Innocent man convicted of first degree murder

On October 4th 2008, my brother Timothy Wayne Wright Jr. was found guilty of first degree murder. Neither I nor my family has the money to hire a lawyer. I do not understand why justice is not being done! I thought that even those in this country who cannot afford a lawyer have a right to justice.
The evidences were abundant to show that he could not be placed at the scene of the crime.

1. Mr. Kenneth Gill, a fingerprint analyst, testified that the fingerprints on the casings found at the scene of the crime belonged to Justin Davis.

2. Mrs. Nicole Harold, a scientist, examined the DNA found on the black ball cap that was recovered at the scene of the crime and testified that the DNA was NOT the DNA of Timothy Wright.

3. The gun used in the killing of Justin Baumgardner belonged to Justin Davis.

4. The only eye witness is Justin Davis accusing Timothy Wright Jr.

5. Mr. James Finney, an inmate at the jail, testified against Timothy Wright and said that he heard him make an incriminating statement while in the jail church service on July 24, 2008. Yet, the second in command of the jail in Amherst testified and explained how the church attendants are selected. The jail is divided into blocks. In each block there are several cells. In each cell, there may be several inmates. Each week, only one block can attend the church service. Inmates from these cells may decide whether they desire to respond to the invitation of the minister to come or not. Mr. James Finney and Mr. Timothy Wright are not in the same block and therefore could never be in the same church service on any date given.

6. Mr. R. Hudson who was in the Lynchburg jail with Justin Davis testified Justin Davis said he killed Justin Baumgardner and framed Timothy Wright Jr. for it. Mr. Hudson also testified that the state police agent came to see him twice to discourage him to testify, telling him he did not have to testify and that if he did and was under oath and was found in a lie could have a longer sentence. Mr. Hudson said it scared him because the length of his sentence was brought up twice, but he decided to testify because he did not want to see someone innocent punished. Unfortunately, this was not enough.

7. A video expert clearly stated that the video provided by the Corner Country market on 130 could not be used to make an accurate identification of a pick-up truck seen in it. The color, make, length, height, and width of the truck were in question. It was also shown that the truck on the video had smaller tires and that Timothy Wright Jr.'s truck had larger tires. This video was then rendered non conclusive. However it continued to be used and dealt with as though it was conclusive.

There were other testimonies which were found non-conclusive or doubtful due to the gain the person testifying may receive or had received in the past for giving jail information. We all wonder then why was Timothy Wright Jr. found guilty? We may need to go back to May 3, 2008. A murder had been committed on Saturday night. On the crime scene were recovered shell casings, a black hat and the testimony of neighbors hearing a fire arm which indicated the time of the murder? Let me at this time mention that this account is written from the careful notes I tried to take in court. It is possible there may be errors but this is, to my best knowledge, accurate and factual to the testimonies given under oath in court on October 1st-4th, 2008. I tried to stay objective and look at the evidences presented.
This being said, on May 6, 2008, Justin Davis, the only eye witness in this case, went to the Amherst County Police to say that he had been kidnapped and had watched Timothy Wright Jr. kill Justin Baumgardner. Justin Davis, with the aid of his father, former deputy Steve Davis, had reported his gun stolen on May 4th. No search warrants were served to search any of Davis' properties /belongings but all of Timothy Wright Jr.'s properties/belongings were searched. The officer testified that he took Justin Davis at his word and did not see any need not to believe him and assume Timothy's Wright Jr. was guilty, even though the officer stated under oath in the trial that he did not believe Justin Davis had been kidnapped. During the rest of the investigation the information given to the press to report in the local newspapers and on television was done only to prove and present that Timothy Wright Jr. was guilty. Timothy Wright Jr. was not questioned first, simply arrested on Justin Davis’ word. Because Justin Davis is the son of a deputy sheriff, there is an obvious conflict of interest. The Amherst Police Department needed to turn the whole case to the State Police as soon as possible. It was indeed testified in court by the investigator that it is of crucial importance that a case is investigated as soon as possible and that the testimonies of the different people involved be questioned and double checked to identify if there are any conflicts in their stories.
Timothy Wright Jr.’s testimony never changed. He has always said he was not there at the scene of the crime. The defense attorney stated in court that the record shows that Justin Davis' stories had changed six times. Despite these conflicts of interest and the suspicious testimony of Justin Davis, the person in charge of the decision to turn this case to the state police chose to keep the case in the Amherst County Police for 12 days. During this time, while everyone in Amherst County was shocked about this horrible crime and anxious to find out information to settle their anxiety, the press and the TV reporters were only given information to print and broadcast by the Amherst Police Department which had taken the position that Timothy W. Wright Jr. was indeed guilty till proven innocent. Almost no negative information about Justin Davis was given. This left the entire population’s opinion in the total influence of the press. The damage is inestimable and very serious for the jury is chosen from the population.
After the State Police got involved, their jurisdiction was to investigate and further research Timothy Wright Jr.'s assumed guilt. The chief investigator of the State Police in this case testified in court that it was not his responsibility to investigate the Amherst County Police and the way this case had been handled. His job was to continue his search on Timothy Wright Jr. His job was to make a case that had Timothy as the guilty party. How can this whole situation be seen as fair and just? Does anyone have a chance at a fair trial when the jury is selected from a county where the crime has taken place and whose inhabitants have been influenced by the press for months in the way I described earlier? The only conclusive and identifiable evidence linking Timothy Wright Jr. to the crime was the testimony of Justin Davis! What can be done? Who will have the courage to help? What other information still needs to be revealed? I have chosen not to print many names because the purpose of my article is not to expose and blame. I am grateful for the order we enjoy in our free land of the United States of America where everyone is protected by the truth that one is innocent till proven guilty. Timothy W. Wright Jr. was denied this right and protection in our country. Can his situation change? Please help if you can, whether you have been involved in this case or you have information which could shed some light and hope for a man who was found guilty only because he was perceived and treated as guilty which I believe manipulated the decision of the jury, even though no evidence was found that he was at the scene of the crime. All these facts and mishandling of his situation were not revealed and seen till in court and this turned out to be too late for him. He is now facing imprisonment for his entire life!
It has been estimated that more than 10% (possibly 15%) of those in prison are innocent. Many are convicted because of incompetent council. Many are framed by the police and/or prosecutors. In many cases the judges and defense attorneys are involved in the wrongful convictions.
These percentages also carry though to death row prisoners and those who have been executed.
What is needed?
1. An investigation by the F.B.I. into all cases where there is a chance that evidence was tampered with, fabricated and\or concealed in order to convict the innocent person.
2. Investigation into cases where collusion between the police, prosecutors, defense attorneys and/or judges in order to convict a person who is or maybe innocent.
3. Legislation to make these cases (items 1 and 2) Federal Crimes with suggested sentences that will make the perpetrators of these crimes serve as much or more time in prison and those who they had wrongfully convicted.
4. Upon the presentation of evidence and determination that a wrongful conviction may have occurred and new trial will be carried out in the Federal courts if the case was originally on the state or a different Federal judge and prosecutor if it was a Federal case and those who were involved will be investigated and prosecuted.
5. The wrongfully convicted person shall be allowed to sue the parties involved, including the Government agency, for wrongful prosecution and for monetary damages to be determined by a jury, including attorney’s fees, loss of income and mental anguish.
6. Since the wrongfully convicted are mostly minorities and poor whites the civil rights laws should apply. Civil rights are being denied to the minorities and/or the poor because they are minorities and/or poor. Their rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are being denied.
These wrongful convictions are a not only a miscarriage of justice but also a disgrace to our American Justice System. There is a lot of money made from the corruption in our justice system and our prison system. A full scale investigation of the system is not only warranted but it is imperative to make the system truly a justice system instead of an injustice system.

Our heart goes out to you and your brother. Our son, like your brother, is in prison for a murder he didn't commit. I agree that false convictions are far more common than most people think and that this issue screams for legislative action.

The problem of righting wrongful convictions is complex, but those of us who are so directly affected need to join together to seek changes to a system that is so profoundly broken--not only for our loved ones, but for all in our society who deserve justice.

Please visit our web site at Bearing False Witness and feel free to contact me through it.

[jacobsmom2009]

my husband is goin thru something similar a friend of my husbands had a gun that he was trying to sell to my husband....the gun did not belong to my husband the man trying to sell it to him placed the gun in a cabinet where we were staying and my husband told him to make sure he put the gun on a high self if he was gonna leave it there because our two year old son liked to mess as all two year olds do...the man and my husband were talkin in another room and my son got the gun and the gun accidentally went off,my son died,and they are trying to charge my husband with first degree murder my husband loved our son and would never do anything to hurt him,but investigators are fabricating stories to make him look like a bad father our child was not neglected in anyway,they are trying to make him look bad because he had a violation of probation due to a mix up made by the probation officer...is there anything we can do to prove his innocence?

YOUR BROTHER SHOULD BURN IN HELL AND THAT IS WHERE HE IS GOING TO GO. WHY WOULD YOU EVEN WANT TO ADMIT TO BEING HIS FAMILY?

Your husband should rot in hell. Who the **** leaves it up to a friend to place a loaded gun where your kid cant find it? your husband will spend the rest of his life in jail thinking about his dead kid, cause he was the one who killed him, i hope he gets the chair!

It is a horible shame that innocent people get convicted of crimes that they did not commit. But in our Judicial system that is an all too often occurance. You have to actually live through it to understand.

Originally Posted by Unregistered Your husband should rot in hell. Who the **** leaves it up to a friend to place a loaded gun where your kid cant find it? your husband will spend the rest of his life in jail thinking about his dead kid, cause he was the one who killed him, i hope he gets the chair!

Hey why don't you leave him alone, sure the gun shouldn't have been in reach of the kid, but hey **** happens, and the kid died, I think its a tragic story, and then for them to blame the father!? WTF?!
The father isn't responsible for what happened, I hope he gets off.. I'd hate to see another good father go to jail....

but, by law he is responsible, its considered negligence. He didnt live up to his duty of care, according to the law. although, i dont necessarily agree with it, it is the law. im sorry for your loss.

If a parent keeps a gun (loaded no less) anywhere a child can access it, it is considered criminal negligence. Guns don't belong in houses where children reside. While it's not first degree murder, it's considered contributory manslaughter. For him to be convicted of first degree murder, it would have to be proven that he premeditated the murder of this child. That will be very hard to prove, and he will likely not be convicted of first degree. Probably involuntary manslaughter.

Guns don't belong around children. If you have guns, don't have children. If you have children, don't have guns.

Originally Posted by Unregistered Our heart goes out to you and your brother. Our son, like your brother, is in prison for a murder he didn't commit. I agree that false convictions are far more common than most people think and that this issue screams for legislative action. The problem of righting wrongful convictions is complex, but those of us who are so directly affected need to join together to seek changes to a system that is so profoundly broken--not only for our loved ones, but for all in our society who deserve justice. Please visit our web site at Bearing False Witness and feel free to contact me through it.

I know it doesn't help, and for that i apologize as well but i am very sorry for your losses. It is truly unfortunate that it takes a tragedy in life for us to come together and do something about it as opposed to people standing up to prevent what is happening to others, as well as before it happens to them.