MARC WITH GUEST ALAN GELL
GUEST- ALAN GELL, 7 years on Death
Row after the Attorney General's office withheld evidence that would have
proved Gell innocent.
Alan Gell spent 9 years behind bars, 7 of them on Death Row, for a crime
he did not commit. This was not mistaken identity, or a lack of conclusive
DNA evidence. This was the direct result of prosecutorial
misconduct. by the North Carolina Attorney General's Office. Gell
was freed in February, 2004, when it was discovered that the Attorney
General's Office with-held evidence that proved Gell was not only out
of town when the murder took place, but he was in jail in another State
for a separate crime. Not only that but the State hid evidence of a tape
recorded phone conversation, in which the State's two star witnesses admit
to lying about Gell's involvement in the murder.
Alan Gell is on a mission to educate young teens and college students
about the lessons he has learned about justice. Who better to speak to
those at risk than Alan?
Alan Gell has an exciting future to share with us all. He is available
for speaking engagements and classroom discussions.
Contributions can be made to the 501(c) non-profit organization that allows
Alan to attend college and speak to our young. All of us at Blue Line
Radio encourage everyone to support STAYOUT Inc.
STAYOUT INC.
POB 2664
RALEIGH, NC 27602
stayoutinc@mchsi.com
DEATH PENALTY. ALAN GELL'S CASE MAY HAVE CHANGED THE WAY WE THINK
ABOUT DEATH BY THE STATE
David Hoke and Debra Graves prosecuted Alan Gell. Graves and Hoke both
worked for Mike Easley, Hoke was Easley's number one man, while Easley
was Attorney General. Both Graves and Hoke with held critical evidence
from the defense that would have acquitted Gell. Because of that corruption
Gell spent 9 years in jail, many of which were spent on death row.Now
Gell is a free man and Graves and Hoke, who Easley recently described
as "good people and good lawyers" faced the Bar and received
a slight slap on the wrist. Easley dismissed his involvement with the
case recently but took credit for the prosecution's death sentence award
when it was handed down.Accountability starts at the top and ends there.
There are two men sentenced to die this month. Both seem like good candidates
because of the heinous acts they perpetrated against their victims. But
do we know everything?Under Easley's watch Gell was sentenced to death.
Which one of Easley's grandstanding convictions still await reversal on
death row?The human costs to Alan Gell and his family and to the victim's
family, and the economic costs to citizens of North Carolina are enormous.“The
emotional and physical toll a travesty of justice like this must take
on Mr. Jenkins’ family and on Mr. Gell and his family is impossible
to quantify,” says David Neal, a spokesperson for the North Carolina
Coalition for a Moratorium, a statewide group of organizations and individuals
who support a temporary suspension of executions while we study our capital
punishment system. “This is exactly why we need to take a step back,
temporarily halt executions, and figure out what is going wrong in these
cases.”Last year the North Carolina Senate passed a moratorium bill
and the State House will consider the bill in the upcoming session.Gell
is one of a growing number of men wrongfully convicted and sentenced to
death in North Carolina. Jerry Hamilton was recently awarded a new trial
because the state withheld evidence that points to his innocence. Charles
Munsey was also awarded a new trial because prosecutors withheld evidence
of his innocence; another man who confessed to acting alone was later
convicted of the murder. Alfred Rivera and Tim Hennis were both sentenced
to death, and like Gell, acquitted in retrials.Twenty-one local governments,
more than 1000 businesses, congregations, civic groups and organizations,
and more than 40,000 North Carolinians have signed moratorium petitions.
Every major newspaper in North Carolina and numerous smaller papers have
endorsed a moratorium. Nine former North Carolina Supreme Court Justices
have endorsed the moratorium, joining many other prominent North Carolinians
such as Dean Smith, Herb Sendek, James F. Goodmon, Charles A. Sanders,
and L.M. “Bud” Baker.Easley has a tough decision to make before
an innocent man is put to death.
SPEAK OUT IN THE FORUM
