Kenneth Wayne Boyd

Via Grits for Breakfast:


In 1999 Kenneth Wayne Boyd was convicted, along with three others, of a triple murder in Shelby County. One of the victims was a 13 year-old girl.

Boyd recently filed a Writ of Habeas Corpus, saying that his trial was tainted by evidence that had been hidden, witnesses that had lied, and jailhouse ‘snitches’ that were, apparently, high on crack. Shockingly enough, a District Judge agreed that this may have been slightly against normal TDCJ policy, and recommended he be freed and given a new trial.

The prosecutor in his case claims that this is being brought up to stop her from winning the position of District Attorney. Assuming that’s true, how tragic is it that a possibly innocent man had to wait for justice until it might help someone out politically?

Kenneth Florence, Shelby County's current assistant district attorney reviewed the order.

"Our job is to see that justice is done and not to secure convictions," Florence said.



But I doubt Boyd cares why his writ was accepted, as long as it is. He’s served 13 years for a murder that took place at a time he says he wasn’t even in the city.

The order cites a pattern of prosecutorial misconduct including suppressed items of evidence and false testimony. These are some of the same issues that led to the appeals court throwing out Boyd's co-defendant, Rodney Moore's life conviction.

I find this case interesting not just because it’s recent, but because Boyd seems to have been ‘killed by thousands of ant bites’. No one instance of prosecutorial evil was singled out, just a myriad of small misbehaviors that added up to a wrongful conviction. As we learn more about SPM’s case, remember that it’s not hopeless; men are walking free all over Texas as the wheels of justice grind slowly along.

As Kenneth Florence said, "Our job is to see that justice is done and not to secure convictions,"
Justice was not done in Coy vs. Texas. A man was convicted of a crime that was not proven, but we see similar cases, that took place around the same time, being fixed. Now is not the time to get frustrated, or give up; don't look at the time he's served and say "If something were going to happen, it would have happened by now."

I could tell you that getting a new trial for Carlos Coy will be easy, but that would be a lie. I could tell you it's going to be quick, but that would be a lie, too. The Innocence Project exonarees served an average of thirteen years before their release. I see several years of this struggle stretching away into the future, with an uncertain outcome. If you can't deal with that, then I'm sorry. Go find an internet petition and sign it 'til your fingers bleed. But if you want to help, write a letter to the D.A., and then get comfortable. This is going to take awhile.

http://www.ktre.com/story/18852597/could-a-convicted-murder-soon-be-back-on-the-streets

http://www.shelbycountytoday.com/article12.php

http://www.innocenceproject.org/about/Mission-Statement.php/