Kyla
03-10-2005, 03:51 AM
Gell stresses need for execution moratorium
By J. Eric Eckard, Rocky Mount Telegram
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
TARBORO — About two dozen people turned out Wednesday
night in Tarboro to hear about Alan Gell's call for a
two-year moratorium on the death penalty in North
Carolina.
Gell spent nine years in prison for a crime he didn't
commit, including more than four years on death row.
He was granted a new trial after an appeals lawyer
discovered that prosecutors withheld evidence of
Gell's innocence.
"I'm not here to make excuses for the state," said
Gell, who was acquitted of murder in 2004 for a 1995
homicide. "I know why the state didn't do the right
thing. They did it for the public — to keep the public
from knowing that system is not clean running like
they think it is.
"I agree with them — we do need to know that the
system works. But we don't need to hide the problems."
On Wednesday, several community |eaders joined Gell at
the Edgecombe County Administration Building to
support his demand that North Carolina halt executions
until studies can be done to determine that the system
works fairly and justly.
"We're here to draw attention to the death penalty and
to draw attention to what we can do as individuals,"
said Melvin Muhammad, of African-American Men
Enhancing Neighborhoods, one of the event sponsors.
"We can tell our local and state representatives that
a moratorium would be good for anybody and everybody.
"If an innocent person is executed, that's a crime
committed by the state you live in."
Event organizers, which also included the Carolina
Justice Policy Center, Dancy Communications, Muhammad
Mosque 79 and the Tarboro branch of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People,
were expecting Daryl Hunt, who also made headlines in
2004 when DNA evidence cleared him of a murder for
which he spent 18 years in prison. But Hunt canceled
at the last minute because of the flu.
Gell spent much of the night talking about two women
who claimed Gell killed Allen Ray Jenkins in 1995 in
Bertie County. He talked about the prosecutors who
ultimately were issued warnings for their roles in
hiding statements from 17 witnesses who said they saw
the victim alive while Gell was in jail charged with
another crime. He discussed audiotapes in the
prosecutors' files that detailed the purported two
eyewitnesses talking about framing Gell.
And he talked about having hope throughout the entire
process that he would be acquitted in his first trial,
and then losing all hope when he was convicted.
"In the sentencing phase, I refused to help my
attorneys," he said. "I told them that if I spend the
rest of my life in prison for something I didn't do,
it's no different than being sentenced to death row
for something I didn't do.
"Being found guilty, that hurt more than getting the
death penalty."
Gell also discussed his disappointment in his appeals
lawyers until attorney Mary Pollard finally asked to
see the prosecutors' files, which ultimately led to a
new trial.
Since his release from prison in February 2004, Gell
has spent much of his time counseling young people
against drugs and speaking at events to decry capital
punishment. He attends many of these meetings with
Charmaine Fuller, assistant director of the Carolina
Justice Policy Center.
"We're not trying to abolish the death penalty in
North Carolina — we know there are plenty of people in
North Carolina who still want the death penalty," she
said. "We want a temporary two-year halt for the state
to study what's going right and what's going wrong.
"Apparently, there are flaws in the system, so don't
let anyone tell you that you don't need a moratorium
to do a study. That's a bluff and an insult, and you
shouldn't take that."
Tarboro Town Councilman Roland Clark said he supports
a moratorium, but he also believes in capital
punishment.
"If they kill someone, they should pay the price," he
said. "But something needs to be done so innocent
people are not sent to death row."
Gell said that in recent months, the state has made
strides in revamping the justice system by
implementing open-file discovery in capital cases and
raising the standards of death penalty defense
lawyers.
"But one thing I'm disappointed that they haven't done
is try to help those who have already been affected by
this system that's been running bad," he said. "But
not all prosecutors and lawyers in the system are bad.
There are a lot of prosecutors who do their job and
don't cheat to win."
By J. Eric Eckard, Rocky Mount Telegram
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
TARBORO — About two dozen people turned out Wednesday
night in Tarboro to hear about Alan Gell's call for a
two-year moratorium on the death penalty in North
Carolina.
Gell spent nine years in prison for a crime he didn't
commit, including more than four years on death row.
He was granted a new trial after an appeals lawyer
discovered that prosecutors withheld evidence of
Gell's innocence.
"I'm not here to make excuses for the state," said
Gell, who was acquitted of murder in 2004 for a 1995
homicide. "I know why the state didn't do the right
thing. They did it for the public — to keep the public
from knowing that system is not clean running like
they think it is.
"I agree with them — we do need to know that the
system works. But we don't need to hide the problems."
On Wednesday, several community |eaders joined Gell at
the Edgecombe County Administration Building to
support his demand that North Carolina halt executions
until studies can be done to determine that the system
works fairly and justly.
"We're here to draw attention to the death penalty and
to draw attention to what we can do as individuals,"
said Melvin Muhammad, of African-American Men
Enhancing Neighborhoods, one of the event sponsors.
"We can tell our local and state representatives that
a moratorium would be good for anybody and everybody.
"If an innocent person is executed, that's a crime
committed by the state you live in."
Event organizers, which also included the Carolina
Justice Policy Center, Dancy Communications, Muhammad
Mosque 79 and the Tarboro branch of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People,
were expecting Daryl Hunt, who also made headlines in
2004 when DNA evidence cleared him of a murder for
which he spent 18 years in prison. But Hunt canceled
at the last minute because of the flu.
Gell spent much of the night talking about two women
who claimed Gell killed Allen Ray Jenkins in 1995 in
Bertie County. He talked about the prosecutors who
ultimately were issued warnings for their roles in
hiding statements from 17 witnesses who said they saw
the victim alive while Gell was in jail charged with
another crime. He discussed audiotapes in the
prosecutors' files that detailed the purported two
eyewitnesses talking about framing Gell.
And he talked about having hope throughout the entire
process that he would be acquitted in his first trial,
and then losing all hope when he was convicted.
"In the sentencing phase, I refused to help my
attorneys," he said. "I told them that if I spend the
rest of my life in prison for something I didn't do,
it's no different than being sentenced to death row
for something I didn't do.
"Being found guilty, that hurt more than getting the
death penalty."
Gell also discussed his disappointment in his appeals
lawyers until attorney Mary Pollard finally asked to
see the prosecutors' files, which ultimately led to a
new trial.
Since his release from prison in February 2004, Gell
has spent much of his time counseling young people
against drugs and speaking at events to decry capital
punishment. He attends many of these meetings with
Charmaine Fuller, assistant director of the Carolina
Justice Policy Center.
"We're not trying to abolish the death penalty in
North Carolina — we know there are plenty of people in
North Carolina who still want the death penalty," she
said. "We want a temporary two-year halt for the state
to study what's going right and what's going wrong.
"Apparently, there are flaws in the system, so don't
let anyone tell you that you don't need a moratorium
to do a study. That's a bluff and an insult, and you
shouldn't take that."
Tarboro Town Councilman Roland Clark said he supports
a moratorium, but he also believes in capital
punishment.
"If they kill someone, they should pay the price," he
said. "But something needs to be done so innocent
people are not sent to death row."
Gell said that in recent months, the state has made
strides in revamping the justice system by
implementing open-file discovery in capital cases and
raising the standards of death penalty defense
lawyers.
"But one thing I'm disappointed that they haven't done
is try to help those who have already been affected by
this system that's been running bad," he said. "But
not all prosecutors and lawyers in the system are bad.
There are a lot of prosecutors who do their job and
don't cheat to win."