Justice Denied

the following was posted on Lou's Myspace blog.

Clarence Moses-EL has been in prison now for 20 years. Why?

In 1987, a Denver woman was attacked in her home. She had been drinking that night with 3 men, LC, Earl, and Darnell, and initially she identified them as being "responsible." Then, after sleeping in the hospital, she awoke to say that she had dreamed of the attack. In her dream, Moses-EL was the attacker.

Other than the dream, there was NO evidence linking Moses-EL to the attack. In fact, blood taken from the victim proved NOT to be the same blood type as the defendant's, and there were witnesses who testified that he was at home during the time of the attack. Yet, he was convicted and sentenced to 40 years in prison.

DNA was available, but neither the prosecution nor the defense called for an analysis. Perhaps the defense attorneys felt that the blood type would be enough to exonerate their client and were somewhat afraid of the tests. Who knows their reasons? Yet, when the prosecution's expert witness said that the blood test discrepancy was inconclusive, the defense did not cross-examine. Furthermore, the defense did not call its own experts to explain to the jury that the blood test results excluded Moses-EL.

I cannot explain the actions of the defense attorneys, but I can state that from my perspective (that of a former defense attorney) they botched the case badly. They would appear to have been incompetent.

In any event, Moses-EL was convicted and sentenced to prison for 40 years.

In prison, Moses-EL won the support of his fellow inmates. They combined to donate $1,000 to him in order to pay for DNA testing that might exonerate him, and Moses-EL went back to court. First, he won an order from the judge that the DNA evidence and victim's clothing should be preserved, then he set about to arrange for the testing. Police collected the evidence, boxed it, and marked it "Do Not Destroy." In 1995, Denver police threw away the box, destroying any DNA evidence or hope for Moses-EL, in direct violation of the court's order.

An appeal for a new trial was filed with the Supreme Court, but the Court cited precedent stating that bad faith must be shown before the loss of evidence can be used as a basis for a new trial. The appeal was denied.

Meanwhile, Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey has refused to reopen the case, even though his office recently prosecuted the victim's drinking buddy, LC (LC Jackson), on a rape charge in a case arising 18 blocks from the original victim's home.

Meanwhile, a man whose blood type is not the same as the perpetrator's blood type, a man who was at home when the crime was committed, a man who by any reasonable standard is NOT GUILTY, languishes in prison.

As the District Attorney has stated, "The defendant had his day in court."

Since that day, four of his brothers and sisters have died; his 4-year-old son has grown. He faces his first parole hearing in 2019, over 10 more years from now.

Where will you be in 10 years? Where were you 20 years ago? Has your life had some ups and downs, and will it continue to do so? How would you like to walk in the shoes of Clarence Moses-EL? Can you even imagine what it must be like?

In our system, guilty people are acquitted and innocent people are convicted. It happens. Rarely does it happen because of a dream, but it happens.

If you have been following my blog, you know that this country incarcerates the largest percentage of its people in the world, you know about Project Innocence and 2 innocent men who were released from prison after serving over 10 years in Mississippi, and you know about Tim Masters. Now you know about Clarence Moses-EL.

Justice remains an elusive goal wherever we look.

© 2008 Lou

Feedback: