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S ERVING C OLUMBUS , F T. B ENNING , P HENIX C ITY & S URROUNDING A REAS
Inspirational-Informative-Empowering...Your Source For The Truth Vol. 15 Edition 16 Free Thursday May 21, 2020
NAACP Responds
FREE AT LAST!
FREE AT LAST!
JOHNNY LEE GATES RELEASED AFTER 43 YEARS
OF
WRONGFUL INCARCERATION
President L.K. Pendleton Pens Scathing Letter Regarding Johnny Lee Gates Release Page 2
A View From A Pew
Why Settle for a SAAB When You Can Have A BMW?
Page 3 The Story of Johnny Lee Gates
His Story Begins November 30, 1976 Pages 7-10
PAGE 5
MAY 21, 2020
Local NAACP President Responds to the Release of Johnny Lee Gates First, I would like to recognize support and commitment of the local citizens who dared to stand with us for justice. You know who you are; you were few, but you were mighty in strength and courage. When we started this journey with the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta, Georgia, many people wondered why we were pursuing this case with rapt attention. They told me that this could not happen in our state and certainly not in Muscogee County. One thing I know is if we work together and embrace a common purpose and are not concerned with will get the credit, together, we accomplish great things.
the few
who can
Muscogee County, we should be happy today because an innocent man Mr. Johnny Lee Gates, who spent 43 years in prison, is now free. However, today’s outcome has created a bittersweet moment. By no means is it a victory. It most certainly does not meet the criteria for justice. But, Mr. Gates, whom I am reluctant to say, is free, has been liberated from prison, and I am grateful for that.
While we prepared, prayed, and hoped this would be a day of celebration, for justice would have prevailed, regretfully, it has become a day of shame and degradation as the ugly beast of racism, discrimination, and dishonor has trumped the opportunity to correct a wrong. Hence, all of us still grieve for the victim in this case and her family because, based upon the evidence in the case, the person who committed this crime might always be among us, and that is not a comfortable feeling. But we are glad that an innocent man is free. Unmoved by the compelling evidence that vindicated Mr. Gates, District Attorney Julia Slater chose friendships over responsibility, politics over people. She has shown the citizens of Columbus, Georgia, that at best, there is a dual system of justice present, one for the good ole boys and their friends and families, and one for the rest of the citizens. We should be concerned about the treatment of African Americans and Hispanic Americans who come into this court. It makes me wonder whether there are other examples of
such strong disregard for truth and justice for Black or Brown defendants. When the district attorney is more concerned about locking up our black and brown bodies rather than catching the murderer, we should be concerned. However, in our efforts, we discovered that there are several things about our criminal justice system that need to be changed. First, we do not have one superior court judge who is African American in Muscogee County. This must change today! Statistics show that more than 46% of the population in Muscogee is black, but our bench is all white, which is a crime. As long as it remains all-white, what is apparent to every brown and black person in Muscogee County is that those vestiges of a desegregated system are still alive. We were making progress, but we have regressed. We had one black Judge, Judge John Allen, who served this County with distinction, fairness, and honesty. He has retired. Upon his retirement he appealed to governor Perdue to appoint an African American to succeed him on the bench but to no avail. If we are to confront this problem, we must become intentional about adding diversity to municipal, state, and county judgeships here in Muscogee County, and we should
begin with the Superior Court. We understand that Mr. Gates is one of many victims of this racist system. Until things change, we must remain on guard because our lives are literally in jeopardy. On the day that Mr. Gates was judged by the Muscogee County courts, there was also another judge, whom the bible says is the righteous judge, and he was watching the court proceedings as well. He saw man’s inhumanity to man and he mourned because this offends God. However, be clear, the Bible also tells us, “He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord.” Proverbs 17:15. Mr. Gates will at the appointed time receive complete justice. Let us as a community come together to support Mr. Gates’s reentry into our community. Because Muscogee County, we are better than this! A fund is being established for Mr. Gates as he will require assistance to live. If you would like to contribute please contact us for further information. The Columbus Georgia NAACP (Rev. Dr.) L.K. Pendleton, President
Request for Bids NOTICE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT HOLIDAY CLOSING Memorial Day Holiday Observance Monday, May 25, 2020 Notice is hereby given that the local Government of Columbus, Georgia will alter or suspend all services on Monday, May 25, 2020. This is with the exception of emergency services such as fire, police, and ambulance. For emergency services, please call the 911 Emergency Center.
DIVISION Waste / Recycle
Memorial Day Holiday Observance Monday, May 25, 2020 NO PICK UP MONDAY, May 25th *See Alternate Holiday Schedule Below*
*Closed* 311 Citizens Service Center
May 25th
*Closed*
Landfills – Granite Bluff/Pine Grove Parks and Recreation
Civic Center
May 25th
All of the parks and recreation buildings with the exception of Cooper Creek Tennis Center and Lake Oliver Marina will be closed. Lake Oliver Marina hours are 8am to 6pm and Cooper Creek hours are 9am to 8pm. Parks and Recreation Administrative office will be closed. Administration Office Closed Columbus Ice Rink Closed *Closed*
Animal Control
May 25th
NO BUS SERVICE
METRA Bus Service Normal Service will resume on Tuesday, May 26th
Recorder’s Court
RFB No. 20-0003 Mott’s Green Plaza P.I. #0015287 Due: May 27, 2020 – 2:30 PM Della Lewis, CPPB Buyer Specialist
Monday, May 25, 2020 9:00a.m. Bond Hearings Only Normal Service will resume on Tuesday, May 27th
*Alternate Holiday Schedule* *MONDAY, MAY 25TH ROUTES WILL BE COLLECTED WEDNESDAY, MAY 27th *ALL OTHER SERVICES WILL BE PROVIDED ON THEIR NORMAL COLLECTION DAY
Sealed responses must be received, and time/date stamped by the due date shown above, by the Finance Department/Purchasing Division of Columbus Consolidated Government, 100 Tenth Street, Columbus, GA 31901. To obtain specifications, visit the City's website at , notify the Buyer via email , fax 706-225-3033, or telephone 706-225-4087. Andrea J. McCorvey Purchasing Division Manager
The Courier Eco Latino Newspaper *Any editorial content are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of this newspaper, publisher or staff” The Courier Eco Latino Newspaper 1300 Wynnton Rd Suite 104 Columbus, Georgia 3190 Phone: 706.225.0106 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 5747 Columbus, Ga 31906
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COURIER THURSDAY MAY 21, 2020
A VIEW FROM A PEW
3
Why Settle For a SAAB When You Can Have a BMW brother. I figure only a “hit dog will hollar” so I am going to “tell the truth and shame the devil”. If, as they say, “Sunshine is the best disinfectant”, then it’s about to be squeaky clean up in here. There are so many women who are in search of something they will never find: their I.B.M. (Ideal Black Man). Good Black men have often been passed up, overlooked and straight up dissed by women who were in search of something better. As a result, Black women have become upset, frustrated and discontented by their failure to find and secure someone who only exists on television, in urban fiction, and in the imaginary minds of countless women who have been totally misled.
I shared with a friend that I was going to right a column about how sick and tired I am of African-American woman constantly whining about there not being any good AfricanAmerican brothers to choose from. She warned me that I might not want to open up that can of worms. I was going to heed her words but, you can blame it on the coronavirus. While sheltering in place this weekend I happened upon the movie Nobody’s Fool
starring Tiffany Haddish, Tika Sumpter and Omari Hardwick. So against her wishes, I have chosen to trudge forward and let the chips fall where they may. If you haven’t seen it, the movie, in a nutshell, is about a young professional black woman making 6 figures who finds herself torn between two brothers, one who she perceives is an Ideal Black man the other just a hardworking
Let’s be real, the Ideal Black Man is no more real than the Tooth Fairy or Santa Claus. Much like the Ideal Black Man, we’ve all heard the stories and seen the representation of made-up characters but have never met them in real life. Think about it. The Tooth Fairy and Santa only show up when you are sound asleep. Once you awaken, they are gone. Likewise, women are simply dreaming if they think they will ever find the Ideal Black Man. The word ‘Ideal’, by definition ought to tell you something: 1) a concept of something in its absolute perfection; 2) one seen as a standard or model of perfection or excellence. 3) existing only in the mind; imaginary; and 4) lacking practicality or the possibility of realization. The search for someone ideal often causes women to raise the bar so high that it becomes
unattainable, impractical and downright ridiculous for any “brother” to fulfill their expectations. This, in turn, causes frustration to surface on both the part of men and women. Men often feel as if they will never measure up and leave believing that women’s expectations are too high. Likewise, a woman’s failure to secure an ideal man causes them to internalize negative feelings about themselves as well as men, which often results in irrational behavior and poor decision-making. More often than not, this has caused women to go from one extreme to the next. While they were once in pursuit of an ideal that does not exist, they have later resolved that there simply aren’t any good Black men at all. They have wed themselves to a belief that a good Black man is HARD to find. In reality, good Black men are everywhere. Ideal Black Men are hard to find. Nonetheless, this negative perception of Black men has deeply influenced the choices women make in dating. Because of this most Black women have gone from setting an unattainable bar that no man could reach, to settling for much less than they deserve. So where are the “good Black men? If you look around you they’re everywhere. You know them, plenty of them you just overlook them. You pass them on the street, in the grocery store, in the gym, at church, in school and at the library. They are the BMW’s (Black Men Working). The brothers, not necessarily working in corporate America, but good blue
collar brothers that get up everyday and go to work. They are responsible, mature brothers who are willing to protect and provide for their families. They are the brothers who choose not to drive or wear their money and live at home with their “momma’s” or girlfriends. They are the brothers who understand the value of homeownership as opposed to paying rent but driving an $80,000 vehicle while adorned with $25,000 worth of jewelry. When real men hear the statement there are no good Black men out there, they are highly offended. These are the brothers who far too often find “sisters’ who are more concerned with the status of a man than the stature of a man. Women more concerned with “keeping up with the Joneses” instead of living within their means and letting “the Joneses” keep up with them. Sadly, the women who have bought into the ‘Black male shortage’ concept have either failed to see or desire the good Black men who are available. I hope I have not offended anyone with my “Views”. If I have, then I refer back to what I initially said, “only a hit dog will holla” and you, my dear are probably one of those misguided sisters who, in your search for the IBM (Ideal Black Man) continually steps over or looks with disdain at the BMW (Black Man Working) and that is exactly why you are currently with, and most likely “supporting” a SAAB (Sorry African-American Brother). I’m Wane Hailes and this has been my View From A Pew.
Wane A. Hailes
May 21, 2020
PAGE 4
F RIENDSHIP B APTIST C HURCH
831 6 TH AVE C OLUMBUS , G A
Early Worship 8am Breakfast 9am Sunday School 9:30 am Morning Worship 11am Wednesday Prayer Meeting/Bible Study 7pm Thursday Noon Bible Study 12 noon Sunday Child Day Care Services Available For Those Attending Our Worship WEBSITE : friendshipbchurch.org (O FFICE )706.323-6996 (FAX ) 706.322.7596 (PASTOR ’ S HOME )706.561.6733 friendshipbaptistcolumbus@gmail.com or friendshipbc@juno.com Transportation available, must contact church office by Friday at 12:00 noon.
R EV. D R . E MMETT S. A NITON , J R PASTOR
P ROGRESSIVE F UNERAL H OME Evergreen Covington, CEO
4236 St. Mary’s Road Columbus, Georgia
706.685.8023 evergreenfc@mediacombb.net
Metropolitan Baptist Church 1635 5th Avenue . Columbus, Georgia
706.322.1488 Service Sunday School 9:30 A.M Monday Night Tuesday Bible Study Pastor Curtis Crocker, Jr.
Schedule Sunday Worship 11:00 A.M Prayer 6:00 P.M 12:00 P.M & 5:30 P.M
Mission Statement A growing church for growing Christians attempting to grow the Kingdom, one soul at a time.
Fourth Street Missionary Baptist Church Corner of 3rd Avenue and 5th Street Rev. Dr. J.H. Flakes Jr. Way Columbus, Georgia 31901 706.324.2055 Rev. J.H. Flakes, III -Pastor Rev. Dr. J.H. Flakes, Jr. - Pastor Emeritus
Courier Thursday May 21, 2020
COVER STORY
PAGE 5
FREE AT LAST!
FREE AT LAST!
JOHNNY LEE GATES RELEASED
AFTER 43 YEARS
OF
WRONGFUL INCARCERATION
I am happy to be free."
By Wane A. Hailes On Friday May 15, 2020 Johnny Lee Gates walked out of the Muscogee County jail a free man after spending 43 years in prison for a crime he says he did not commit. Gates could have been released earlier in the week as both prosecutors and defense attorneys were in agreement to release him on his own recognizance pending a new trial. Judge Bobby Peters disagreed stating; “I don’t do OR bonds for someone convicted of murder, armed robbery and rape.” Although he maintains his innocence and legally it states he negotiated a deal, Gates had no other option if he wanted his freedom, but to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter and armed robbery. By doing so he was able to walk free with credit for time served. In discussing his freedom Johnny Lee Gates said; "I've fought for 43 years for this day. I always had faith it would come, even when others weren't sure. I am an innocent man. I did not commit this crime. What happened to me is something that should never happen to any person. But I am not bitter. I thank God that I am here, and
The Georgia Innocence Project represented Gates and was instrumental in securing his release. Claire Gilbert had this response after his release; "Today, in the wake of the Georgia Supreme Court's decision to vacate his conviction based on exculpatory DNA evidence, Johnny Gates -- an innocent man -- is free at last. Mr. Gates has survived the unimaginable: 43 long years in prison for a crime he did not commit, with 26 of those years on
death row. We are thrilled to welcome Mr. Gates home, and to introduce him to our community of released clients." Local Minister Edward O. Dubose has been fighting for Gates release over the years as a local branch NAACP president, the Georgia State president of the NAACP and he currently serves as a member of the National Board of Directors for the NAACP. “Personally, witnessing
Johnny Lee
Gates walk free on May 15, 2020, was a bittersweet moment that I will remember the rest of my life. It was sweet because this man who started off on death row eventually having his sentence converted to Life in Prison with no chance at parole proved by his freedom that God will always have the final say. Bitter because forcing a plea out of Mr. Gates rather than freeing him when the evidence clearly pointed to someone other than Mr. Gates committing this heinous crime is a reminder of how corrupt and unequal this system remains for Black and Brown citizens. Mr. Gates freedom is not the end but rather a reminder that Freedom is not Free, and it comes at a price. It is also a call to action for citizens in Columbus Georgia to register to vote and to get out to vote.” “Mr. Gates story should cause every Black and Brown person to recommit to staying on the Battlefield for Justice. Now that Mr. Gates is free it’s time to continue the fight to clear his name and to call for an investigation into others who like Mr. Gates were wronged by the actions of Racist Judges and Prosecutors in Columbus Georgia during the 70's.”
Congressman 2nd Congressonal District
Sanford D. Bishop
Georgia Senate District 15
Sheriff Muscogee County
Ed Harbison
Greg Countryman
District Attorney Chattachoochee
City Council District 4
School Board District 3
School Board District 7
Mark Jones
Elaine Gillespie
Sherrie Aaron
Cathy Williams
THE JOHNNY LEE GATES
Page 7
STORY
May 21, 2020
Johnny Lee Gates Granted New Trial After Serving 43 Years In Jail Systematic Race Discriminaton Undeniable D.A. Julia Slater Disagrees, Appeals Judge John D. Allen’s Decision
Superior Court Judge John D. Allen By Wane A. Hailes This article originally appeared in the April 11, 2019 issue.
The biggest crime in the criminal justice system is that it is a race-based institution where African-Americans are directly targeted and punished in a much more aggressive way than white people. Now I know saying the criminal system is racist may be politically controversial in some circles. But the facts are overwhelming.
engaged in blatant race discrimination in jury selection and a current D.A. who refuses to do the right thing even though she has irrefutable evidence of systematic discrimination and exculpatory DNA results. Once you have read the following information for yourself I want you to decide if Johnny Lee Gates should be exonerated, and if so, I want you to do something about it.
The Facts Historically, a disproportionate number of African-Americans have been wrongly convicted of crimes due to false confessions, incriminating statements, and other dubious evidence. I want to tell you a story. It’s an all too familiar one. It is a story of an intellectually disabled black man incarcerated for 43 years who was wrongly convicted. A story of destroyed evidence, a corrupt judicial system where assistant district attorneys
District Attorney Julia Slater
Johnny Lee Gates
On November 30, 1976, Katharina Wright, a 19-year-old white woman, was sexually assaulted and shot to death in her Columbus apartment. She was found on the ground near her bedroom door, bound with black military neckties and a white bathrobe belt. Officers from the Columbus Police Department responded to the scene and collected evidence. They searched for fingerprints but did not find any prints of value. However, they found a “rela-
tively large spot of smeared blood” on the bedroom door, next to where the body was found. A sample taken from the smear was determined to be Type B blood. This is significant because Katharina Wright had Type O blood; thus, the Type B blood likely belonged to the perpetrator. The following day, a 19-year-old white man named Lester Sanders was discovered “fondling the body of Wright as it lay in the coffin” at a funeral home. Sanders was arrested by police and confessed to following Wright home, knocking on her door, tying her to her bedroom door, and shooting her in the temple. At Sanders’s preliminary hearing, officers testified that Sanders revealed information to them about the crime scene that only the killer could know. However, Assistant District Attorney William Smith asked the grand jury not to indict Sanders, and the grand jury obliged. Continued on Page 8
Johnny Lee Gates Crime
1976
Arrest
1977
Conviction
1977
Sentence
Death
Years Served
42
Charges Armed Robbery Rape Voluntary Manslaughter Conviction Factors Official Misconduct False Statement Race Discrimination Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Flawed Eyewitness Identification Incentivized Informants
THE GATES STORY CONTINUED
Page 8
Courier Thursday May 21, 2020
Doug Pullen Prosecutor
Cold Case Reopened The case appeared to have gone cold when, months later, one young man facing criminal charges unrelated to Wright’s murder tried to win favor from the police department by conveying that he had information about the unsolved murder that had stumped the department for months. The incentivized informant told police that Johnny Lee Gates—a black man—had raped, shot and killed Katharina Wright, then threw the gun into a creek. On January 29, 1977, the Columbus Police arrested and interrogated Gates, who was 21 years old and had an IQ of roughly 65. By the time police realized their informant had lied and the gun in the creek was not the murder weapon, Gates had already given a false confession. The resulting inaccurate confession was later described by a judge as “hard to believe.”
During the interrogation, an officer typed up a confession for Gates. No officer ever read the typed confession out loud to Gates. Instead, an officer handed the typewritten document to Gates, and Gates looked at the pages and signed the document that the officer had written. Officers then took Gates to the crime scene in order to videotape Gates giving another confession.
she had no money to give him, After having intercourse with the woman, he demanded money again, and she gave him some money, - He bound and gagged the woman on the bed and was about to leave when she told him that she would identify him, and - He shot the woman on the bed and fled the apartment.
In his confession, Gates stated that:
This videotaped confession was not consistent with the crime scene. For example, the victim was not shot on the bed, and the bedsheets had no blood on them.
- He went to the apartment and told the woman who answered the door that he was from the gas company, - The woman said she had called the gas company earlier, and she invited him in, - The woman handed him a can of oil, and he began working on the heater, - He told the woman that he was robbing her and wanted money, and she responded by offering him sex since
Although Gates’s fingerprints were not found in the apartment on the day of the offense, the police claimed to have discovered a fingerprint just one hour after the police took Gates to the apartment for his videotaped confession. That print matched Gates and was used
against him at trial. At trial, fingerprint technician Eddie Florence testified that he was summoned to the apartment on January 31, 1977, two months after the offense, and the detective on the case showed him exactly where to look for fingerprints. After securing Gates’s videotaped confession and the new fingerprint, the police conducted a line-up identification procedure with Donald Hudgins, a man who lived in the same apartment complex as the shooting. Hudgins had informed the police two months earlier that he had seen a man he thought was the killer in the apartment building on the day of the crime. Hudgins had described that man as 5’9” or 5’10” and approximately 170 pounds. Yet at the line-up, Hudgins identified Gates (who was 5’5” and 133 pounds at the time) as the man he saw two months
Continued On Page 9
GATES CONTINUED...
Page 9
Courier Thursday May 21, 2020
William Smith Prosecutor
earlier. Hudgins gave this identification only after he saw Gates with the police giving his videotaped confession.
The Trial Gates went to trial on August 30, 1977. Prosecutors William Smith and Douglas Pullen represented the State at the trial. When selecting a jury, Smith and Pullen got rid of all four black potential jurors from Gates’s jury pool. Gates was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death by an all-white jury, a white judge, and white prosecutors. The only reason Gates was not executed is that the State later agreed to remove the death sentence after a seven-day intellectual disability trial. Meanwhile, less than two years after the trial, the State destroyed critical physical evidence from the case. The destroyed evidence included the rape kit, Caucasian hairs collected from the victim at the crime scene, and the Type B blood sample taken from the bedroom door, near where the body of the victim was found. As noted above, the victim had Type O blood. Gates also
had Type O blood. Therefore, Gates was not a match with the bloodstain found next to the victim’s body, which further suggests that he was not the perpetrator. None of this evidence can be tested now. The State also claimed to have destroyed the black neckties and white bathrobe belt used by the perpetrator to bind the victim. However, in 2015, two interns from the Georgia Innocence Project located the bindings in the District Attorney’s Office. The Georgia Innocence Project decided to test those bindings for Gates’s DNA. The Argument For A New Trial: Exculpatory DNA and Race Discrimination In 2018, the DNA test results came back – they were exculpatory with respect to Mr. Gates. In other words, Mr. Gates’s DNA was not on the white bathrobe belt or the black necktie used by the perpetrator to bind the victim. And if Gates had committed the crime, his DNA would have been on that evidence.
The problem with Gates’s case is not only that he is innocent, but also that he was convicted through race discrimination. Also in 2018, Gates’s lawyers shed light on evidence that the prosecutors who tried Gates, Douglas Pullen and William Smith, engaged in systematic race discrimination in capital cases involving black defendants, including during Gates’s 1977 trial. Court records show that from 1976 to 1979, Pullen and Smith prosecuted black defendants in seven capital cases in Muscogee County. In case after case, Pullen and Smith got rid of all of the black potential jurors in order to try all of the black men in front of all-white juries. Together, the prosecutors struck 41 black prospective jurors across seven different cases, including Gates’s case. A mathematician calculated the probability that would happen, without considering race, as 0.000000000000000000000000000004. The prosecutors then capitalized on their racial discrimination in jury selection by appealing to racial prejudice in their closing arguments. For example, in the
closing argument in one case, the prosecutor referred to the defendant as a “wild beast” and told the all-white jury, “It took more courage to build this great nation and it will take courage to preserve it, from this man and his like.” In several closings, the prosecution employed “us” versus “them” language that only works when arguing to allwhite faces. In Gates’s case, the prosecutor inquired of the all-white jury, “Do you feel as free as you did ten years ago?” referencing the desegregation period from 1967 to1977. In addition to getting rid of all of the black potential jurors before trial and making the racist arguments made at trial, the prosecutors also took notes during jury selection. Have you ever wondered what the prosecutors are writing down about you when you have to go for jury duty? Well, now we know. The notes showed that Muscogee County prosecutors: - Labeled the white prospective jurors as “W” and the black prospective jurors
Continued On Page 10
Page 10
THE GATES STORY CONTINUED...
as “N”; - Singled out the black prospective jurors by marking dots in the margins next to their names; - Identified one white prospective juror as a “top juror” because he “has to deal with 150 to 200 of these people that works for his construction co.”; - Described black potential jurors as “slow,” “old and ignorant,” “cocky,” “con artist,” “hostile,” and “fat”; - Tallied the race of the final jurors selected to serve, with twelve marks in the white column and no marks in the black column; and - Ranked black prospective jurors as “1” on a scale of 1-to-5 without any further explanation.
2018, but didn’t. So he lost on that. Gates’s lawyers presented both the DNA evidence and the racism that ultimately convicted Gates to a judge in May of last year.
The Decision: Gates Given A New Trial On January 10, 2019, Honorable John D. Allen granted Gates a new trial. Even though the Court found that the evidence of systematic race discrimination during jury selection in Gates’s case is undeniable, Gates was not given a new trial because of that discrimination because he did not meet the legal requirements. Essentially, the Court said that Gates should have brought up the discrimination before
However, Gates did get a new trial because of the exculpatory DNA evidence. The Court ruled that the perpetrator’s DNA would be on the neckties and bathrobe belt, and Gates’s DNA was not on them. The Court also found that the State should not have destroyed the other important evidence from the crime scene, including the Type B blood that did not match the victim or Gates.
The Appeal: Julia Slater’s Decision Today the ball is squarely in District Attorney Julia Slater’s court. As the District Attorney she can make the decision right now whether to do the right thing and let Johnny Lee Gates out of prison today—or at least give Mr. Gates a fair trial. With all that she knows regarding how African Americans were treated in that era; how the jury was stacked against Johnny Lee Gates; how the DNA does
Courier Thursday May 21, 2020
not match, she could wipe his slate clean. But instead, our District Attorney Julia Slater has decided to appeal Judge Allen’s order to the Georgia Supreme Court. In essence she is saying: “Judge Allen you got it wrong,” despite all evidence to the contrary. She didn’t have a choice with what happened back then, but she has the power right now to right an egregious wrong, to say not on my watch. Instead she is moving forward as if she is upholding the banner of the confederacy. She is leading the charge with an attitude that exculpatory DNA evidence be damned.
A Call To Action Here is what we know. Julia Slater holds the reigns. She can, at any point and time, withdraw the notice of appeal. She doesn’t need to get permission from any one else. It is her conviction and she can withdraw the notice of appeal right now, today.
Pagina 2
21 de mayo 2020
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S ERVING C OLUMBUS , F T. B ENNING , P HENIX C ITY & S URROUNDING A REAS
La voz de la comunidad hispana Vol. 15
Edición 16 Gratis
Jueves 21 de mayo 2020
Gratis por fin! Gratis al fin! Johnny Lee Gates liberado Después de 43 años de encarcelamiento injusto
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