Conviction vacated for Davontae Sanford

[Detroit Stylin]

Too bad he spent 9 years in prison already.

"While others his age were dating, attending proms and graduating from high school and college, Davontae Sanford spent his teen years and early 20s behind bars for murders authorities now say he didn’t commit.

Sanford is expected to walk out of prison a free man Wednesday, a day after the judge who presided over his 2008 trial vacated his sentence and prosecutors said they would not pursue further charges. He was 14 when he was arrested for a 2007 quadruple homicide in a drug house on Detroit’s east side."

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/new...cide/85560874/

[Honky Tonk]

One of my biggest fears is being in the wrong place @ the wrong time, and being caught up in something like this because someone is under pressure to close the case.

[Wesley Mouch]

One of my biggest fears is being in the wrong place @ the wrong time, and being caught up in something like this because someone is under pressure to close the case.

I understand. I was the victim of a politically motivated charge once. The power of prosecutors combined with sloppiness is indeed something to fear.

[Jimaz]

One reason there have been more of these exonerations lately is due to the efforts of The Innocence Project and their use of DNA analysis.

Smart people do good things.

[Hypestyles]

Meanwhile, somebody out East gets to have a six month sentence for rape because prison "would be bad for him" [[paraphrasing).

I hope that this young man gets the support he needs in the form of ongoing counseling as well as educational/job training assistance. Being "too close" to the streets will not be good for him.

[compn]

The case became a national cause for innocence advocates, who pointed out that two weeks after Sanford was sent to prison, hit man Vincent Smothers confessed to the killings, providing details that included where one of the murder weapons was stashed.

Worthy in her written statement Tuesday criticized former Detroit Police Deputy Chief James Tolbert, who later became Flint’s police chief, for his role in the case.

“Included in [[the state police) report is a recorded interview in which ... Tolbert contradicts his sworn testimony that Davontae Sanford drew the entire diagram of the crime scene, including the location of the victims’ bodies, while being questioned by the police,” Worthy said. “This called into question Tolbert’s credibility in the case.



shameful.

[Bobl]

Yes, it is shameful. Most cops just try to do the best they can, and do not get the respect and gratitude they deserve. Officers like the one involved in perjury in this case are one reason.

[Danny]

Just like White Boy Rick, Devontae Sanford got into the hype of dealing drugs in the ghetto hoods in Detroit, getting into conflicts and calling up his hitman to kill five people. The both were caught, the hitman confessed by was not chaged, the court charge the mastermind and threw the book at him. Now after nine years, the justice system let him go.

It comes to show that if the evidence is not real, its circumstantial. That person was there at the scene of the crime, that does not mean that prep did it.

WORD FROM THE STREET PROPHET

Enjoy for freedom, Devontae while White Boy Rick remains in Club Fed!

[Honky Tonk]

The case became a national cause for innocence advocates, who pointed out that two weeks after Sanford was sent to prison, hit man Vincent Smothers confessed to the killings, providing details that included where one of the murder weapons was stashed.

Worthy in her written statement Tuesday criticized former Detroit Police Deputy Chief James Tolbert, who later became Flint’s police chief, for his role in the case.

“Included in [[the state police) report is a recorded interview in which ... Tolbert contradicts his sworn testimony that Davontae Sanford drew the entire diagram of the crime scene, including the location of the victims’ bodies, while being questioned by the police,” Worthy said. “This called into question Tolbert’s credibility in the case.



shameful.

Tolbert ought to be indited for perjury for that.

[Don K]

Good thing Michigan doesn't have the death penalty, otherwise it might be too late for him.

[Hypestyles]

so will "law & order conservatives" support a bill to provide compensation for those folks whose convictions have been overturned/vacated and it's been proven that the convicted was not guilty after all?

[G-DDT]

Good thing Michigan doesn't have the death penalty, otherwise it might be too late for him.

I agree.

Neufeld, Dwyer, & Scheck wrote the book "Actual Innocence" http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/node/189covering many of these incidences, and it's not surprising that they seem to occur most often with a racial bias against African Americans wrongly convicted, than whites.

The fearful feeling of being wrongfully convicted is not uncommon to any of us. It really goes to show how much we really [[in all deep aspects) "trust" the "system" [[Heck, some of us even feel guilty, even when we're not-like when we immediately slow down when we see a cop drive past us, even though we are very much well within the posted speed limit.). Many of Alfred Hitchcock's films center around mistaken identity and false accusation [[ie. The Wrong Man, Saboteur) as a topic.

Though [[so far) never accused of a crime of grave severity, I have been falsely accused of things many times with little exoneration.

Also, there is a person with the same name as mine who has a track record of arrests in Chicago for drugs, prostitution, and illegal gun possession. I've known about him since the 7th grade, and since he has moved to Michigan, he pops up once in while by various channels accounts [["What does he look like?" "Well, he's just sort of this-guy."), and he is still reported to try to rope girls into prostitution and drugs. He also goes by aliases that start shifting exactly towards my full name [[like the bully in the back seat who can't stay on his side of the seat). It's only a matter of time before authorities [[or crime goons or jealous boyfriends) come knocking on my door [["Yeah, man, but ya' see, I'm the du-ude, maan.")....

I am very glad this kid is free, but man, liberty could've come a lot sooner for him.

Who else is [[currently) going through this hell?

[G-DDT]

so will "law & order conservatives" support a bill to provide compensation for those folks whose convictions have been overturned/vacated and it's been proven that the convicted was not guilty after all?

That has also been a big concern for me. Is there ever any decent restitution? My understanding was that kid got targeted a lot while he was incarcerated [[according to the broadcast reports).