Nifonged in Fort Collins: Timothy Masters
Today's Fort Collins (CO) Weekly features a compelling story detailing Timothy Masters' quest for a new trial after discovering that Eighth Judicial District Court Judges Terrence Gilmore and Jolene Blair, two of the prosecutors in his case, pulled a Nifong and willfully withheld exculpatory evidence that police suspected three other men, including one who confessed to the crime and another whose home overlooked the crime scene and committed suicide after his arrest, had committed the murder Master's was convicted of.
Armed with little more than graphic but unrelated pictures drawn by the then 15 year old Masters and a willingness to withhold evidence and commit perjury, Gilmore and Blair convinced a jury that “no one else” but Masters could have been the murderer. Masters conviction, upheld by the Colorado Appellate Court and Supreme Court when other evidentiary rules and the introduction of character evidence were reviewed and found to be sound, is currently under post-conviction review which began in 2003 based on the allegations of prosecutorial misconduct.
3 comments:
Long before we ever heard of Nifong this kind of stuff went on. Prosecutors would screw people and nothing ever happens to them. And quite often like in this case they get promoted to judges. Sometimes wrongful convictions get overturned and the DA's just won't let it go. Like in the case of Evan Zimmerman. While in prison he suffered a stroke. Near the end of his retrial the prosecutor decided to drop the case since he couldn't win it. Zimmerman tried to sue the city of Eau Claire for wrongful conviction, but a judge dismissed the lawsuit. He recently died at the age of 61 from cancer. It just doesn't seem fair that this man had to spend his last few years on Earth in prison and in court rooms for something he never did. Zimmerman and Masters are just 2 name in a long line of people that have been screwed by the system. It has happened to people of all colors. And it will continue to happen, as long as DA's and judges are not held accountable for their actions.
12:20,
Then it's time to change the system.
As a result of the Duke Non-Rape case, I am now recovering from pro-prosecution and pro death penalty syndrome. It has been a humbling experience.
It is amazing that people with so much schooling can have so little honor or maybe not.
Post a Comment