I cannot imagine being one of the 139 people who were on death row for crimes they did not commit. Since 1973, that is the number of lives that could have been wrongfully taken (www.deathpenaltyinfo.org). Out of all of them, I will just share with you the story of one. Ryan Matthews was just 17 years old in 1999 when he was arrested for the murder of a convenience store owner. Because he could not afford an attorney, he was issued a public defender. His lawyer was unprepared and did not know how to handle the case. The three eye witnesses that prosecutors had stated that the murderer was approximately 5’8”, Matthews was 6’. This was all they had to go on. After three days on trial, the judge ordered closing arguments and the jury was sent to deliberate. The jury could not reach a decision after several hours. The judge then ordered them to continue deliberations until they could reach a verdict. Less than an hour later the jury returned with a guilty verdict. Ryan Matthews was to be put to death.
In 2003, Matthews’ physical evidence was re-tested. The DNA from the evidence, including a ski-mask, excluded him completely and pointed to another inmate in the prison. That inmate was already in prison for another murder that happened just blocks away from the convenience store murder. All charges against Ryan Matthews were dropped in 2004, after another trial was conducted. He spent over five years in prison for a crime he did not commit. The prosecution said that the charges should have never been brought. No apology, no giving him his 5 lost years back. I just cannot imagine being Ryan Matthews.
Death Penalty Information Center, 2010, Feb 2, 2010,
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