�
 |
|
 |
|
|
| Charles Chatman Freed After 27 Years - |
| View previous topic
:: View next topic |
pausebreak
 Posted:
Sat Jan 05, 2008 3:10 pm |
|
|
|
Charles Chatman Freed After 27 Years
DALLAS (Jan. 4) - Three times during his nearly 27 years in prison, Charles Chatman went before a parole board and refused to admit he was a rapist. His steadfastness was vindicated Thursday, when a judge released him because of new DNA evidence showing he indeed wasn't.
"I'm bitter. I'm angry," Chatman told The Associated Press during his last night in jail Wednesday. "But I'm not angry or bitter to the point where I want to hurt anyone or get revenge
The release of Chatman, 47, added to Dallas County's nationally unmatched number of wrongfully convicted inmates.
"Every time I'd go to parole, they'd want a description of the crime or my version of the crime," Chatman said. "I don't have a version of the crime. I never committed the crime. I never will admit to doing this crime that I know I didn't do."
District Judge John Creuzot, whom defense lawyers credited with shepherding Chatman's case for exoneration through the legal system, recommended that Texas' Court of Criminal Appeals find Chatman not guilty. With several relatives dabbing at their eyes with tissues and cheering, Chatman was released.
"I really can't tell you how I feel," said his aunt, Ethel Bradley. "But I can tell you it is a different feeling than I have had in a long time, just to be holding his own hand."
Before the crime is officially cleared from Chatman's record, the appeals court must accept the recommendation or the governor must grant a pardon. Either step is considered a formality after Creuzot's ruling.
Chatman became the 15th inmate from Dallas County since 2001 to be freed by DNA testing. He served more time than any of the other inmates, four of whom were in court Thursday to show their support.
Dallas has freed more inmates after DNA testing than any other county nationwide, said Natalie Roetzel of the Innocence Project of Texas. Texas leads the country in prisoners freed by DNA testing, releasing at least 30 wrongfully convicted inmates since 2001, according to the Innocence Project
One of the biggest reasons for the large number of exonerations is the crime lab used by Dallas County, which accounts for about half the state's DNA cases. Unlike many jurisdictions, the lab used by police and prosecutors retains biological evidence, meaning DNA testing is a viable option for decades-old crimes.
District Attorney Craig Watkins also attributes the exonerations to a past culture of overly aggressive prosecutors seeking convictions at any cost. Watkins has started a program in which law students, supervised by the Innocence Project of Texas, are reviewing about 450 cases in which convicts have requested DNA testing to prove their innocence.
"It is time we stop kidding ourselves in believing that what happened in Dallas is somehow unique," said Jeff Blackburn, the founder of the Innocence Project of Texas. "What happened in Dallas is common. This is Texas."
The hearing attracted a standing-room-only crowd that included Watkins, who was greeted warmly by two wrongly convicted Dallas men who have since won their freedom. Also there was state Rep. Terri Hodge, a member of the criminal jurisprudence committee, who promised unspecified reforms when the Legislature convenes in 2009.
Chatman was 20 when the victim, a young woman in her 20s, picked him from a lineup. Chatman said he lived five houses down from the victim for 13 years but never knew her.
She identified him in court as the attacker, and serology tests showed that the type of blood found at the crime scene matched that of Chatman - along with 40 percent of other black males.
Chatman said he was working at the time of the assault, an alibi supported by his sister, who was also his employer. Nevertheless, Chatman was convicted of aggravated sexual assault in 1981 and sentenced to 99 years in prison. He said his faith kept him from giving up.
Chatman said he believes his race led to his arrest and conviction. The jury, he said, had one black member.
"I was convicted because a black man committed a crime against a white woman," Chatman said. "And I was available."
Chatman said he wants to work with the Innocence Project of Texas to support other people exonerated or wrongly convicted.
"I believe that there are hundreds, and I know of two or three personally that very well could be sitting in this seat if they had the support and they had the backing that I have," Chatman said. "My No. 1 interest is trying to help people who have been in the situation I am in."
Associated Press writer Paul J. Weber contributed to this report
http://tinyurl.com/32xw7n
|
|
Soopa Soopa Bitch !!
Joined: 24 Mar 2006
Posts: 5550
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
| gwen
Posted:
Sat Jan 05, 2008 3:29 pm |
|
|
|
Wow, what an amazing attitude he has after serving 27 years in prison!
|
|
AKA Gagal_05
Joined: 24 Feb 2007
Posts: 14301
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| pausebreak
Posted:
Sat Jan 05, 2008 5:02 pm |
|
|
|
the mentality of "closing" the case instead of "solving" the case is mind boggling. I wonder if police funding is in any way tied to the number of "open" and "solved" cases?
these people will NEVER get those years back. They may finally have freedom, but at what cost???
|
|
Soopa Soopa Bitch !!
Joined: 24 Mar 2006
Posts: 5550
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| woebedamned
Posted:
Sat Jan 05, 2008 5:09 pm |
|
|
|
| pausebreak wrote: | the mentality of "closing" the case instead of "solving" the case is mind boggling. I wonder if police funding is in any way tied to the number of "open" and "solved" cases?
these people will NEVER get those years back. They may finally have freedom, but at what cost??? |
Think how much the world has changed since this man went to prison. Now he is vindicated, and tossed into a world he doesnt know.
Of course, one also has to wonder, since we now know for a fact that there are many, many, many wrongful convictions, how many innocent have been executed?
|
|
Damn it All!!!!
Joined: 15 Aug 2006
Posts: 6287
Location: pathetic joke of an American, bitter, gun clinging, God loving, racist cracker
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
�
Jasidogdotcom template v.1.0.4 © jasidog.com
Powered by phpBB
© 2001, 2004 phpBB Group
|
