Fundraiser for Ed Chapman

In 2008, Glen Edward Chapman was exonerated and released from death row after spending 15 years behind bars for two murders he did not commit.  He has yet to be compensated by the State of North Carolina.

On March 31st, the Grey Eagle in Asheville is hosting the third annual Freedom Ball in Mr. Chapman’s honor.  Performers will include singer-songwriter David LaMotte, the surf/psychobilly band The Krektones, and reggae/dub act Kinjah.

You can buy tickets online here.  Even if you can’t attend, please consider purchasing a few tickets as a donation.

Freedom, Year One

One year ago today, Glen Edward Chapman walked off of North Carolina’s death row.  Chapman had spent the last fifteen years behind bars for two murders he did not commit.

Chapman had last been a free man in 1992.  The first George Bush was president.  Cell phones and the internet were not in common use.  Edward Chapman was entering a world he could hardly recognize, with nothing to show for the last 15 years and few possessions besides the clothes on his back.  It seemed like a recipe for failure.

Today, Edward Chapman lives and works in Asheville, North Carolina.  He has a full-time job at a prestigious local hotel, and rents a home where he lives alone.  Chapman no longer struggles with the addictions that plagued him before his incarceration, and he is not bitter about the years he has lost.  “I can forgive.  Does it mean I have to forget?  No, but I can use that as a lesson to teach someone else,” he said.

You can read past articles about Chapman here, here, and here.

NC Death Penalty Year in Review 2008

It has been an exceptional year for life in North Carolina.  No one was executed, and only one new person was added to death row (the lowest number since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1977).  This year, as many capital defendants were acquitted as were sentenced to death.  More death row inmates were exonerated than executed.  North Carolina should be proud.

Nationally, executions began again following the Supreme Court’s decision in Baze v. Rees, but lethal injection remains stalled in North Carolina due to litigation by inmates subject to the procedure as well as the doctors forced to participate in it.

Capital Trial Statistics

Life without parole – 9 (Kenneth Hartley, Charles Dickerson, Eric Oakes, Jakiem Wilson, James Stitt, Robert Windsor, Lisa Greene, Neil Sargeant, James Blue)

Sentences less than life -3 (Pliney Purser, Jonte McLaurin, John Chavis Ross)

Death -1 (James Ray Little)

Military capital trial acquittals – 1 (Alberto Martinez)

Post-Conviction Statistics

Executions – 0

Exonerations – 2 (Levon “Bo” Jones, Glen Edward Chapman)

Death row inmates getting new trials – 2 (John Conaway, William Moore)

Death row inmates getting new sentencing hearings – 1 (William Gray)

Otherwise removed from death row – 2 (Clinton Smith, Carlos Cannady)

Incompetent for execution – 1 (Guy LeGrande)

Deaths from natural causes – 3 (Gary Greene, Leroy McNeill, George Page)

—

If you would like to be part of making 2009 another Year of Life, please consider making a donation to NC-based groups like the Fair Trial Initiative.

Edward Chapman – Life After Death Row

News Update 08.14.08

North Carolina

A truly stunning profile of North Carolina death row exoneree Glen Edward Chapman appears in this month’s Details magazine. Chapman spent nearly 14 years on death row for two murders he did not commit (one of which was not even a murder). He was released with less than $200 to his name, no apology, and nowhere to go. Four months later, Chapman has a job, a house, and an inspiring perspective on the time he served and the road ahead.

The article begins:

The sergeant says, “Pack up.”

Glen Edward Chapman has no idea what’s going on. It’s a sunny afternoon in April, and he has just come in from playing basketball with some of the other inmates at the maximum-security state penitentiary in Raleigh, North Carolina. He’s still drying off from his five-minute shower—if you let the water run too long, they extract 10 bucks from your prison account—and he’s confused. He knows that a judge has ordered a new trial, but nobody’s said anything about when it will be.

Pack up?

“I’ve been packed up for a long time,” Chapman says to the sergeant. As one of his small gestures of mental independence, he’s never gotten around to arranging his personal items in a neat space under the bed—that would suggest he plans on sticking around. Instead, he’s kept everything in a bag for close to 14 years while he’s gradually morphed from a wiry and wide-eyed 26-year-old into a stocky, bespectacled 40-year-old. A guard leads him out of Unit III. Chapman expects the two of them to turn right, toward Safekeeping, where prisoners are housed when they’re awaiting trial, but they turn left, toward Shipping. The guard is as nonchalant as a shopkeeper telling a late-night customer that it’s closing time. “See you later,” he says. “You’re going home.”

(As a side note, DW encourages folks to pick up a paper copy of the mag; there are incredible photographs of Mr. Chapman which do not appear in the online version.)

Reactions to the State’s decision to seek death for Demario Atwater are here and here. From the Charlotte Observer article: “If my loved one were murdered, my gut would tell me to find the person responsible and exact some old-fashioned, Biblical vengeance, “an eye for an eye.” Then, I would hope and pray that some other emotion took over, one that rejects legal as well as illegal violence in a world that has always had more than its share of both.”

Elsewhere

Amnesty International and StandDown reflect on the predicament of Raymond Riles, a Texas inmate who has languished on death row for 33 years because even Texas agrees he’s too mentally ill to execute. Still, Texas will not allow Mr. Riles to be moved from death row, the restrictive conditions of which only exacerbate his paranoia and delusions, to a psychiatric prison facility.

From the company we keep department, Iran is taking steps towards ending the practice of stoning condemned prisoners. Relatedly, SLAP links to this article, which notes the decline of the death penalty in Asia, even in China, which executes more people than any nation on Earth.

Fund for Glen Edward Chapman

As regular readers will know, Glen Edward Chapman was released from North Carolina’s death row recently after having served over a decade in prison for two murders he did not commit. People of Faith Against the Death Penalty have set up a fund to help Edward adjust to life in the free world. He was released from prison with little more than the clothes on his back and some pocket change, and needs help with basic things like renting an apartment. 100% of donations will go to help Mr. Chapman, and they are tax-deductible.

Send a check or money order to:

People of Faith Against the Death Penalty
110 W. Main St., Ste. 2G
Carrboro, NC 27510

Be sure to note “For Edward Chapman” on your donation.

(While it is possible that Mr. Chapman might receive compensation from the State for his wrongful conviction, he would first have to receive a full pardon from the Governor. Such pardons are extremely rare, particularly in cases like Mr. Chapman’s that do not involve DNA.)

State to Seek Death Against Barbara Clark

News Update 04.08.08

North Carolina

Orange and Chatham County district attorneys have been given the green light to seek death against Barbara Clark, the woman accused of killing two elderly women at an assisted living center last year. Clark’s attorney has raised concerns about her mental fitness to proceed – Clark was too paralyzed by anxiety and depression to attend yesterday’s hearing – but thus far she has been denied treatment.

More on the exoneration of Glen Edward Chapman from NC Policy Watch, the Charlotte Observer, the Robesonian, the Greensboro News-Record, and WCNC. Click here to watch an interview with Chapman’s attorney, Frank Goldsmith. From the Hickory Daily Record, a letter from a friend of Betty Ramseur, one of the women Chapman was alleged to have killed.

Over at BlueNC, gubernatorial candidate Bev Perdue responded to a question about her position on the death penalty:

I support capital punishment as an option, but I also favor the current moratorium now in place while constitutional issues are being studied.

I certainly would review every death penalty case. It is one of the gravest responsibilities entrusted to a governor. I am also a big supporter of the North Carolina Actual Innocence Commission. We must do EVERYTHING in our power not to execute an innocent person. To see the danger we only need to look as far as the recent news about Glen Edward Chapman.

(In fairness, Perdue’s opponent Richard Moore also responded to the queries of BlueNC readers, but he was not asked about capital punishment.)

Elsewhere

Abolish! tells us of Capital X, a rapper/activist who is walking from New Jersey to Texas (and through NC!) to rally support for an end to the death penalty. You can follow his progress here.

In Tennessee, death row inmate Paul House will be released from custody while the courts decide whether he should be retried or freed permanently. Paul Gregory House was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1985 murder of Carolyn Muncey. Witnesses and forensic evidence point to Muncey’s violent, alcoholic husband as the actual killer. Learn more about House’s case here.

Glen Chapman Freed From Death Row

News Update 04.04.08

North Carolina

Media coverage of Glen Chapman’s release from death row via the News & Observer, the New York Times, the Charlotte Observer, WRAL, the Hickory Daily Record, NBC-17, and WSOC-TV. Chapman was released two days ago after serving nearly 14 years for two murders he did not commit – one of which may not have been a murder at all.

In the picture above, (source) Chapman savors his first meal as a free man. He requested a bologna and cheese sandwich, like his mother used to make. You can hear Chapman speak at the press conference that followed his release by clicking on the Video tab here.  I highly recommend it.

Dennis Rhoney, the detective whose testimony put Chapman on death row for the murders of Betty Jean Ramseur and Tenene Yvette Conley, has been suspended from his job as a Sheriff’s deputy, pending a perjury investigation.

Learn more about Mr. Chapman’s case here and here.

Mark Bowling, who stands accused of arranging for his girlfriend to murder his wife in 2006, has had the venue of his trial changed from Nash to Pitt County. Citing over 100 local newspaper articles about the crime, and a survey of local residents that showed 90% of prospective jurors were aware of the case – 44% of whom had already decided that Bowling was guilty – Bowling’s attorneys argued that it would be impossible for him to receive a fair trial in his home jurisdiction.

Elsewhere

Virginia governor Tim Kaine has stayed the scheduled execution of Edward Bell. Kaine acknowledged “the national legal consensus that no execution can go forward until [Baze v. Rees is decided].” He added that, “Stays in the final hours before an execution can take an emotional and physical toll on those who must prepare for the execution, including the family members of the victim or victims.” Bell’s execution has been stayed until at least July 24th.

Innocent Man Released from Death Row

From press release:

INNOCENT MAN PUT ON DEATH ROW BY LYING POLICE OFFICER FINALLY SET FREE

NEWTON, NC – Today Glen Edward Chapman, who spent 15 years on North Carolina’s death row for crimes he did not commit, is walking out of prison a free man.

Chapman was sentenced to death for the 1992 murders of Betty Jean Ramseur and Tenene Yvette Conley in Hickory. Last November Superior Court Judge Robert C. Ervin ordered a new trial for Chapman, citing withheld evidence, “lost, misplaced or destroyed” documents, the use of weak, circumstantial evidence, false testimony by the lead investigator, and ineffective assistance of defense counsel. Ervin also cited evidence that Ms. Conley may not have been murdered, but instead died of a drug overdose.

Catawba County District Attorney James Gaither, Jr. dismissed the charges against Chapman today.

Chapman’s lawyers, Frank Goldsmith and Jessica Leaven, are very pleased with their client’s release for which they fought long and hard. “Edward has always maintained, and we have always believed in, his innocence,” said Goldsmith. “Justice has not been served for the families of Ms. Ramseur and Ms. Conley, and we hope their deaths will be reinvestigated.” Goldsmith added, “We are extremely grateful to Judge Ervin and to Mr. Gaither for doing the right thing.”

Judge Ervin found that each of the lead detectives assigned to the cases by the Hickory Police Department had covered up exculpatory evidence that pointed to Chapman’s innocence and that was inconsistent with the State’s theory of his guilt. In addition, Judge Ervin found that Hickory Police Department Detective Dennis Rhoney had perjured himself at Chapman’s original trial, and that his testimony at the hearings conducted by Judge Ervin was “not credible.”

In his order, Judge Ervin also cited evidence presented by a forensic pathologist, Donald Jason, who found the cause of Conley’s death “undetermined.” Dr. Jason found no life-threatening injuries and suggested a possible cocaine overdose. Judge Ervin wrote that Dr. Jason’s report “strongly indicates that Terene Conley’s death was not a murder. The notion that a defendant can be put to death when no crime in fact occurred is troubling at best.”

Additionally, Judge Ervin found ineffective assistance of counsel by Chapman’s trial attorneys, Robert Adams and Thomas Portwood, for failing to adequately investigate the facts. Adams has been disciplined by the North Carolina State Bar and Portwood died of an alcohol-related illness. Portwood represented Ronnie Frye in his death penalty trial less than a year before Chapman’s trial started. Portwood admitted that he was drinking 12 shots of rum nightly during Frye’s trial. Frye was executed in 2001. Portwood was later removed from another death penalty case and entered alcohol detoxification treatment.

For more information, contact:
Frank Goldsmith (828) 230-6977 or (828) 652-3000
Jessica Leaven (919) 942-5200 or (919) 428-1924

Congratulations to Mr. Chapman and his attorneys. A victory hard-fought and long deserved.

Hoffman Prosecutors Seek Testimony of Dead Witness

News Update 11.12.07

North Carolina

Jonathan Gregory Hoffman was convicted and sentenced to death in Union County in 1996, based in part upon the testimony of a root doctor who claimed he sold Hoffman a magical charm that would keep him from getting arrested. (For those not from the Deep South, a root doctor or rootworker is a sort of folk healer/magician.) Hoffman was given a new trial in 2004 because prosecutors Kenneth Honeycutt and Scott Brewer failed to reveal that rewards were given to their star witness in exchange for his testimony. That witness has since recanted his testimony, so in retrying Hoffman, prosecutors want to use the old statements of the now-deceased root doctor. Trouble is, prosecutors didn’t turn over evidence that he, too, was seeking a reward.

Editorials on Glen Edward Chapman’s removal from death row here and here.

Upcoming events:

• Parade, a Tony award-winning musical about a man facing the death penalty in the early 1900s, will be performed tonight and tomorrow night at UNC-CH’s Memorial Hall at 7:30 PM.
• St. Francis of Assisi Church in Raleigh is hosting a panel discussion entitled Doctors in the Death Chamber on December 12 at 7:00 PM. The panel will include defense attorneys, prosecutors, medical ethicists, elected officials, and more.

Elsewhere

Florida‘s Mark Dean Schwab has filed his application for cert with the US Supreme Court. Schwab notes that Florida’s three-drug cocktail is identical to the one at issue in Baze, and that his objections to lethal injection have been brought before the Court well in advance of his execution date. The application was filed with Justice Clarence Thomas, and will likely be referred to the full court for review.

Last night, 60 Minutes examined the case of Greg Thompson in Tennessee and asked: if it is unconstitutional to execute the insane, is it constitutional to medicate a person to restore their sanity and eligibility for execution? (c/o CDW)

New Trial for Glen Chapman

In 1994, Glen Edward Chapman was convicted of killing Tenene Yvette Conley and Betty Jean Ramseur. He has spent every day of the last 14 years on death row, protesting his innocence. Yesterday, a judge ordered that Chapman should receive a new trial because police withheld evidence, lost or destroyed documents, and the lead investigator perjured himself on the stand. The judge also noted that the evidence against Chapman was circumstantial, that he received ineffective assistance of counsel, and that one of the women he is accused of killing was likely not murdered at all.

Tenene Yvette Conley

Ms. Conley was found dead in the closet of an abandoned house. Mr. Chapman’s sperm was found in her body. The State theorized that Chapman killed Ms. Conley shortly after they were seen together on August 13, 1992. Detectives did not reveal statements from numerous witnesses who saw Ms. Conley alive and with other people – including a man with a history of violence against her – the day after the State claimed she was murdered. A review of records by forensic pathologists hired by post-conviction counsel showed that Ms. Conley had no life-threatening injuries, that her time of death was consistent with that suggested by the hidden statements, and that she may well have died of a cocaine overdose.

Betty Jean Ramseur

Ms. Ramseur’s body was found in the crawl space of a home that had been set on fire twice. At trial, the State claimed that Chapman killed Ms. Ramseur and set the house on fire to hide the evidence. An investigation done by post-conviction counsel revealed that Hickory Police Department Detective Dennis Rhoney concealed evidence that a witness picked another suspect out of a lineup, that another person claimed responsibility for the killing, that the first fire was accidentally set by a vagrant, and that the second fire occurred after the body was removed from the home. Rhoney also failed to turn over information that pointed to other suspects. There was no physical evidence linking Chapman to Ramseur’s murder.

Robert Adams and Thomas Portwood

Despite the efforts of police and prosecutors to conceal the truth, Chapman might have been spared 14 years on death row had he been represented by competent counsel. Chapman was represented by Robert Adams and Thomas Portwood, both of whom struggled with alcohol abuse. The attorneys failed to hire an investigator to look into the Conley killing, and the investigator they hired for the Ramseur killing appears to have done nothing more than administer a lie detector test (which Chapman passed), visit the crime scene, and make one unsuccessful attempt to speak with a witness. There were multiple hints in the prosecutor and court files that Ms. Conley had been seen alive after Mr. Chapman was supposed to have killed her, but counsel either failed to look at the files or did not examine them closely.

Adams has been sanctioned by the bar multiple times and Portwood died of alcohol-related illness. Portwood represented several other men whose trials resulted in death sentences, including Ronald Frye, who was executed in 2001.

(News reports here and here. You can read the judge’s full order here.)

Edited 04.02.08 to add – All charges have been dropped and Glen Chapman has been released from death row. See here.