Post by CCADP on Apr 16, 2006 9:51:30 GMT -5
Former inmate: System is flawed.
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2006 The Lima News
Byline: Beth L. Jokinen
Apr. 13--BLUFFTON -- While waiting on death row at the Lucasville Penitentiary for a crime he didn't commit, Gary Beeman spent his time studying legal books.
And when the chance came in 1979, he used what he learned to defend himself and prove his innocence.
"I was upset. I was angry. I was frustrated," Beeman said Wednesday of being wrongly convicted. "I swore I would never put my life or liberty in the hands of an attorney again. I said I would defend myself."
Beeman, who now lives in Niagara Falls, N.Y., told his story to about 100 people at Bluffton University on Wednesday. He has become very active in the movement against the death penalty.
"I don't believe capital punishment can be fairly or evenly administered," he said. "We think this is saving money and it's not."
Beeman was convicted of aggravated murder and sentenced to death in 1976. From the beginning of his trial, he maintained his innocence and that Claire Liuzzo, an escaped prisoner who testified as the main prosecution witness at Beeman's first trial, was the actual killer.
Beeman was granted a new trial in 1978, with the 10th District Court of Appeals finding Beeman's right to cross-examine Liuzzo had been unfairly restricted during the first trial. On retrial, with the help of an attorney, five witnesses testified that they heard Liuzzo confess to the murder. Beeman was acquitted in 1979.
Beeman said he was lucky, saying his story is much different from most on death row, partly because he is white and had family and support.
"I was upset by the [first] verdict, but I was confident that I would get a second try," he said. "That is not a common feeling of people on death row. Most feel hopeless."
Beeman said that nationally there are eight executions to every one exoneration. In Ohio, there are 20 executions to every five exonerations. He said the state desperately needs to stop executions and take a better look at the issue.
"If GM produced a car where in every eighth car the air bag was faulty, they would recall those cars," he said. "There is nowhere in society where we would tolerate a failure rate like that, and we are talking about people's lives."
Beeman said it is usually the poor, disenfranchised and minority who end up on death row.
"It is about power. There is no rich man I know that is on death row," he said. "We tend to think that the worst of the worst are the ones who go to death row. That is simply not true."
Copyright (c) 2006, The Lima News, Ohio
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.),
(213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.
Article CJ144443189
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2006 The Lima News
Byline: Beth L. Jokinen
Apr. 13--BLUFFTON -- While waiting on death row at the Lucasville Penitentiary for a crime he didn't commit, Gary Beeman spent his time studying legal books.
And when the chance came in 1979, he used what he learned to defend himself and prove his innocence.
"I was upset. I was angry. I was frustrated," Beeman said Wednesday of being wrongly convicted. "I swore I would never put my life or liberty in the hands of an attorney again. I said I would defend myself."
Beeman, who now lives in Niagara Falls, N.Y., told his story to about 100 people at Bluffton University on Wednesday. He has become very active in the movement against the death penalty.
"I don't believe capital punishment can be fairly or evenly administered," he said. "We think this is saving money and it's not."
Beeman was convicted of aggravated murder and sentenced to death in 1976. From the beginning of his trial, he maintained his innocence and that Claire Liuzzo, an escaped prisoner who testified as the main prosecution witness at Beeman's first trial, was the actual killer.
Beeman was granted a new trial in 1978, with the 10th District Court of Appeals finding Beeman's right to cross-examine Liuzzo had been unfairly restricted during the first trial. On retrial, with the help of an attorney, five witnesses testified that they heard Liuzzo confess to the murder. Beeman was acquitted in 1979.
Beeman said he was lucky, saying his story is much different from most on death row, partly because he is white and had family and support.
"I was upset by the [first] verdict, but I was confident that I would get a second try," he said. "That is not a common feeling of people on death row. Most feel hopeless."
Beeman said that nationally there are eight executions to every one exoneration. In Ohio, there are 20 executions to every five exonerations. He said the state desperately needs to stop executions and take a better look at the issue.
"If GM produced a car where in every eighth car the air bag was faulty, they would recall those cars," he said. "There is nowhere in society where we would tolerate a failure rate like that, and we are talking about people's lives."
Beeman said it is usually the poor, disenfranchised and minority who end up on death row.
"It is about power. There is no rich man I know that is on death row," he said. "We tend to think that the worst of the worst are the ones who go to death row. That is simply not true."
Copyright (c) 2006, The Lima News, Ohio
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.),
(213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.
Article CJ144443189