I spent from 1974 at the age of 17 untill 1982 in Florida state prison.In 1979 a guard murdered an inmate in the bunk next to mine.I was charged with capital murder in order to cover it up.I spent over 2 yrs. in solitary confinement facing the chair for a murder I did,nt commit.They promised me the chair.I had no knowedge of the murder.I had a 6 day murder trial in Gainsville , Fl. and was found not guilty.I came so close to the chair that I still have nightmares today.I was innocent.

Wow, that is an amazing story. I'm so sorry that you had to go through that. I hope that you find peace with this and know that you will get your reward in heaven. I'll keep you in my prayers. God Bless You!

I am so sorry for the fact that you were in that situation. I wish you peace and happiness.

so what was it like there if I may ask?

Thank God you were found not guilty. An amazing story.

God is good that the truth prevailed! Good luck and God bless in all your endevours :)

Yet another example of how badly broken our prison system is. We give such people the power over life and death, and though the prove themselves unworthy of it, do not question. It makes no sense to me at all.

hvymetalcowboy, I'm glad you made it out OK. You're a lucky man. Of course, luck shouldn't even enter into the picture.

Sometimes Justice does prvail not often enough I'm afraid but sometimes!
I'm so very happy that it did for you and may our fathers see you reach your just rewards as you have comming! Going thru what you did had to be terriffing and bless you for making it thrugh it! May God Bless You asways!

There is a GOD. That is why you have them boys. Take care of yourself.

My husband has been, on Arizona death row, for 16 years. He did not commit murder! He had a 9 hour trial, in Maricopa County and was prosecuted, by the same prosecutor that wrongfully convicted Ray Krone. Only now does he have real hope of justice, but even with the right people behind us, the odds are heavily in favor, of the state.

I pray no other has to walk a mile, in our shoes, but I know that they will....

Justice, in America - What a joke!

I agree with DaveMoff....I despise the justice system. So many individuals are there on death row just because they could not afford the appropriate defense....So therefore they get court appointed lawyers who are in some cases not even on their side....But when I hear stories like yours, an individual who actually made it off the row it gives me hope that our loved ones might actually make it off the row.....God I hope so! Thank God one life was spared!!!

This is one of the many reasons I don't believe in the death penalty as there are too many innocent men on death row, beside the fact we are not the creator of life and have no right to take anothers's life no matter what! This law has to change and it's up to the people to change it! Untill than there will be more state murders and that is just unexcusable. Let there be justice but not by our hands!

Ah yes....court-appointed lawyers. In some states, I believe they still receive as little as $15 a day for representing a client. When the same lawyer can potentially bring in several hundred dollars per hour sitting at his or her desk, where do you think the bulk of his or her effort is going to go?

In Minnesota, court-appointed attorneys are paid, by various accounts, either $40 a day or $40 an hour, with a cap on how much they can charge the state for an individual client (I believe one is legally entitled to ONE HOUR of consultation--and even getting that can require a fight).

When, some years ago, I had a minor brush with the law, I was given the local Public Defender, only to find on meeting with him that he had already decided my case and spelled out the "plea bargain" I was to agree to (the prosecutor did nothing of the sort until five months later). Such niceties as the United States Constitution, Minnesota Criminal Court procedure, and the simple fact of determining whether a crime had been committed (it hadn't) meant nothing to him. I wound up taking over my own defense and would have gotten off scot-free were it not for the damage this fellow had already done without my knowledge or consent.

On two occasions, when I studied the court calendar for a particular day, I found that this fellow had 23 and 26 clients scheduled for various hearings. As court is in session here around six hours per weekday, one may easily imagine the sort of "justice" these people received. But at $40 a pop, at least the attorney went home happy.

To my mind, anyone who has received such shoddy treatment in a major case, and especially a capital matter, should be automatically granted a new trial on the grounds of insufficient representation. There is abundant case law in support of this, as I expect many will know. Though there is also a Texas case in which an appeals court rule that the Constitutional guarantee of representation by counsel does not specify representation by COMPETENT counsel.

For my part, I spent my six days in jail, paid a fine just short of $2000, and recently completed two years of probation under the supervision of court personnel who couldn't believe I'd been sentenced to anything at all and so were quite nice to me. I bear them no ill will.

And I learned two things I wish I never had. One, of course, is that one should not trust anything an attorney says without independent verification. The second and most troubling is that I now know in my heart of hearts what it truly feels like to want to kill someone. It is not an emotion I ever wanted to experience and I can only be grateful that it has faded. Mind, when I see that lawyer around town, he still crosses the street rather than make eye contact with me.

Some Court appointed attorneys I think should be puton Death Row. They don't care who they are represinting just whether or not they can make it for a lunch date.

wow that is so sad how even the innocent can end up facing the worst. it kinda leaves me with no hope in our "justice" system. but i am so glad that you got out of it. i know that must have been hard for you. thank goodness youre still blessed with life. i wish you all the best.

I agree with DaveMoff....I despise the justice system. So many individuals are there on death row just because they could not afford the appropriate defense....So therefore they get court appointed lawyers who are in some cases not even on their side....

this is so true, and its so sad.:(

You are still a young man. I pray you are trying to gain strength and hope to start fresh and keep on trying. Strive for a chance to make a difference in this world. Work to be an example of hope and strength for those still on death row, like my son. Thank you for reading this and God bless you.

I spent from 1974 at the age of 17 untill 1982 in Florida state prison.In 1979 a guard murdered an inmate in the bunk next to mine.I was charged with capital murder in order to cover it up.I spent over 2 yrs. in solitary confinement facing the chair for a murder I did,nt commit.They promised me the chair.I had no knowedge of the murder.I had a 6 day murder trial in Gainsville , Fl. and was found not guilty.I came so close to the chair that I still have nightmares today.I was innocent.

Is there a link or actual newspaper story on this? I read several archives and found no such story. I will say though from 1978-1985 Florida DOC had a lot of problems to include death of staff. But I wanted to read this story and even going past 1982 found nothing. Can you provide a link? I will keep looking. I found a very good archive site just on Florida's DOC.

I am so happy for you, you must have a guardian angel or two watching over you. God bless

I am so sorry for you. That is a terrible story and I am sure that it happens all the time. I am VERY against the death penalty and I am sure that many innocent men have been executed. May God bless you.


I spent from 1974 at the age of 17 untill 1982 in Florida state prison.In 1979 a guard murdered an inmate in the bunk next to mine.I was charged with capital murder in order to cover it up.I spent over 2 yrs. in solitary confinement facing the chair for a murder I did,nt commit.They promised me the chair.I had no knowedge of the murder.I had a 6 day murder trial in Gainsville , Fl. and was found not guilty.I came so close to the chair that I still have nightmares today.I was innocent.

May our heavenly father guide you and protect you always to keep the enemy away

What I would like to know is this:

With no disrespect to anyone, by reading what alot of what posters are saying there is alot of religious people in these forums.
The bible says an eye for an eye, yet you do not believe in the DP? Isn`t that going against what your god believed in?
For the record I am not religous and do not believe in the DP, can someone explain why you would challange the person you put faith in?

If you will read the complete Biblical chapter from which "an eye for an eye" (actually "eye for eye" in the KJV--Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20, and Deuteronomy 19:21) is drawn, it is preceded and followed by considerable material which places the quote in context. As it is from the Old Testament, and therefore is a text which originated in Jewish tribal law, I took this question to an Orthodox Rabbi some years ago. His response, simplified considerably (he spoke for more than an hour!), was that the passage was intended to indicate that no one's eye was more important than another's--that a king's eye was of the same value as a shepherd's, or a rich man's tooth equal to that of a poor man.

In any case, in Matthew 5:38-41, we find Jesus quoted: "You have heard it was said, 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth'. But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if any one should sue you and and take your coat, let him have your cloak also (in a two-garment society, this was a wisecrack); and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles".

Matthew 5:43-44 proceeds: "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy'. But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you". (that's the Revised Standard Version, which was the closest one at hand)

At any rate, the manner in which the passage in question is quoted most commonly neither accurately reflects Jewish or Christian beliefs. I suppose it might if the Christian or Jew is very angry or has a very large chip on his or her shoulder. But that's somewhat outside the realm of faith.

The bible says an eye for an eye, yet you do not believe in the DP? Isn`t that going against what your god believed in?

Well, the ten commandments are the most important rules of the Christian beliefe and they count more than a quote from one of the texts, but nevertheless some Christians do believe in the DP. You shall not kill. But, these people care only about the commandments if it is something they agree with. The text an eye for an eye...is their excuse to violate the commandments by themselves.

Praise the Lord Jesus u were found not guilty. I do however think of all those who were not so fortunate. It is only until very recently, having a best friend who's an attorney, that I have realized how having incompetent legal representation could land someone w/ a life sentence or worse. I guess I was naive in thinking the evidence would speak for itself. After studying the freedom files projects and learning of nearly 200 cases where prisoners were exonerated w/the technologies of DNA evidence, I was left absolutely stunned. If the prosecuting attorney is strong and convicing & the defense attorney can't stand up to them it really doesn't matter what the evidence says. The jury's going to side w/ the attorney w/ the best "performance"!

That was a amazing story