I'm reading the Supreme Court decision for Flowers v. Mississippi, and it is as if everyone is trying their damnedest to rule out blatant racism. But it is clear that District Attorney Doug Evans should be disbarred for that alone. How many cases were settled by guilty plea agreements simply because defendants knew there was no way to get a fair trial? How many innocent defendants were railroaded by Evans?
Additionally, there was considerable prosecutorial misconduct not related to jury selection. It's as if Evans was daring a higher court to overturn his convictions and did not care whether a trial was fair. But if he was trying to put a murderer in prison, clearly his methods were not in the public interest. The prosecutor's victories were tainted beyond redemption.
Two hung juries and four overturned verdicts. 20 years in prison for Flowers without a valid conviction of guilt. If Evans is the prosecutor for a seventh trial(!), how can a defense attorney look himself in the mirror if he does not demand a change of venue? How could a judge refuse?
Since Evans has been allowed without restriction to continue his practice of prosecutorial misconduct as well as to continue his blatant racist behavior, clearly his nest of enablers also need to be dealt with. But it's Mississippi. That would be as likely as if the Supreme Court were to decide to reinstate the portions of the Voting Rights Act that they threw out because it was no longer needed in our "post-racial" society.
Curtis Flowers was convicted primarily on the basis of one particle of gunshot residue on his right hand, along with "jailhouse confessions." One of Flowers' cellmates said he was placed with Flowers to get a confession. When he was unable to, he said that a statement was constructed by the Sheriff and by District Attorney Doug Evans. Testimonies from two of Flowers' cellmates about his confession were later recanted with claims that their testimonies in the first trial were coerced with promises of freedom and with threats. Their testimonies were not used in subsequent trials.
Other than that one particle, there was no direct evidence tying Flowers to the murders. One piece of indirect evidence was a bullet, found in a mattress, from a .380 caliber pistol. Flowers' uncle said his own .380 caliber gun was stolen the morning of the murders. The mattress bullet was visually identified (a subjective science) as being the same as bullets extracted from a post in Flowers' uncle's mother's back yard. The murder weapon was never found. There were also people claiming to have seen Flowers near the garment factory where the uncle's gun had been stolen. Some of those people were not interviewed until eight or nine months after the murders, and there were problems with other witness stories. Prosecutorial misconduct, blatant racism in jury select, two mistrials and four overturned verdicts. And one particle of gunshot residue.
Huffington Post Article: Supreme Court Overturns Murder Conviction In Curtis Flowers Case
Clarion-Ledger (Jackson Mississippi) article: Recanted testimony, subjective science helps put Curtis Flowers on death row Link to IMDB summary of an episode of Wrong Man series: "Curtis Flowers: Trial and Error"
Additionally, there was considerable prosecutorial misconduct not related to jury selection. It's as if Evans was daring a higher court to overturn his convictions and did not care whether a trial was fair. But if he was trying to put a murderer in prison, clearly his methods were not in the public interest. The prosecutor's victories were tainted beyond redemption.
Two hung juries and four overturned verdicts. 20 years in prison for Flowers without a valid conviction of guilt. If Evans is the prosecutor for a seventh trial(!), how can a defense attorney look himself in the mirror if he does not demand a change of venue? How could a judge refuse?
Since Evans has been allowed without restriction to continue his practice of prosecutorial misconduct as well as to continue his blatant racist behavior, clearly his nest of enablers also need to be dealt with. But it's Mississippi. That would be as likely as if the Supreme Court were to decide to reinstate the portions of the Voting Rights Act that they threw out because it was no longer needed in our "post-racial" society.
Background
Curtis Flowers was convicted primarily on the basis of one particle of gunshot residue on his right hand, along with "jailhouse confessions." One of Flowers' cellmates said he was placed with Flowers to get a confession. When he was unable to, he said that a statement was constructed by the Sheriff and by District Attorney Doug Evans. Testimonies from two of Flowers' cellmates about his confession were later recanted with claims that their testimonies in the first trial were coerced with promises of freedom and with threats. Their testimonies were not used in subsequent trials.
Other than that one particle, there was no direct evidence tying Flowers to the murders. One piece of indirect evidence was a bullet, found in a mattress, from a .380 caliber pistol. Flowers' uncle said his own .380 caliber gun was stolen the morning of the murders. The mattress bullet was visually identified (a subjective science) as being the same as bullets extracted from a post in Flowers' uncle's mother's back yard. The murder weapon was never found. There were also people claiming to have seen Flowers near the garment factory where the uncle's gun had been stolen. Some of those people were not interviewed until eight or nine months after the murders, and there were problems with other witness stories. Prosecutorial misconduct, blatant racism in jury select, two mistrials and four overturned verdicts. And one particle of gunshot residue.
Huffington Post Article: Supreme Court Overturns Murder Conviction In Curtis Flowers Case
Clarion-Ledger (Jackson Mississippi) article: Recanted testimony, subjective science helps put Curtis Flowers on death row Link to IMDB summary of an episode of Wrong Man series: "Curtis Flowers: Trial and Error"
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