"Truth, Crushed to Earth, Shall Rise Again!"

It's time to Break It Down!

As one popular saying goes, “Everything is big in Texas.” Apparently, that includes the list of persons convicted of crimes they did not commit, who have later been exonerated, based on DNA evidence that proves their innocence. That list grew larger by one yesterday, when district court Judge Don Adams told Cornelius Dupree, Jr., “You’re free to go.”

Mr. Dupree was imprisoned in 1980 as a result of his conviction on rape and robbery charges in 1979, and served 30 years of a 75-year sentence. He had at least two opportunities to have his sentence reduced and to make parole, had he admitted to being a sex offender. He consistently refused to do so.

When asked about his refusal to act to speed up his release by admitting guilt, he said, “Whatever your truth is, you have to stick with it.” His clear-eyed resoluteness spoke volumes. It principally underscored, that regardless of the verdict, he knew he was innocent; but also showed a dispassionate understanding that had he admitted guilt for a crime he did not commit, the quest to prove his innocence would instantly and irreversibly lose its righteous fervor. Those who believed in him and his cause would have reason to doubt. As Mohandas (Mahatma = Great Soul) Gandhi said, “Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self-sustained.” Fortunately, Mr. Dupree embraced that construct.

The State of Texas has freed 41 inmates since 2001 because DNA evidence proved their innocence; more such exonerations than in any other state. Of the 41 inmates freed, 21 have come from Dallas County. That is an amazing, almost stupefying statistic, at least until the underlying reasons are revealed. Dallas County, unlike jurisdictions virtually anywhere else in the nation, has maintained DNA evidence dating back decades after convictions. The exoneration process has been aided further because current Dallas County District Attorney (D.A.) Craig Watkins, the first black D.A. in Texas history, has cooperated with Innocence Projects to reopen cases to facilitate review of relevant DNA evidence.

Dupree’s 30 years served give him the distinction of having done more time for a crime that was proved later he did not commit, than anyone in Texas. In fact, only two inmates in the Country have served longer before being exonerated due to DNA evidence; James Bain spent 35 years in a Florida prison, and Lawrence McKinney spent 31 years in a Tennessee penitentiary.

In 2009, after dozens of wrongly convicted inmates were related during the decade, the Texas Legislature enacted a law to compensate those wrongly imprisoned, that is the most generous in the nation. Under the provisions of the law, Mr. Dupree is eligible to receive $80,000 for each year he was jailed, plus a lifetime annuity. The $2.4 million dollar lump sum payment would not be subject to federal income tax. On its face, that sounds like a huge windfall. Yet, who among those who have never been imprisoned would trade a year of freedom for $80K? Multiply that by 30 years; if you could turn back the clock, assuming you are 22 or older, would you agree to go to prison, with the understanding that if you lived 30 years, at the end of that period you would receive $2.4 million with no federal tax, plus an annuity? Mr. Dupree had no such assurances of course, but suppose you did; deal or no deal? I am curious. Please feel free to write your response and rationale in the comment section if your answer is yes.

The cases of Cornelius Dupree, Jr., James Bain, and Lawrence McKinney are troubling, individually, and collectively. That the American system of jurisprudence is subject to such egregious errors is problematic, in and of itself. This post centers on Texas, but Mr. Bain, and Mr. McKinney were from Florida, and Tennessee, respectively, so as big and bodacious as the great State of Texas is, this is not an issue unique to The Long Horn State.

Beyond the fact that such cases of mistaken identity, rush to judgment, and convict at all costs occur at all, the fact that the individuals who have served the three longest wrongly convicted sentences in America, happen to all be black men, is abhorrent, and provocative. It is another of those damning statistics that suggest blacks in this Country often fail to receive equal treatment under the law. But I digress. It would take several posts to adequately address that topic.

Moreover, in keeping with my 2011 Mantra, “Less is more,” this is where I put a pin in today’s conversation. In his poem, The Battle-Field, William Cullen Bryant asserted, “Truth, crushed to the earth, shall rise again!” Cornelius Dupree spoke truth to power, saw it crushed, waited, prayed, and litigated; 30 years later, it rose again.

The good news is he lived to hear Judge Adams utter the phrase, “You’re free to go.” I am happy that Mr. Dupree will receive a measure of compensation for the injustice that was wrought upon him. Still, it is hard to imagine the emotional pain and suffering he endured, and equally challenging to fathom the resultant scarring that he will carry for the duration of his life. Nevertheless, “it is what it is.” My hope is that Cornelius Dupree takes a page from (Karl Paul) Reinhold Niebuhr’s Serenity Prayer: “May God grant him the serenity to accept the things he cannot change, the courage to change the things he can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”  From all indications, he is way ahead of me on that.

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com/. A new post is published each Wednesday. For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Cullen_Bryant

http://www.bartleby.com/102/23.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Scheck

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innocence_Project

http://www.innocenceproject.org/know/Browse-Profiles.php

http://www.dallascourts.com/forms/frmCtsCrimCDC.asp?court=2

http://www.dallasda.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Watkins

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2011/01/dallas_court_officially_declar.php

http://blackmeninamerica.blogspot.com/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/04/cornelius-dupree-jr-prove_n_804010.html

http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS390&=&q=cornelius+dupree&aq=f&oq=#q=cornelius+dupree&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS390&prmd=ivnsuo&source=univ&tbs=nws:1&tbo=u&ei=Tu0jTaWGNMWclgfDrLyTDA&sa=X&oi=news_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCEQqAIwAA&fp=402f87a5aaec04db

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/01/04/132650399/dna-evidence-clears-texas-man-who-spent-30-years-in-prison

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40909822/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/dna-evidence-frees-james-bain-from-prison-after-35-years/1059473

http://www.newschannel5.com/story/11403184/dna-results-prove-innocence-for-man-behind-bars?redirected=true