evidence/63-trace-evidence-hair