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Harold Wilson: Convicted of Murder, Sentenced to Die, Exonerated After 17 Years in Prison
In a Democracy Now! broadcast exclusive, we spend the hour with Harold C. Wilson. Convicted of three murders in 1989, Wilson spent more than 17 years in prison, most of that time on death row. In 1999, Wilson's death sentence was overturned due to ineffective counsel. However, his murder convictions were not - and he remained on death row. Finally, on October 31st, 2005, Wilson's final trial began. DNA evidence was presented for the first time. On November 15th, he was acquitted of all charges and set free.
In an extended conversation, Wilson talks about his imprisonment, his trial, his soldier son, who is serving in Iraq, and his daughter, who is a prison guard in Arizona.
In an extended conversation, Wilson talks about his imprisonment, his trial, his soldier son, who is serving in Iraq, and his daughter, who is a prison guard in Arizona.
Today, the memorial service for executed death row prisoner Stanley Tookie Williams will be held in Los Angeles. Last week, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger denied William's bid for clemency. He was executed by lethal injection. Williams spent 24 years on death row after being convicted of four murders. Though he was co-founder of the Crips, one of the country's most notorious street gangs, once in prison he became a vocal advocate against gang violence, a children's author and a Nobel Peace Prize nominee. Williams and his supporters maintained his innocence up until his death.
Today, a Democracy Now! broadcast exclusive. We spend the hour with Harold C. Wilson. Convicted of three murders, he spent more than 17 years in prison, most of the time on death row. Last month, he was exonerated after DNA evidence proved his innocence. He joined us yesterday in our firehouse studio for an extended conversation.
In 1989, a Pennsylvania jury sentenced him to death. Three times: once for each murder. After a decade on death row, in 1999, Wilson's death sentence was overturned due to ineffective counsel.
That lawyer Willis Berry has since become a judge. Despite having his death sentence overturned, Wilson's murder convictions were not - and he remained on death row.
Wilson was originally prosecuted by former Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney Jack McMahon. In 1997, the courts began examining Philadelphia's jury selection process after McMahon's role in a training tape was revealed. That year, District Attorney Lynne Abraham, who was in a tight re-election campaign with McMahon, released a training video showing McMahon instructing colleagues to keep poor blacks off juries saying they were less likely to convict.
In 2003 a trial court granted Wilson a new trial after it found that McMahon had used racial bias to eliminate black jurors. Harold Wilson's second trial was a mistrial. Then, on October 31st 2005, Wilson's final trial began. DNA evidence was presented for the first time. On November 15th, Wilson was acquitted of all charges and set free.
Harold Wilson can be contacted at:
Harold C. Wilson PO Box 19709 Philadelphia PA 19143
haroldcwilson [at] gmail.com
LISTEN ONLINE:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/12/20/1434244
Today, a Democracy Now! broadcast exclusive. We spend the hour with Harold C. Wilson. Convicted of three murders, he spent more than 17 years in prison, most of the time on death row. Last month, he was exonerated after DNA evidence proved his innocence. He joined us yesterday in our firehouse studio for an extended conversation.
In 1989, a Pennsylvania jury sentenced him to death. Three times: once for each murder. After a decade on death row, in 1999, Wilson's death sentence was overturned due to ineffective counsel.
That lawyer Willis Berry has since become a judge. Despite having his death sentence overturned, Wilson's murder convictions were not - and he remained on death row.
Wilson was originally prosecuted by former Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney Jack McMahon. In 1997, the courts began examining Philadelphia's jury selection process after McMahon's role in a training tape was revealed. That year, District Attorney Lynne Abraham, who was in a tight re-election campaign with McMahon, released a training video showing McMahon instructing colleagues to keep poor blacks off juries saying they were less likely to convict.
In 2003 a trial court granted Wilson a new trial after it found that McMahon had used racial bias to eliminate black jurors. Harold Wilson's second trial was a mistrial. Then, on October 31st 2005, Wilson's final trial began. DNA evidence was presented for the first time. On November 15th, Wilson was acquitted of all charges and set free.
Harold Wilson can be contacted at:
Harold C. Wilson PO Box 19709 Philadelphia PA 19143
haroldcwilson [at] gmail.com
LISTEN ONLINE:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/12/20/1434244
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