evening DUers i need your help..re: death penalty

[ElsewheresDaughter]

a man was accused and convicted of killing his 7 children and wife and spent 25/27 years on death row in GA? ( i think it was GA) and was exhonorated a few years ago (maybe 2 years ago) ...i need help trying to find out his name and the details of his case...does anybody remember this case and could you help me out? <crossing fingers>

[MinnFats]

1. you might do a google search for sister helen prejean...

....she might have something on it.
her site also has links to anti-death penalty sites. i'd do it for u but i'm just taking a break from work,which i have plenty of. good luck.

[Lady President]

2. Madison Hobley?

This is the closest case I could find to your fact pattern.

Madison Hobley Illinois Conviction 1987 Released 2003:
Madison Hobley was convicted of setting fire to an apartment building in 1987 that claimed the lives of seven tenants, including his wife and child. Hobley maintained his innocence, claiming that his confession was the product of police torture. At trial, the evidence against Hobley consisted of the testimony of Andre Council, a suspected arsonist who claimed to have seen Hobley buying gasoline before the fire, and a gas station attendant who could not identify Hobley in a lineup and could only state that Hobley "favored" the man who purchased the gasoline.

Here's an amazing link that list all the known cases of innocence since the death penalty was reinstated.
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?scid=6&did=109

[ElsewheresDaughter]

3. thank you so much for the help..i found him!!!...armatt <smooch>

James Richardson, 67, was convicted in 1968 and sentenced to death for the poisoning death of one of his seven children, all of whom died after being poisoned. The prosecution argued that Richardson committed the crime to obtain insurance money, although no such policy existed. The primary witnesses against Richardson were two jail house snitches who said Richardson had confessed to them. A post-conviction investigation found a neighbor who cared for Richardson's had a prior homicide conviction and the defense provided affidavits from people to whom she had confessed. His conviction was then overturned after an investigation by then-Dade County State Attorney Janet Reno, which resulted in a new hearing and Richardson's' release in 1989.


:yourock:

[Lady President]

4. Good deal!

I'm so glad you found the case you needed. I was pro-death penalty until I was forced to write a position paper against it in college. It makes me happy whenever I see that students are studying this issue. Anyone who really takes the time to learn about the workings of the death penalty ends up being against it.

And, a little round of applause for our gal, Janet Reno! :)