A Letter to POOR Magazine exposing wrongful death sentence convictions in Pennsylvania
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by Mildred Thomas Dear POOR Magazine, We're the directors of the Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty. We were doing a search for info on William Neives, exonerated Pennsylvania death row prisoner, when we came across an article in your zine. We have been involved for some time in the case of Jimmy Dennis, an innocent man on death row in Pennsylvania. His case involved the same prosecutor, Roger King, in Philadelphia, and his legal team is now hopeful he will also be exonerated. (See: http://www.jimmydennis.org and http://www.jimmydennis.com. ) Another Roger King wrongful conviction, the case of Fred Thomas, was recently stalled in the courts when the Judge recused himself at the last minute, setting Fred's legal team back to square one. Fred is terminally ill with liver disease, and it appears the courts are hoping Fred will pass before an effective challenge of his conviction can be mounted. (See Fred's page at: Police who interviewed witnesses in his case have since been busted for corruption. Prosecutor Roger King, who witheld evidence in both the Neives and Dennis cases, has developed a reputation among abolitionists for working with coerced statements, unreliable witnesses and for withholding evidence in Philly trials. He is believed to be responsible for numerous wrongful convictions. Along with our ongoing concerns and work in the area of wrongful convictions in Pennsylvania, we are at the moment very concerned about Fred Thomas, who is currently in intensive care. The CCADP is saddened to report that Fred is terminally ill with end stage liver disease. The only thing that would save him at this point would be a liver transplant, which is unlikely under present circumstances. His family and other concerned individuals and activists are fighting to get Fred transferred from death row to hospice care where he can be treated humanely. His sister reports: "We are having a demonstration on January 10 ,2002. Thanks so much! NOTE FROM FRED'S SISTER MILDRED THOMAS, Dec 28, 2001: "Please let everyone know that Fred will certainly appreciate any mail he receives even though he may not answer in a timely manner. His health is very poor at this time. Also we would appreciate - Mildred Thomas
Deputy Commissioner William Love Superintendent Donald T. Vaughn Catherine McVey |