Friday, April 29, 2011

Capital Punishment is False Security

Basic facts on Kerry Lyn Dalton's case ;

Kerry is an innocent woman currently living on Death Row in California.
In March of 1995 she was convicted of 1st degree murder with special circumstances.
She was sent to wait for execution in June '95.

She pleaded innocent and still maintains her innocence.

The jury found guilt without a body, without any weapon, without any crime scene evidence, and even without blood evidence (therefore no ability to have DNA testing for exoneration).

The case was built on a missing person's report (phoned in anonymously. The husband of the alleged missing woman swore in court she "ran off" like she had more than once before.) and based on the words of informants, ex-cons, and drug addicts, all hearsay testimony.

Some sources can be found that state Kerry had confessed; those refer to the hearsay testimony from jailhouse informants who falsely claimed Kerry told them she committed murder. She has never made any such statement.

The San Diego Metropolitan Homicide Task Force needed a diversion from their  investigation; 12 law enforcement were implicated in the HWY 8 serial murder case they were commissioned to solve. By their own admittance the Task Force hoped the missing person rumor would give them a lead in another direction.
 Not only did they uncover absolutely no support of a murder on their first investigation, but they also found nothing on two more subsequent searches.
The Task Force never solved the serial murders (over 22 women killed; most were prostitute/informants).
Sadly, Kerry's case is another example of the system forcing a case and a solution regardless of truth or public safety.
Capital Punishment is not keeping anyone safe; so-called "bad guys" run lose while some district attorneys and some law enforcement pursue their career advancement, manipulating their authority.
We can see this is not an isolated case ; Anthony Graves, Kenneth Waters, Kevin Cooper, and many others have been convicted and lost too many years of their lives because of some law enforcement and some prosecutors bending and breaking the law. ( Thank goodness for people of integrity like prosecutor Kelly Siegler who would not prosecute Graves a second time since the evidence proved he was innocent.)
We need to reform the justice system - for all our sakes, not just Kerry's.

Her first attempt to gain an appeal is still in the process after 16 years.

Go to these links;


2 comments:

  1. let's hope Kery Lyn will be set free one day.

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  2. Yes Ron! She deserves her freedom and much more!!
    Please continue to support her fight and others' until the system works fairly and justly, treating people humanely.
    Thank you from Kerry Lyn and myself for your positive thoughts!
    Victoria

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