Food For Thought
Prt 42
Why No Outrage???:
On the 28th Sept.2012, only days before the Oct. 3rd execution of Terrance Williams, a Philadelphia, Pa. Judge Teresa Sarmina ordered a stay of execution and a new sentencing hearing for Williams. This came after he had exhausted all of his appeals and the defense asked for a last ditch extraordinary relief hearing when the defense filed a motion and presented evidence that the prosecutor, Andrea Foulkes, suppressed and withheld crucial evidence, mainly that the victim Amos Norwood, was having sex with kids and had been sexually abusing Williams for years. Williams co-defendant Marc Draper, who had been given a deal (life sentence) to testify against Williams had told the prosecutor initially, even before trial, that the case was really about a homosexual relationship between the victim and Williams. The notes in regard to this and much more were hidden in the prosecutors files, so the judge ordered the files containing this evidence opened and reviewed. They found all kinds of evidence favorable to the defense for impeachment and rebuttal that the prosecutor tried to hide, It appears getting Williams executed was more important, to further her political career, then to seek justice, as her job requires. Why hasn't she been charged, tried and sent to prison??? Why is it alright to use every trick in the book to get someone executed, which is the same as trying to murder someone!!!
Evidence came out at the last minute evidentiary hearing about the prosecutor's pattern of playing fast and loose,”with the facts of the case, They are the judge's words, not mine!! The judge went on to say the prosecutor took unfair measures to win. Now you would expect these comments to come from a “bleeding heart liberal, that's against the death penalty and injustices in our system, but this is coming from a Judge that was a former prosecutor, like 90% of the judges in this country. I submit it is extremely rare and unusual for a judge to come down that hard on a prosecutor, as she did in her 20 page court opinion.
This is not only a course of conduct for Ms. Foulkes, the prosecutor in this case, but also reflects the attitude and mind set of the desire to win at all cost mentality of prosecutors all across the country, This is not an isolated incident, normally it doesn't get exposed!!!
This so called best judicial system in the world is showing it's true colors, when they get so desperate for vengeance that they openly start executing victims of abuse. Williams was a 18 year old, kid when he was convicted of killing the men who abused him He gota life sentence for killing Herbert Hamilton the first so called victim that had been sexually abusing Williams. Williams got the death penalty for killing Amos Norwood who had been violently and systematically raping Williams, beginning when Williams was 13. There was evidence that Williams was a model student and athlete, but his childhood was marred by horrific physical and sexual abuse that began when he was six. The jury didnt hear any of this. Williams was also relentlessly beaten by his mother (hersef a victim of abuse) and his alcoholic step father. There was evidence on record also that Williams had been gang raped, at a juvenile detention center when he was 16., Again the jury wasnt aware of any of this either, This low-down slimy prosecutor that is suppose to seek justice, not only try to convict, argued at trial, that Williams killed Norwood in the commission of a robbery, knowing all along from her own star witness, that it was because of sexual abuse, which the jury was never told, Several of the jurors came out in the press since the hearing and said they would not have voted for the death, if they had known all of the facts.,
The American Bar Association called for a moratorium on executions in America in 1997, they were concerned about the accuracy and fairness of how the D.P has been administered. They found serious flaws in the system, hindering due process, all across America. I wonder why they aren't concerned or have problem with these prosecutors playing games to further their careers, trying to win at any price. There appears to be a common practice and pattern of withholding/suppressing evidence in order to make sure a person gets executed or convicted in a non capital case, Even when at times the evidecne withheld was overwhelming, convincing evidence that someone other than the person accused and on trial, was the actual killer, as I pointed out in an earlier FOOD FOR THOUGHT article Part 10, about a Philadelphia Pa prosecutor, Roger King, now retired, but should have been tried, convicted and sent to prison, like any other common criminal. I also pointed out in a previous article part 33 that prosecutors are given absolute and qualified immunity and cant be held liable for anything resulting from their duties, so those chumps have absolutely no incentive to play by the rules, In a capital case when a prosecutor withholds evidence and all other crooked conduct, trying to get someone executed sounds like attempted murder to me and it should be treated as such!!!!
To Make a long story short,m this prosecutor and all the other prosecutors in this country that feel it necessary to win by any means, need to be held accountable. There should be some public outrage. Why is there a different standard for the poor whites and people of color, why aren't prosecutors that get caught in the act of abusing the system, not tried and sent to prison for their criminal acts???
Why does the average Joe citizen allow this dog and phony show of being tuff on crime continue when our prisons are only for a chosen few. Although that chosen few has gown into millions in the drive for mass incarceration, locking up those society feels are expendable, even to the point of executing those that have been sexually abused by their so called victims and the prosecutors that engineer these events get a pass when they break the law!!!
To be continued