Imagine being convicted of murder by the testimony of the murderer.
Imagine the murderer has been released, and you’re now serving a life sentence or on death row! These are not one-off or rare circumstances in Arizona, and they are far too common for citizens without millions of dollars for a legal defense.
These circumstances and laws only get worse once one is convicted.
ARS § 13-751 provides no possibility of relief for a life sentence, even when faulty evidence, jailhouse snitches, or the actual perpetrators self-serving plea agreements are used to secure a conviction. A “tough on crime” posture is fine, but the “to hell with facts we make up our own facts as needed” attitude by prosecutors is criminal. Arizona needs to repeal ARS § 13-751.
Sanjay Gohel has maintained his innocence after being convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without any possibility of release (CR 1997-014793). The prosecutor in Maricopa County relied heavily on the actual murderer’s testimony and jailhouse snitches’ testimony. (see “The Prosecutor and the Snitch Ring”). Sanjay has maintained his innocence, while the actual murderer only received a 10-year sentence.
In order to secure convictions, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO) has an established practice of concealing evidence and manufacturing charges. (examples here here and here). There are several individuals on Arizona’s death row whom I have interviewed and written about over the years, like Donald Delahanty and Patrick Bearup, neither of whom killed anyone: the murderer served a few years, and they’re sitting on death row. That’s not justice its a broken justice system.
A history of failures, the MCAO charged four Hispanic youths with the Buddhist Temple murders, even though they were completely innocent. Ray Krone was sentenced to death, received a new trial, convicted again, and later exonerated by DNA evidence. Debra Milke was sentenced to death and later exonerated when it was proven that the police manufactured evidence to secure a conviction. These are but a few examples of the MCAO’s abuse of power.
An ABC15 investigation into the shady practices of the MCAO reveals a potential cover-up involving Judge Teresa Sanders, which allowed wrongful convictions to stand. According to a former member of the Arizona judiciary, For the most part, judges protect the prosecutors and judiciary. If you’re not willing to adhere to the program (like the Blue Line for police officers), they make it rather uncomfortable for you to remain on the bench.
Arizona and other states have enacted laws that subvert checks and balances for marginalized defendants. We must ask ourselves: why does it require Kim Kardashian’s involvement and documentaries to be made about a case (the Menendez brothers) before prosecutors will admit their failures?
Gohel should have full access to due process to appeal his wrongful conviction, including access to the Board of Clemency a board that is properly trained pursuant to ARS § 31-401.
ARS § 13-401 should be repealed, allowing the Arizona Board of Clemency and the governor to review relief for those wrongly convicted when the court system has failed.
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By George Kayer. A public domain document.