Railroaded to prison, 3 black kids — just 17 and 18 when they were scooped up by Cleveland’s flawed and racist criminal justice system — walked out of prison as free men last month after serving nearly 20 years for a murder they didn’t commit. It took years of legal work to free them, because our legal system turns a blind eye to innocence claims, even when convictions are blatantly flawed:
“On multiple occasions both Glover and Wheatt were offered a deal to serve no jail time whatsoever if they testified against Eugene Johnson, but for 20 years they refused to do so, maintaining that all three of them were completely innocent.”
Glover and Wheat are heroes who should get medals for sacrificing 20 years of their lives to preserve their integrity despite the enormous pressure put on them by unethical cops and prosecutors. The county and state owes them, and Johnson, millions of dollars in compensation. The cops and prosecutors who framed them should go to prison themselves.
The three teens, who were near the shooting scene, were witnesses who cooperated with police. They were rewarded for this by being charged with the crime when the cops couldn’t find the real killer.
“The other witnesses who reported seeing a shooter come from a different parking lot and dressed differently than any of the men convicted, were never called to testify.“
Meanwhile,
“Late in 2013 a break in the case came when the OIP received the police reports. The reports included information that was not raised at the original trial, including the existence of two witnesses who confirmed that the shooter came from a nearby post office lot, not the defendants’ truck. One of those witnesses even claimed he recognized the shooter as a sibling of one of his classmates.”
The prosecutions and convictions of these kids weren’t just wrongful, they were criminal. Someone should pay.
Photo: Free at last!