When Glenn Ford walked out of prison for the first
time in 30 years, he had a state-issued debit card
for $20. His prison account had $0.24. Everything
he owned fit into two cardboard boxes.
Until he was freed last March, Ford, now 65, had
been one of the longest-serving death row inmates
in the United States.
He was convicted in 1984, but then exonerated of
first-degree murder after a new informant came
forward and cleared him of the crime.
His former lawyer, Gary Clements, was by his side
on his client’s first day of freedom.
“Nobody ever finds out the truth. Sometimes they
don’t find out in time. Here they did,” Clements
said. “That’s a blessing. To say that justice has
arrived now, it’s a little 30-years-too-late.”
The person responsible for putting Ford behind
bars is Marty Stroud, who prosecuted the original
case back in 1984.
Stroud has now apologized to Ford, writing in a
letter to the editor of the Shreveport Times in
Shreveport, Louisiana, “I was not as interested in
justice as I was in winning. ... I apologize to Glenn
Ford for all the misery I have caused him and his
family.”
“That case, I’ll never be able to put it to rest,”
Stroud told “Nightline.”
Ford’s case began in 1983, when Isadore
Rozeman, a local watch dealer in Shreveport, was
found shot dead inside his home repair shop.
Within days, the police zeroed in on Ford, who had
done yard work for the victim.
Ford was put on trial and after seven days. Even
though there were no eyewitnesses and no murder
weapon, the jury came back with a guilty verdict
and a death sentence, sending Ford to death row.
At the time, Stroud said he was “very pleased”
with the verdict and went out and celebrated. But
now, he is saying it wasn’t a fair fight.
“The deck was stacked on one end,” he said.
Ford’s court-appointed defense team had almost
no experience and no resources.
“The lawyers had never even stepped foot in the
courtroom before,” Clements said. “They never
tried a case and here they are defending a capital
case.”
Stroud reluctantly admitted he further stacked the
deck against Ford by ensuring that the jury was all
white.
“I knew I was excluding individuals we felt would
not seriously consider the death penalty,” he said.
“Looking back on it, I was not as sensitive to the
issue of race as I am now.”
Ford’s outmatched defense team was also never
told about the confidential informants working for
law enforcement who pointed the finger at two
other suspects, brothers Henry and Jake Robinson,
for Rozeman’s murder.
Ford had told police the brothers gave him some
items to pawn -- items, Ford later learned, that
were stolen from the murdered watch dealer’s
home.
While Ford sat on death row, the brothers remained
free and, according to authorities, may be
responsible for five other homicides. Both brothers
are now in jail charged with other crimes. Neither,
however, is charged with Rozeman’s murder.
Ford’s current attorney, William Most, said Ford’s
case challenges people’s notion about how this
nation works.
“The guy who didn’t commit the murder is the one
who is put in jail and sentenced the death,” Most
said. “And the ones who were part of it were let
free to commit other crimes.”
Ford would still be on death row today if not for a
confidential informant who told police in 2013 that
Jake Robinson confessed to him regarding the
killing of Isadore Rozeman.
In Louisiana, exonerated former inmates like Ford
are eligible for as much as $330,000 in
compensation payments. But when Ford petitioned
for the money a judge denied his request, saying
that while Ford didn’t kill Rozeman, he was not
completely innocent because he may have known
about the shooting beforehand because of his
communication with the brothers.
It’s a claim Ford fiercely denies.
So, his proponents argue, after being locked up for
30 years, the state turned its back on Ford and left
him virtually penniless.
“If we truly have a system of justice in this
country, Glenn would be compensated for what
was done to him,” Most said. “So the extent of
whether we have a system of justice, we’ll see --
but, you know, I see no justice in Glenn’s story.”
Stroud admitted that he should have done more to
help Ford, saying in his letter to the Shreveport
Times that Ford “deserved every penny owed to
him,” and that “to deny Mr. Ford any
compensation for the horrors he suffered ... is
appalling.”
“It’s an extremely big deal for Marty Stroud, the
lead prosecutor to do this,” Clements said. “He
could have just sent an apology to Glenn, but he
put it out in his community.”
But now, Ford needs that restitution money more
than ever. Just months after his release, he was
given a different kind of death sentence. He was
diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer.
He currently survives on donations and is cared for
by a staff of volunteers, including John Thompson,
another exonerated prisoner, who now operates a
home for exonerees.
Ford is now much frailer and easily fatigued,
having lost half his body weight. He said he was
shocked when Stroud published that letter
apologizing to him and his family.
When Stroud wanted to apologize to Ford in
person, Ford had mixed feelings about seeing the
man who put him away for 30 years. But he
granted the meeting, and “Nightline” was there
with cameras rolling.
“I thought about this for a long, long time,” Stroud
told him. “I want you to know that I am very sorry.
It’s a stain on me that will be with me until I go to
my grave, and I wasn’t a very good person at all. I
apologize for that.”
Ford said anger is not his driving force and he
holds nothing against the former prosecutor. But
after having 30 years taken away from him, Ford
reluctantly told Stroud, “I’m sorry. I can’t forgive
you.”
http://abcnews.go.com/US/exonerated-death-row-inmate-meets-prosecutor-put/story?id=30399619&cid=fb_abcn_sf

30 years of a man's life. He needs some type of compensation.

...

I knew he was BLACK before i saw his picture, if he had been white, the case would have been thrown out of court for the prosecutor's inability to prove his involvement in the crime beyond any reasonable doubt.

The life of a black man is fraught with one disaster or another, if racism isn't messing you up in the west, xenophobia is gonna get you in the motherland.

Why am I smiling?
Ooooh, its cos I like dat last statement " I'm sorry, I can't forgive you" that's soooooo... Badass!

One wonders how many innocent souls must have gone through this same societal injustice. This notwithstanding, I don think capital punishment should be abolished in a country like ours. Without capital punishment certain persons will deliberately terminate the lives of others, knowing fully well that they will spend the rest of their lives in jail without facing the hangman.

Heading front

That's why I hate lawyers.

Brb.

l clicked the link and watched the video and i was lefy in tears some people are just heartless

vislabraye:
30 years of a man's life. He needs some type of compensation.

Yes bro.

You know. ....

i pity de man...

How i wish de judge will be killed