Byron Halsey, a New Jersey man who spent more than 20 years in prison before being exonerated by DNA testing in the rape and murder of two Plainfield children, has filed a lawsuit against authorities.
Exonerated by DNA
Byron Halsey
Halsey spent more than two decades in state prison before being exonerated by DNA testing for the brutal rape and murder of two New Jersey children. Now he's filing a federal civil rights suit.
AP / The Star-Ledger
Alton Logan
Logan spent 26 years in prison for fatally shooting a security guard in 1983. In 2007, an attorney for another man who admitted that he had committed the crime came forward with the truth. He was officially declared innocent in April 2009.
AP
Antonio Beaver
He served more than a decade in prison because blood found on an attack victim was not presented in his trial. Once testing proved him not guilty, all charges were dropped in 2007. Unfortunately, he landed back in jailafter crashing his car while drunk.
Innocence Project
Calvin Johnson
DNA from a rape kit did not match Johnson's. He was set free in 1999 after nearly 16 years in prison. He later wrote a book about his ordeal.
John Bazemore / AP
Darryl Hunt
Darryl Hunt was convicted twice of a 1984 North Carolina murder. After DNA results proved his innocence in 1994, it still took 10 years of legal appeals to exonerate him.
Innocence Project
Donte Booker
After serving 15 years on a rape conviction, Booker was exonerated on Feb. 9, 2005, after DNA evidence on the victim's clothing pointed to someone else. In 2007 he was accused of a second rape, of which he was found not guilty by a jury in 2008.
Innocence Project
Floyd Brown
Brown was freed in 2007 after 14 years behind bars. Authorities locked up the mentally disabled man without a trial in 1993 and lost or destroyed key criminal evidence that could have freed him years ago.
Innocence Project
Herman Atkins
Atkins was convicted in 1988 of robbery, rape, forcible oral copulation and for using a handgun. After test results were returned, Atkins was released from prison in February 2000, after spending 12 years in prison. He has since gone to college, married, and dedicated his life to helping those who have been wrongly convicted.
Innocence Project
James Lee Woodard
Woodard spent more time in prison than any other wrongfully convicted inmate in U.S. history -- 27 years. DNA testing in the murder and rape of his girlfriend ultimately overturned his conviction in 2008.
AP
James Waller
In 2006, 23 years after his conviction of rape, DNA from a rape kit that had never been presented was found not to belong to Waller. He was pardoned by Texas governor Rick Perry in 2007.
Innocence Project / AP
Although Halsey had confessed to the brutal 1985 murders of his live-in girlfriend's 7-year-old daughter and her 8-year-old son, he maintains that the confession was coerced. According to the Star-Ledger:
While "still suffering the effects of alcohol," Halsey was taken to the Plainfield police station the day after the crime and "questioned aggressively and in an accusatory manner for the next 12 hours," according to his lawsuit. No evidence was found on his clothing, and Halsey made no admissions, but the following day he was interrogated for another 12 hours until he signed a detailed confession, the lawsuit states.SOURCE
The case of Halsey, 48, brings the number of post-conviction DNA exonerations in the United States to 238 since 1989.
Black men make up an overwhelming majority of those who have been freed through DNA evidence, according to the Innocence Project, a nonprofit organization that worked on the Halsey case and provides research and legal help for prisoners seeking to have their cases overturned by DNA evidence.
This year alone, 12 innocent people who were convicted have been exonerated, according to the Innocence Project.
Last month, former Tennessee death row inmate Paul House had all charges dropped in his 1986 murder conviction after DNA tests on key evidence failed to match House.
In upstate New York, Steven Barnes served nearly 20 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. He was freed last month after a DNA examination of the murder victim found evidence from another person.
Once a wrongly convicted prisoner gets through the years of legal appeals and court appearances to unearth the evidence needed to be freed, he often finds getting compensated (if there is any just compensation for losing years of freedom) for the wrongful conviction difficult.
There is no federal standard for compensation, so the wrongly convicted find themselves at the mercy of a patchwork of state laws that determine whether they'll be compensated at all and if so how much.
Halsey is seeking unspecified damages in the suit after serving 22 years. He had faced the death penalty after his conviction in 1985.
After numerous appeals, DNA evidence from the case was released in 2006. It was discovered that DNA taken from the crime scene matched Halsey's neighbor and co-worker Clifton Hall. Hall is scheduled to stand trial for the murders in September.
Meanwhile, Halsey struggles to reintegrate into society. When arrested, he was 24 years old and held a steady factory job, according to the Star-Ledger. After his release, an attorney on his case said he struggled to find work and reconnect with family. He now has a job at Newark Airport and lives alone.
"He's done everything he can in his power to make the transition, but the littlest things are hard, [his attorney] said. "He is understandably angry."SOURCE
Comments: (126)
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By: Mpinga on 6/08/2009 5:39PM
TJ, I'm sorry to say this but you wouldn't understand. If this world were just and at least attempted to be fair your statement would be true but that "we fly one flag" BS is just that, BS. We are treated differently and therefore react differently. You are correct in one thing, it shouldn't matter what color a person is, but it does.
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By: royce on 6/08/2009 11:22PM
TJ unfortunately only your last sentence is the truth. America is not as inclusive as you would like to think. For example, look at the primetime programming on NBC, FOX, ABC, and CBS. CBS showed The Big Bang Theory, How I met your mother, Two and a half men, and CSI:Miami. Out of the mention shows there is only one black main character and she only get a few minute of screen time each week. Now I won't list all of what the other networks were showing, but I will say only one other had a black main character. When we continue to be place on the outside looking in, Black Voices, BET, Black Miss America is what you get. Now if you support the Innocence Project, then you should no that black men are more wrongly convicted then their white counterparts. Balcks are more likely to get stop while driving, more likely to be incarcerated, receive harsher sentences, and more likely to be followed in retail stores. Whenever there is a false report of a murder or kidnapping, it almost always, a black man did it, i.e. the Boston husband who murder his wife, Susan Smith, and the woman who decided to take her kid to Disney's World. TJ, again it shouldn't matter but right now to some it does and until Americans, such as yourself, wake and realize that somethings maybe better, it is still not equal.
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By: Sheryl on 6/07/2009 9:38AM
....and with those comments, you don't want to come off the 'wrong' way? Let me tell you how you came off, in one word Ignorant! But by the time I finished reading the comment, the word changed from ignorant to "Ig'nant".
Until you are in this position, you can NEVER say what you will and won't do, never say never. I bet this gentleman, said he would never be forced to confess to something he didn't do, but he did.
I hope he wins his lawsuit, but the first thing he will need is some serious help, because he is still very angry and understandably so.
I read the other day about a young man, now a teenager, whose father injected him with a syringe that contained blood that had HIV, that young man was expected to die as a toddler, now here he is getting ready to graduated from high school. He said God told him to forgive his father, and that is what he did.
So it's gonna take some time, some effort, some prayer, some counseling... and then maybe with the money he gets he can do something positive.
I just want to know what happened to the mother of the children?
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By: Sheryl on 6/07/2009 9:48AM
He should get 1 million for each yr he served, then find the officers who coerced him, and garnish half of their wages, retirement pensions, etc.. half of anything they earn would go to this gentleman, for the next 20 yrs.
I would encourage the people who were compensated to combine some of those resources, and start a project or company that assists those who were wrongfully imprisoned to reintergrate back into society. Maybe offer job placement, by teaming up with businesses, couseling, computer learning workshops, budgeting.
I haven't looked at the details of 'Project Innocence', but if this is something that they don't offer, it would be a good start.
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By: Elmo Jones on 6/08/2009 7:06PM
I was going to write the following post until I came across yours.
If forcing the merely accused to admit to something in oder to fulfill an agenda is not wrong, then why is the word "COERCE" in the english language?
This word has a meaning associated with it that leaves no room for misunderstanding. Coerce: To compel by force or intimidation.
How could anyone, especially a cop, confuse this with something that would be a part of a document like the U.S. Constitution? Sometimes what is written on these blogs is totally unholy.
Thanks for your post.
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By: Jessica on 6/07/2009 5:59PM
Andrea Thornton--- I'm not gonna beat you down for being the "IGNORANT" person that you are , but I will say if it were you I dont think you would make it throught the first two hrs of questioning from authorities. Interrogations are designed to deprive the body of its most vital endurane(They use what is called third degree techniques)-depriving body of water, food, light and food, and you will do anything to have it restored once lost, so if you don't know much about the psychological ramifacations of being interrogated I suggest you educate yourself on this subject so you wont sound so "IGNORANT" NEXT TIME YOU PLACE A POST!!!!!
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By: snooseyjj02 on 6/08/2009 12:36AM
You have no idea what you would do in that type of situation! Imagine 2 days in the same room w/law enforement. They are in your face yelling at you, talking to you like are a piece of dirt, possibly putting their hands on you and all the while, you have had no sleep and minimal food and drink. It's more than likely they told him if he confesses, they would help him out! That is BS! They are only looking to get a confession AND close that case! Do I think he should be compensated, HELL YEAH! IMO, let the officer's financially take care of him. They put him there.
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By: Dick on 6/08/2009 1:01AM
Andre Thornton> Don't say what you wont do,after
72 Hrs. of questioning & azz beating (oh ya you
know they beat that azzz) I bet the man don't
remember signing the confession
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By: Hitnrunjust4fun on 6/08/2009 8:50AM
This is a damn shame and a travesty of justice. But as we ALL know, there really isn't justice for a black man in America. I would like to know why in the world did it take an additional 10 years to finally get this INNOCENT man released after it was proven that he was not the perpetrator that committed this crime? There are far too many black men that have been incarcerated for such a long period of time that are innocent. In many cases, if you don't have enough $$$$$$$ to afford a high priced attorney and you get assigned a court appointed attorney, you're screwed. I hope this gentleman wins his lawsuit and is awarded a huge amount of money. That time will NEVER be replaced no matter how large of an amount he's awarded (if he wins). God bless him and I do wish him well!
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By: bghee1 on 6/08/2009 11:00AM
It is reprehensible when anyone is wrongfully convicted. There have been other races of people who have been cleared after just as many years later by DNA evidence too. It may be there is a disproportionate amount of black men who have this has happened to them. Thank God for the forensic evidence we have now that will expose the truth. Let us hope & pray we will become a world in which justice is truly blind to just outward appearances. Every person wrongfully convicted should be recompensed properly. If the law would go by the rate of pay they were making when they were arrested first. Then increase the amount by every raise & promotion that employer gave or would have given during the period of time that individual was incarcerated. Then pay for any education that person would have sought to advance themselves. If they lost a home and/or car, they should be provided a home and/or car of comparable value today. The home should be furnished including a refrigerator, freezer, pantry, & closet full of food & clothing. The food should be of the same quality as this person was used to before prison food. The clothing should be the same quality as this individual was used to before prison garb. It wouldn't be fair to give them something that was the same price today as it was 20 or however many years ago. That would mean it wouldn't be the same quality as that which was lost. An attempt should be made to assist the healing within the individuals immediate family. If they need counseling, it should be provided free. Any medical care needed should be provided until this person can get health insurance on their new jobs, which may be after they obtain the level of education they need. A public apology should be issued. If anyone involved in their wrongful conviction did so knowingly, they should help with restoring these things to these individuals, and restoring these people an even better life than what they had. If they are needed to vouch for these people for the rest of their lives they should be willing, or made to. They should be the former prisoners tickets to freedom on the outside. Freedom from what others may think about them. Let them have to say to a potential employer or anyone I knowingly was involved with this man or this womans wrongful conviction. Let them have to say and I was finally caught by the true evidence which set this innocent prisoner free. Even all of this can't make up for the years or what may have happened to someone as a result of being imprisoned. Even though there is a disportionate amount of black men this has happened to, there has been times, not always like it should be for everyone, that our criminal justice system has worked. There have also been times that people of all colors have been acquited who were guilty. So we can't say that no person of color ever gets justice.
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