mercredi 12 octobre 2011

PETITION : In the Interest of Justice, Grant DNA Testing to Hank Skinner

Signez cette pétition pour que Hank Skinner puisse bénéficier de tests ADN et ne pas être exécuté le 9 novembre 2011.
Sign this petition to grant DNA testing to Hank Skinner - 

http://www.change.org/petitions/in-the-interest-of-justice-grant-dna-testing-to-hank-skinner

jeudi 6 octobre 2011

Anthony Graves reflects on Morton case

Anthony Graves reflects on Morton case

Fellow exoneree recalls his release

Updated: Wednesday, 05 Oct 2011, 9:02 AM CDT
Published : Tuesday, 04 Oct 2011, 7:52 PM CDT
AUSTIN (KXAN) - As a judge set Michael Morton free after 25 years behind bars, Anthony Graves reflected on his own 18 years on death row.
A jury convicted Graves for the murders of a Somerville, Texas grandmother, her daughter, and four grandchildren in 1992. A judge released him in October, 2010.
"I lost 18 years of my life. If they had just done any kind of investigation I would’ve never spent a night in jail, but that’s not the case," said Graves.
Graves said his case and the Morton case are proof of serious problems in the Justice System.
"If you don’t have DNA in your case, it’s like no one wants to hear it," said Graves. "[Morton's] case is just another example of how bad our system is and you think that’s 25 years ago and nothing’s changed in our system."
Graves spent the last year travelling the world talking about his experiences. He now helps counsel prisoners still behind bars. He said his time behind bars gave him a sense of purpose.
"I'm out here living my life trying to save life. I'm trying to educate people about this injustice known as the death penalty and our system," he said.
Graves works for the Texas Defender Service, where he advocates for reforms to the death penalty. Among them: stiff criminal penalties for prosecutorial misconduct, and institution of a review board for death penalty sentences.
"Anybody in whatever county who wants to seek the death penalty has to take that case in front of that panel ," he said. "That is the kind of safeguard that needs to be there. Because when you allow one man to make that decision you don’t know why he's making that decision."
He remembered his release, calling the experience "surreal."
"There are a lot of things he doesn't have to do unless he wants to now, that he didn't have the choice for the last 25 years," he said of Morton."This guy is on top of the world right now, but he is scared"
"It’s not going to really hit him probably until he hugs his mother and he feels her tears running down his neck and realizes that he’s home," Graves added.

dimanche 2 octobre 2011

interview avec Anthony Graves sur RCF LYON

Cette semaine va être diffusée par RCF (88.4)
 l'interview par L. de  Traversay, d'Anthony GRAVES,
 Isabelle PERIN et Michele PASSIEUX VULLIEZ,
 qui avait eu lieu  
le 21 Mai 2011 à Lyon :

- du Lundi 10 au Jeudi 13 à 11.45, rediff. à 19.12 (15 mn)

- Samedi 15 à 11.00, rediff. à 18.15 (45mn) : rediffusion globale.

Exonerated Texas Inmate: “How Can You Applaud Death?”

By Ariane de Vogue
Sep 9, 2011 9:16am

Exonerated Texas Inmate: “How Can You Applaud Death?”

Anthony Graves read in the newspaper about the crowd at the Republican presidential debate applauding the fact that Gov. Rick Perry had authorized 234 executions during his tenure.
“How can you applaud death?” Graves asked.
Graves is one of 12 death row inmates who have been exonerated in Texas since 1973. Five of those exonerations occurred while Rick Perry was governor, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a group that opposes capital punishment.
“The state of Texas has a very thoughtful, a very clear process in place in which when someone commits the most heinous of crimes against our citizens they get a fair hearing,  they go through an appellate process, they go up to the Supreme Court if that’s required,” Perry said during the debate Wednesday.
Perry defended the use of the death penalty in his state and told the audience, “I think Americans understand justice.”
But Graves said his mother would not be one of  those Americans. Graves spent 18 years in prison and 12 years on death row as a convicted murder. In 2010 his conviction was overturned and he was released.
“He should ask my mother about that, ” he says. “She lost her son for 18 years.”
Graves says he was stunned at the governor’s comments because he was exonerated less than a year ago. “I was exonerated from the very same system that he is boasting about. He’s a politician, but I’m an exoneree and I think I know more about the subject.”
In fact Perry was quick to admit in 2010 that Graves’ murder conviction had been a miscarriage of justice. The governor worked to pass a bill that lead to Graves being awarded $1 million for his incarceration.  But Perry also said last year that Graves case proves that the system worked.
In 2010 the governor said of the case,  ”I think we have a justice system that is working, and he’s a good example of–you continue to find errors that were made and clear them up,” according to an account in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
Graves had been convicted of assisting in multiple murders in 1992. In 2006, the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit overturned his conviction citing that prosecutors had made false statements. A special prosecutor hired for the second trial realized after months of investigation that Graves was innocent.
Former Harris County Assistant District Attorney  Kelly Siegler told the Houston Chronicle, “This is not a case where the evidence went south with time or witnesses passed away or we just couldn’t make the case anymore. He is an innocent man.”
Graves says he appreciates the work that Perry did to work for his compensation. “He passed a bill that lead to my compensation, but he knows there is a problem with the criminal justice system.”

TexMessage: Former Texas Death Row inmate Anthony Graves is honored in Washington

 

TEXMESSAGE
Wednesday, September 14
Good morning, TexMessagers.  Have you been vaccinated to protect yourself from Michele Bachmann? Has Rick Perry?
★ ★ ★

TEXclusive

A year ago, Anthony Graves was languishing in prison, awaiting a retrial after 12 years on Texas Death Row (and 18 years behind bars) for a crime he didn’t commit. But last night he was honored by the American Bar Association at a ceremony featuring retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens that took place just one block from the White House.
Graves, who was cleared by a special prosecutor years after his original murder conviction was overturned due to prosecutorial misconduct, warned the high-powered audience of attorneys that he was not the only innocent man on Texas Death Row.
“Guys are down there right now and they are going to get executed,” said Graves, who now works as a mitigation specialist for the Texas Defender Service. “And guess what? Some of them are innocent.”
Anthony Graves was honored by the ABA's Death Penalty Representation Project (Billy Smith II/Houston Chronicle)
During his nearly two-decade nightmare in the Texas justice system, Graves, who twice received execution dates, said he was the victim of “egregious misconduct” by Burleson County prosecutors. “I’ve been exposed to the underbelly of the beast,” he said.
He thanked lawyers who volunteer to defend others accused of capital crimes and urged his prominent audience, “Please, get involved.”
Earlier, John Paul Stevens told a funny story about Graves. Stevens was in Houston to deliver a speech last October and was scheduled to be interviewed by the Houston Chronicle. But he said the reporter called him at the last minute to cancel the interview because, as Stevens recalled, “something much more important” had happened. That important event: Graves was exonerated and freed.
“Maybe the reporter had correct priorities,” Stevens laughed.

Ex-inmate finally gets cash from state

Ex-inmate finally gets cash from state

Published 12:02 a.m., Friday, July 1, 2011




GALVESTON - A Texas Comptroller's Office official handed Anthony Graves a check for $1.45 million Thursday to compensate him for 18 years of unjust imprisonment for murders prosecutors say he never committed.
Graves appeared alone at the comptroller's office to receive the check and met privately with Comptroller Susan Combs, comptroller's spokesman R.J. DeSilva said.
"I want to thank Comptroller Combs for the leadership she showed in securing my claim," Graves said. "Though the initial denial of my claim was frustrating, I know the comptroller had no choice."
The comptroller's office's said Graves did not qualify under the state compensation law because the document freeing him did not contain the words "actual innocence." The Legislature passed a bill authorizing the payment.
Graves was freed in October after prosecutors proclaimed his innocence. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2006 ordered a retrial after finding that prosecutors withheld evidence and elicited false testimony in Graves' 1994 trial. He awaited retrial for nearly six years in the Burleson County Jail in the deaths of a grandmother, her daughter and four grandchildren in Somerville.
harvey.rice@chron.com

Exonerated Anthony Graves spreads hope for justice

Exonerated Anthony Graves spreads hope for justice

Graves continues campaign for justice
Exonerated man shares his story in Third Ward
Published 05:30 a.m., Sunday, June 26, 2011
Anthony Graves
 
 
Houston and Texas



A Texas man exonerated from death row last year shared a message of hope and advocacy with the Third Ward community Sunday.
"The very system that almost took my life for something I did not do still exists. Yet I am still hopeful," Anthony Graves, 45, told a crowd at the S.H.A.P.E. Community Center.
Graves spread the same message during a recent speaking tour in Germany, France, Sweden and Switzerland.
"I went to educate people about the death penalty and the flaws of our system," said Graves, who spent 18 years behind bars, 12 of them on death row, for the murders of a grandmother and five children in Somerville.
Robert Carter, who confessed to the killings, absolved Graves of the crime in his final statement moments before his execution in 2000. He said he lied during his testimony against Graves. The federal appeals court found that the prosecution withheld statements crucial to the defense and elicited false statements from witnesses during the 1994 trial.
"Along the way I have had bumps and let-downs, but things always end up prevailing on the side of justice," said Graves, who was released in October.
Adjusting to a life of freedom has been difficult, Graves said. Technology has changed drastically and even everyday tasks like driving in rush hour can seem overwhelming.
"I have been isolated for so long," Graves said. "It took a long time for me to get used to driving in traffic."
Young people in attendance were astonished to hear Graves' story. Ja'Mel Buckner, 19, says he does not want to end up in a parallel predicament.
"This can happen to anyone, and his story should be carefully listened to by everyone," said Buckner.
Graves is set to receive $1.4 million; however, he is not exactly ecstatic about the compensation for his incarceration.
"This is a bittersweet moment," said Graves. "I did not win the lottery."
Gov. Rick Perry signed into law in-state compensation for people wrongfully imprisoned after it passed the House and Senate in May. This allows Graves to collect $80,000 for each year he was imprisoned. Texas Comptroller Susan Combs in February denied Graves the compensation because the document ordering his release did not contain the words "actual innocence."
Graves has filed a lawsuit against the Attorney General's Office.
"I want a decree from the state of Texas saying I am actually innocent," said Graves. "I have a right to have my name re-established."
kenneth.ware@chron.com

Ex-inmate: $1.4M doesn't make up for lost time

Ex-inmate: $1.4M doesn't make up for lost time

Updated 01:19 p.m., Wednesday, June 22, 2011

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas man due to receive $1.4 million for being wrongfully imprisoned for 18 years says the money "doesn't even come close" to making up for the time he lost behind bars.
Anthony Graves said Wednesday he's grateful Gov. Rick Perry signed legislation allowing him to receive compensation that has been withheld because of the wording in the order exonerating him. But he says having the measure become law "wasn't like I hit the lottery."
A special prosecutor last year declared the 45-year-old Graves innocent in the 1992 deaths of a grandmother and five children in Somerville.
However, because his exoneration order lacked the phrase "actual innocence," he wasn't able to take advantage of a 2009 Texas law that gives exonerees $80,000 for every year they were wrongly imprisoned.

Perry signs bill to compensate Graves

Texan who was wrongly jailed getting $80K a year from state

Perry signs bill to compensate Graves
Published 05:30 a.m., Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Houston and Texas


Gov. Rick Perry has signed a bill authorizing $1.4 million in compensation for Anthony Graves, who was incarcerated for 18 years for murders he didn't commit.
Perry signed the bill on Friday, according to the Texas Legislature's online bill-tracking website. The legislation, allowing Graves to collect $80,000 for each year he was wrongfully imprisoned, passed the House and Senate in May.
Texas Comptroller Susan Combs in February denied Graves the compensation because the document ordering his release did not contain the words "actual innocence."
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2006 overturned Graves' 1994 conviction and ordered a new trial in the deaths of a grandmother and five children in Somerville, ruling that the prosecution hid evidence from the defense and elicited false statements.
Prosecutors dismissed charges against Graves in October, saying they were convinced of his innocence.
Graves and his lawyers say they will continue their lawsuit seeking a declaration of innocence from the state attorney general. The attorney general's office says it lacks the authority to make such a declaration.

.Perry getting measure clearing way for Graves compensation

Perry getting measure clearing way for Graves compensation

Exoneree reform plan heads to Perry's desk
Updated 05:30 a.m., Saturday, May 21, 2011
Houston and Texas


AUSTIN — A bill enacting comprehensive reform for Texans who are wrongfully imprisoned is headed to Gov. Rick Perry's desk to become law.
The House gave final approval on Saturday to the bill, which would clear the way for a man wrongfully imprisoned 18 years for capital murder to get compensation he was previously denied by the state comptroller.
Anthony Graves was declared innocent but denied compensation based on a technical error in his dismissal order.
Under the measure, a person is eligible for compensation if they were granted relief in accordance with a writ of habeas corpus and an affidavit from the prosecutor.
It also ensures attorney fees for compensation claims aren't excessive and gives exonorees health insurance through the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

vendredi 27 mai 2011

Graves likely to get money, but he still wants justice - Houston Chronicle

Indemnisation : un autre article de presse en anglais
  
Graves likely to get money, but he still wants justice -He's fighting Texas AG in court for a declaration of innocence -By HARVEY RICE -HOUSTON CHRONICLE -May 25, 2011
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7579950.html

Rescapé du couloir de la mort - Lyon capitale

Rescapé du couloir de la mort

Par Sofia Babani
Posté le 24/05/2011
 
Ce samedi 21 mai, Anthony Graves est venu partager son histoire à Lyon, seule ville française de sa tournée européenne. Ce père de trois enfants a passé plus de 18 ans de sa vie en prison dont 12 dans le couloir de la mort au Texas.
Anthony Graves ()
@Des mains unies pour la justice
Anthony Graves est un afro-américain à la carrure imposante. Un peu rond, le regard bienveillant, il ne dégage aucune rancune. A le voir, on ne soupçonne rien de son histoire. Il a l'air serein et étonnamment apaisé. Lorsque cet homme sorti de l'enfer arrive sur la scène, le silence se fait et les regards de l'assistance gagnent en humilité. Ce n'est qu'au cours de son récit qu'on peut lire, de temps à autre, l'affliction sur son visage. S'apprêtant à nous livrer son histoire, il se lève en précisant dans sa langue maternelle "J'ai besoin de me lever car l'histoire que je vais raconter, je ne peux la raconter assis". Un récit déconcertant commence: "Le 18 août 1992, ma vie a changé".
"Les pires des pires détenus" 
En août 1992, la famille Davis est sauvagement assassinée à Sommerville. Le suspect n°1 est rapidement repéré à cause des bandages recouvrant son visage et ses mains brûlés. Il s'agit de Robert Carter. Le nombre d'armes et de victimes laisse penser que Carter ne peut être le seul coupable. Sous la pression des autorités qui menacent de poursuivre son épouse, le suspect nomme le cousin de sa femme, Anthony Graves, comme complice. Le 31 mai 1992, ce dernier est arrêté. A l'époque, il a 27 ans. La nuit du crime, il était chez sa mère avec sa petite amie, son frère et sa sœur. Le procès a lieu deux ans et trois mois plus tard, en octobre 1994. En 1992, Robert Carter revient rapidement sur ses fausses déclarations mais lors du procès, il choisit de témoigner contre Anthony Graves. On découvre plus tard qu'il le fait sous la pression du Procureur qui menace d'inculper son épouse. Après 9 heures de délibération, "le jury blanc et le procureur blanc" condamnent Graves à la peine de mort.
Le 1er novembre 1992, un homme innocent est envoyé dans le 'Death Row'* pour un crime qu'il n'a pas commis: "Je n'en savais rien excepté ce que j'en avais vu à la télévision: un couloir habité par des monstres.", déclare Anthony. Graves est placé dans l'aile J23 où se trouvent "les pires des pires détenus". Il se prépare alors à cohabiter avec un gang de monstres. La réalité est toute autre. Il nous confie: "Là-bas, j'ai découvert des êtres humains devenus mes meilleurs amis, des membres de ma famille étendue." En douze ans et demi, il a vu 300 de ses "frères" être exécutés, là où "des enfants, pères, frères, maris sont sortis par la porte arrière et assassinés de sang froid".
Anthony Graves ()
@Sofia Babani
La réhabilitation, 18 ans après
En 2006, après des années de lutte auprès du tribunal, la décision est retournée. L'affaire est, depuis cinq ans, entièrement ré-étudiée par l'équipe de Nicole Casarez du Réseau d'Innocence du Texas. On découvre les faux témoignages de Carter et l'affaire jouit d'une médiatisation croissante. Graves reste en prison quatre années de plus car l'État refuse d'accepter son erreur à cette époque où la peine de mort est déjà remise en question.
La juge qui préside le second procès de 2010 n'est nulle autre que la fille du juge qui a condamné Graves en 1994. Cela n'empêche pas l'évidente innocence d'Anthony Graves d'éclater. Le rescapé nous raconte: "Après 2 mois, un officier vient dans ma cellule et me demande de le suivre. Nous sommes arrivés dans une pièce où se trouvaient mes deux avocats. L'un d'eux essayait de retenir ses larmes. Je me suis dit 'Après 18 ans, encore des mauvaises nouvelles...' L'un d'eux s'est approché de moi." Là, on lui annonce que toutes les charges retenues contre lui ont été retirées. "Pour la première fois en 18 ans, je sentais les rayons du soleil de la liberté sur mon visage", dit-il avec émotion.
Loin des barreaux, un nouveau combat
Aujourd'hui, Graves travaille pour le service de défense du Texas où il mène des enquêtes sur les cas de prisonniers du 'Death Row'. Il appelle à s'engager contre la peine de mort: "Des êtres humains sont assassinés. La peine de mort doit être abolie". Aujourd'hui, le débat est ouvert dans tous les états y compris au Texas, premier exécuteur avec 442 mises à mort depuis 1982 et 19 sur les 42 pratiquées aux Etats-Unis en 2009. Sont dénoncés le coût exorbitant des condamnations à mort (2,3 millions de dollars en moyenne) et, surtout, le risque d'erreur judiciaire qui conduirait à tuer un innocent. Parallèlement, Anthony Graves mène un combat personnel: recevoir l'indemnisation de 1.440.000$ (80 000$ par année d'emprisonnement) que lui doit l'Etat. Susan Combs, inspectrice des finances, refuse le versement en avançant comme motif que la Cour n'a pas utilisé les mots 'actual innocence' dans son ordre de libération. Durant les six années où Bush a été gouverneur du Texas, il a présidé à plus de 152 exécutions. Son successeur, Rick Perry, a atteint 200 exécutions. Graves a foi en la jeunesse qui croit en la mixité et qui, "quand elle aura à prendre une décision, abolira la peine de mort".
*Couloir de la mort

____________
Une Lyonnaise l'a soutenu
Isabelle Perrin de l'association lyonnaise Des Mains Unies pour la Justice était présente. Après avoir répondu à une demande de soutien par correspondance, elle commence à écrire à Anthony Graves sans rien connaître de son histoire. En 2002, elle lui rend visite à la prison de Polunsky au Texas. A son retour et à la demande du prisonnier, elle crée le groupe afin de financer sa défense et, par la suite, faire connaître son histoire pour mieux informer sur la réalité de la peine de mort: "On ne réalise pas la gravité du système. Je constate qu'à Lyon, nous ne sommes pas si bien informés sur le sujet. Les militants associatifs ont à coeur de faire passer le message et d'ouvrir les yeux du public." 

LYON CAPITALE.FR
http://www.lyoncapitale.fr/lyoncapitale/journal/univers/Actualite/International/Rescape-du-couloir-de-la-mort

Interviews en Suisse

Lors de son séjour en Suisse, Anthony a été invité par la chaîne
Schaffhausen : 
 
Voici le documentaire (en Allemand et en anglais)
 
http://www.shf.ch/index.php?heute-im-gespraech-16-mai-2011-anthony-graves

http://www.shf.ch/index.php?Heute-im-GesprAch-aE-17-Mai-2011-Anthony-Graves
 
 
 
 

lundi 23 mai 2011

A Paris, le 22 mai 2011



Anthony et Paris...


Un Big Bonheur !!!

Conférence à Lyon le 21 mai 2011






Lyon.Le Texan a passé 18 ans en prison alors qu’il était innocent.

Lyon.Le Texan a passé 18 ans en prison alors qu’il était innocent. Hier matin, il a rencontré pour la première fois Michèle et Jean-Paul, un couple qui l’a soutenu pendant sa détention

À la sortie du train en provenance de Clermont-Ferrand, hier matin, Anthony Graves a serré Jean-Paul Vulliez dans ses bras. Derrière cette banale scène de gare, se conclut une histoire extraordinaire.
Les deux hommes font à peu près la même taille. L’un est noir. Natif d’une petite ville du Texas, il est plutôt rond et ne paraît pas ses 46 ans. L’autre est blanc et tout fin. Retraité, il partage, avec sa compagne Michèle Passieux, un appartement du quartier de Gerland à Lyon.
Anthony et Jean-Paul se rencontrent pour la première fois après avoir correspondu pendant six ans. Pendant cette période, le premier était derrière les barreaux. Accusé en 1994 d’avoir participé au meurtre d’une famille de six personnes, il a été condamné à mort. « Je suis si content », dit-il en étreignant son correspondant lyonnais dans une grande émotion. Libéré en octobre 2010, Anthony est venu hier à Lyon pour donner une conférence et remercier le couple qui l’a soutenu. Michèle, surtout, avec laquelle il a correspondu pendant six ans.
La dame a du mal à marcher. Elle n’a pas pu se rendre à la gare. C’est donc au cinquième étage de l’immeuble qu’elle a patienté pour à son tour embrasser l’ex-détenu. « J’attendais ce moment. Je savais que ce serait unique. Pouvoir rencontrer celui qui a bien failli y passer… ». Dans l’appartement, flotte une bonne odeur de poisson au beurre blanc. Jean-Paul est aux fourneaux. Serviettes à carreaux, salades d’été, la table est d’une simplicité accueillante.
Michèle Passieux est militante à l’Acat (Action des chrétiens pour l’abolition de la torture) Il y a six ans, son association lui a proposé d’écrire à Anthony. « Je lui ai envoyé une première carte postale. Il m’a répondu par une lettre et ça n’a plus jamais fini ». Elle a su lui faire dire les « douches bouillantes », « les réveils forcés » « la bouffe toujours froide ». Une somme d’humiliations quotidiennes dans l’incertitude de son sort final.
De Lyon, Michèle l’a encouragé à tenir le coup. « Tous les mots ont été importants » souligne Anthony Graves dans un grand sourire. « Ils ont été écrits dans l’amitié, la bienveillance. Ils m’ont permis aussi de découvrir la culture française, comment on vit ici ». L’Américain n’est pas surpris. « À travers les lettres, on peut percevoir une personne. Michèle, c’est comme ma famille ».
Aujourd’hui, il reprend l’avion à Paris pour rentrer chez lui. « Être en France, c’est ce dont rêve tout petit garçon américain », sourit-il encore. Entre le rêve et la réalité, se sont écoulés lentement dix-huit ans d’enfermement sur erreur judiciaire. Alors, Anthony Graves a envie de rester encore un peu sur le balcon de l’appartement lyonnais. Pour la vue, le ciel, les arbres… Le regard vers l’extérieur, et à l’intérieur, la vie qui continue ou qui recommence.

Le Progrès, publié le 22 mai 2011
http://www.leprogres.fr/loire/2011/05/22/anthony-graves-condamne-a-mort-par-erreur-a-retrouve-ses-amis

Anthony Graves : « Ces lettres étaient un espoir d’humanité»

>> Que ressentez-vous avant votre rencontre avec Michèle et Jean-Paul à Lyon ?
C’est un rêve. Je suis très impatient de les voir, de les embrasser ! Ils sont comme des membres de ma famille. Leurs lettres étaient, comme celles écrites par d’autres personnes, un espoir d’humanité.
>> Ont-elles été importantes pour survivre?
Oui, très importantes. Elles m’ont permis de tenir, autant que le fait de savoir que j’étais innocent.
>> Dix-huit ans en prison, dont douze dans le couloir de la mort, alors que vous étiez innocent : c’est difficile à imaginer pour nous…
C’était difficile à comprendre pour moi aussi.
>> Quel est votre pire souvenir de cette détention ?
D’être dans le couloir de la mort avec 300 autres prisonniers en attente d’exécution, dont beaucoup sont devenus mes amis : ça, c’est la pire expérience pour moi. Il fallait survivre à chaque jour. C’est très dur d’être condamné à mort pour quelque chose que vous n’avez pas fait.
>> Et le jour de votre libération ?
C’était comme Noël pour les enfants. Un jour très émouvant pour moi et ma famille. La justice a été rendue.
>> Une autre vie est-elle possible après ?
Bien sûr. Surtout quand on a les amis que j’ai. Je suis très positif : je pense à demain, pas au passé. Jamais cette expérience ne me fait cauchemarder. Ces dix-huit ans de prison, c’était comme un examen à l’école. Je l’ai réussi et maintenant, je dois témoigner pour aider d’autres prisonniers à surmonter l’inhumaine injustice.
>> La justice américaine n’a-t-elle que des mauvais côtés ?
Nous avons une bonne loi mais ce sont les gens et la politique qui sont mauvais.
Anthony Graves donnera une conférence publique ce soir entre 18 et 20 heures à la salle Camille Néel, 36, rue Félix-Brun, à Lyon.
Recueilli et traduitde l’anglais (États-Unis)par Nicolas Ballet
 
Le Progrès - publié le 21 mai 2011

Anthony Graves a tenu bon grâce aux lettres d’un couple qu’il va rencontrer pour la première fois

L’histoire. Anthony Graves a tenu bon grâce aux lettres d’un couple qu’il va rencontrer pour la première fois

Jean-Paul Vulliez et Michèle Passieux ont ressorti les lettres d’Anthony Graves, jeudi, à Lyon / Photo RICHARD MOUILLAUD
Anthony Graves : « Ces lettres étaient un espoir d’humanité»

Sur les quais de la gare de la Part-Dieu, aujourd'hui 21 mai à Lyon, un grand gaillard du Texas se précipitera dans les bras de Jean-Paul, et, plus tard, dans ceux de Michèle. L’histoire d’une incroyable amitié, née à 9000 kilomètres de distance. Pour la première fois, Anthony Graves, rescapé du couloir de la mort aux États-Unis, et libéré à l’automne dernier, va rencontrer le seul couple français qui l’a soutenu sans relâche en lui écrivant pendant six ans. Son voyage a été payé par Amnesty Suède et l’ex-condamné à mort déclaré innocent après dix-huit ans d’incarcération, termine sa « tournée » de remerciement en Europe par Lyon, sa seule étape française. Il arrivera de Vichy avec Isabelle Perin, la cofondatrice de l’association de soutien « Mains unies pour la justice », qui l’avait visité plusieurs fois en prison. « Je suis allée le chercher à Paris, il est en pleine forme. C’était très drôle : on pouvait se toucher, il n’y avait plus cette glace entre nous, et il ne portait plus cet habit blanc, puis rayé » témoigne-t-elle au téléphone. Michèle et Jean-Paul vont héberger Anthony ce week-end dans leur appartement de Lyon, avant son retour lundi aux États-Unis. C’est à Lyon qu’ils nous ont reçus mercredi et jeudi matins, émus. « Oh, je me suis dit l’autre soir, « il y a encore ça que j’ai oublié de vous raconter ! » sourit Michèle en ressortant la bonne trentaine de lettres d’Anthony, précieusement conservée dans une chemise hermétique. Leur correspondance avait démarré début 2005 après une réunion publique de l’Action des chrétiens pour l’abolition de la torture, association opposée à la peine de mort. L’échange épistolaire s’est poursuivi sans arrêt depuis, au rythme d’une lettre tous les mois et demi environ. Michèle : « Je lui écrivais -en anglais- qu’il devait avoir un regard de sociologue pour tenir le coup. On lui posait des questions sur sa détention, et il y répondait. » Jean-Paul rajoutait quelques mots à lui. Il confie aujourd’hui : « Ce qui est terrible, c’est l’attente de la sentence, Anthony ne savait pas ce qu’il allait devenir, alors qu’il était innocent. On a crié de joie quand sa condamnation à mort a été cassée ». Les lettres du rescapé sont parfois écrites au stylo à bille, parfois au crayon à papier - humiliations infligées par les gardiens pour l’obliger à venir leur réclamer un taille-crayon. Il y raconte les réveils forcés à 3 heures du matin pour manger un sandwich, « la bouffe toujours froide », « les douches bouillantes », les cellules retournées sans raison par les surveillants… « Anthony détruisait nos courriers à mesure, pour éviter qu’ils ne soient utilisés contre lui par les gardiens » ajoute Michèle. « Ce n’est pas grave : ces lettres, elles sont dans son cœur. Il est notre ami et nous avons tellement hâte de le voir ! »
 
Nicolas Ballet
Le Progrès - 21 Mai 2011 

http://www.leprogres.fr/france-monde/2011/05/21/rescape-du-couloir-de-la-mort-au-texas-il-vient-a-lyon-pour-remercier-ses-amis

vendredi 20 mai 2011

Nouvelles de l'indemnisation

Un projet de loi déposé par le Sénateur Rodney Ellis, permettant à Anthony Graves d'être indemnisé par l'Etat du Texas a été approuvé aujourd'hui par le Sénat. 
L’indemnisation lui avait été refusée en début d'année (cf : L'Etat du Texas, Anthony Graves et l'argent, une autre incroyable histoire ...).
Ce projet de loi doit maintenant être examiné par la chambre des députés.


Pour en savoir plus :
 
Ellis passes ‘innocence protection’ bills - Houston Chronicle
http://blog.chron.com/texaspolitics/2011/05/ellis-passes-innocence-protection-bills/

Senate Approves Anthony Graves Compensation Bill by Brandi Grissom and Julian Aguilar

http://www.texastribune.org/texas-dept-criminal-justice/death-penalty/senate-approves-anthony-graves-compensation-bill/

Rencontre avec Anthony Graves rescapé du couloir de la mort

Communiqué de presse

Anthony Graves, afro-amé­ri­cain de 45 ans, a passé 18 ans en prison dont 12 dans le cou­loir de la mort du Texas. Il avait été accusé injus­te­ment du meur­tre d’une famille et condamné à mort suite à l’achar­ne­ment d’un pro­cu­reur peu scru­pu­leux.

Les juges d’une cour fédé­rale avaient annulé cette condam­na­tion à mort en mars 2006. Un nou­veau procès aurait dû avoir lieu au prin­temps 2011, mais l’enquête du nou­veau pro­cu­reur le condui­sit à décla­rer Anthony Graves inno­cent. Il a été libéré le 27 octo­bre 2010.

Il rejoint donc les 138 autres condam­nés à mort libé­rés aux USA depuis 1973.

Grâce au sou­tien moral de ses amis durant ces lon­gues années, il s’est inséré rapi­de­ment dans la vie. Il ne cesse d’être invité pour des confé­ren­ces et des inter­views télé­vi­sées au Texas. Il vient en Europe pour remer­cier et témoi­gner.

Il sera à Lyon le samedi 21 mai 2011 de 18h à 20h (confé­rence et ques­tions) :
Salle Camille Néel, 37 rue Félix Brun, Lyon 7è (métro B, arrêt Place Jean Jaurès, 7 mn à pied. Bus : 47 ou 32, arrêt Girondins Yves Farge).
Gratuit. Libre par­ti­ci­pa­tion aux frais.(Prix Libre)

Anthony Graves en balade dans la forêt - le 20 mai 2011 (03)

Anthony Graves : arrivée à Paris le 19 mai 2011

Anthony Graves : conférence à l'université de Bern (Suisse)



mardi 10 mai 2011

Anthony à Nuremberg

Anthony à Nuremberg - 8 mai 2011

ANTHONY IN SWEDEN

ANTHONY IN SWEDEN
Notes from a diary by Lars Åke Augustsson


Tuesday, May 3

My son David and I are waiting outside the arrivals area at Stockholm-Arlanda airport for another miracle to happen. We met with Anthony Graves for the first time in 1999 and have met him many times since then, always with thick glass between us and him in prison clothing.  The last time we met him like this was in October last year. Just some days after what seemed like a miracle took place: Anthony was released and exonerated from all charges and we got to hug him for the first time.
It seemed like a miracle but of course it was not. It was the result of Anthony’s own faith in himself and that truth would finally prevail that kept him sane and focused through all these years. It was the result of the help he got from other friends of the truth, Nicole Casarez and her investigative team of students that collected vital evidence, but also because the prosecutor of his case, Kelly Siegel, respected the facts and declared his innocence and that he had been framed by the worst kind of prosecutor.
That was just a little over 6 months ago. That is why it seems like a second miracle that we are here waiting for Anthony to arrive on his first visit to another country, on the invitation of Amnesty International’s Swedish section.
I met with Anthony in Texas just some months ago, stayed in his home and visited him at his job as a Mitigation Specialist at Texas Defender Service, so I knew that he in an amazingly short time had got a new start in life. ( Even if the State of Texas,  because of formalities in the paperwork , so far has denied him the compensation for wrongful imprisonment he is entitled to.) He had also traveled to other parts of the United States, among them New York City.  
But how will he react to Sweden, to Europe – and to a pretty awful weather especially for May, with rain and cold and even some snow? Finally he arrives – dressed for a Texas spring, with a short-sleeve shirt. (But he assures us he had packed some warmer clothes.) We hurry our valuable guest out to a taxi for Stockholm before he catches a cold. We tell him that he has to get used to everything being smaller than in Texas, like this motorway with only three lanes. As soon he is in his hotel room we get him his first Swedish burger and fries, which wins his approval.
The rest of this first day it is only getting-to-know Sweden that is on the agenda. The cold weather persists, but Anthony does not complain for one minute, his wisdom being: “After being locked up for 18 years, any kind of weather is nice!” We get him his first souvenir, a cap with the emblem of Hammarby IF, one of the best known soccer teams of Stockholm. We have dinner at Pelikan, a typical Swedish restaurant where Anthony is a bit suspicious of some of the offerings like pickled herring,  but rather likes the fish dish he orders filet of pikeperch (gösfilé) with potatoes.
At Pelikan he finally, after many years and many letters, also re-connects with Anna Pakvis. Anna became his pen-pal back around 2000, she traveled to Texas in 2002, just nineteen years old, and met him when he was on Death Row. Now she works at Amnesty and during the following days we will work together in bringing Anthony around for interviews and speeches both in Stockholm and Gothenburg.  When leaving the restaurant he rehearses the first words of Swedish he has learnt: tack (thanks), hej (hi) hej då (goodbye), but stumbles on one of the hardest words in the language, namely David’s job: sjuksköterska (registered nurse).  

Wednesday, May 4

Anna has breakfast with Anthony at his hotel and then brings him to Amnesty’s office for his first interview, which is with DN.se, the website version of Sweden’s largest morning paper Dagens Nyheter (Daily News).  Anthony also meets with a High School class that is visiting the Amnesty office and tells them a bit about his case, and ends up shaking hands and taking pictures with several of them.
We take Anthony to an extremely un-Swedish lunch consisting of dumplings at a nearby Chinese lunch-restaurant, and he likes them a lot.  In the afternoon another interview with the news programme at the Swedish Radio’s channel one, which will be broadcast tomorrow morning  (and later on their website).
We spend the evening relaxing at David’s home in a suburb of Stockholm, along with Anna and her brother Jonathan. The dinner is Lebanese – Anthony appreciates the lamb chops but does not care too much about falafel and bulgur wheat. We appreciate Anthony’s assortment of stories of life in prison, how you manage to get stuff from one cell to another with the help of an empty toothpaste-tube and a piece of sheet you tear into lengths and braid into a kind of rope, also how you make a prison guard help you by letting him know that you can delay his leaving work by just quietly refusing to follow orders – truly, getting laughs out of misery.

Thursday, May 5

In the morning Anna brings Anthony to the Radio House for another interview. The driver of the taxi cab has heard the interview from yesterday on the morning programme and starts to cry when he realizes that it is Anthony he is driving. In the afternoon still another radio interview, and then we gear up for tonight’s big event, Anthony’s first actual speech in front of a live audience. The event will take place at the ABF House (ABF, Arbetarnas Bildningsförbund, The Worker’s Educational Society) which is the foremost venue for lectures and speeches in Stockholm. The arrangers behind the meeting are Amnesty’s Action Group Against the Death Penalty (AMD, Aktionsgruppen mot dödsstraffet) and ABF.
Some months ago, February 25, I attended an event at St Thomas University in Houston, Texas, when Anthony and Nicole Casarez were celebrated for their struggle for truth and justice. Many of the people in the audience of about 300 persons had family members in prison and you could feel that Anthony to them represented a hope for the future, for freedom, and lots of them lined up after the event just to shake his hand and to give him a hug. But that was Texas, in his own backyard – could something remotely like that take place here in  Stockholm, Sweden?
People arrive early to say hi to Anthony, more arrive than expected so we have to get more chairs to seat them all.  We have an audience of nearly 200, many of them young people,  when the event begins at 1800 hours. Anthony speaks without any notes, and without any tools like pictures or video. He just speaks from his heart about his story and the conclusions that he has drawn from his experiences: the death penalty needs to be abolished, because it threatens us all, even from far away. The audience is stirred and absolutely quiet, some are crying, and Anthony is close to tears himself when he once again recalls the day when he got to hug his mom and his sons after 18 years in prison.
Afterwards there are lots of questions, of course, about his case and about how he did stay so strong. One answer is “I was naïve, you know. I did not think they could kill me, since I was innocent, and I think being naïve actually helped me survive.” He also tells everybody to get involved in the fight against the death penalty, and afterwards the AMD gets some new recruits. After the questions & answers the same thing happens as in Texas: people line up to just hug the man and to personally thank him for his story and his example. For us that have known Anthony for so many years this night is truly a dream come true. 

Friday, May 6

During this weekend Amnesty International’s Swedish Section has its annual conference in Göteborg/Gothenburg, Sweden’s second largest city. Anthony is of the guests during the conference, and we arrive by train to Göteborg in the afternoon just in time for his first assignment.
In late afternoon the participants will perform a march from the venue of the conference through parts of central Göteborg to the square Götaplatsen, where 50 years of Amnesty work will be celebrated with a short speech by Anthony followed by a toast, also proposed by him. To guarantee the orderliness of the march we have a police van in front – Anthony is truly amazed by the informality of the arrangers dealings with the police.
But the buffet afterwards, totally vegetarian, does not impress him, so he goes for pizza with some friends…

Saturday, May 7 

In the morning there is a screening of a 30-minute documentary-style movie on the death penalty in China “Killing the chickens to scare the monkeys”  by the well-known photographer Jens Assur, followed by a seminar on the death penalty where among others  Anthony and an Iranian democracy activist is on the panel. The death penalty is supported by the majority of the American people because they are ignorant of the realities, Anthony says, so what we must do is to educate, educate.
In the afternoon Anthony gives the conference his main speech about his own experiences. Just like in Stockholm he speaks without manuscript, which means that he does not repeat himself, but just as in Stockholm the reactions both in Anthony and in the audience is very emotional. Tears and near-tears, but most of the questions must wait till tomorrow afternoon since the conference is on a tight schedule.
Me and Anthony take some time out for a walk in Göteborg, where it is finally warm, and as always I am amazed by how soon and how seemingly easy he adjusts to new realities. From using a cell phone and a computer to finding his way in a strange city like this, even if you sometimes does not know if he likes a particular dish or drink since he is never whining or complaining. And even if the sumptuous buffet at the restaurant Röda Sten (Red Rock or Red Stone) in the evening is also 100 percent vegetarian, and not his bag, he consoles himself by taking part in dancing till well after midnight. 

Sunday, May 8

Anthony’s session of question and answers is in the afternoon, and we are there well before that time. He wants to be available for informal questions as much as he can, and spends time with an Amnesty activist who is pen-pal with an inmate on Pennsylvania Death Row, and gives one clear advice: “There is only so much you can do from here. You need to get people in Pennsylvania involved in his case, that is the only way to get results.” And when the  discussion then turns to another subject altogether, namely boxing, Anthony is just as interested, and tells about a cousin of his, Don Curry, a famous champion.
I have seen this over and over during these days, both how easily Anthony can shift from one topic to another, and also how he puts people at ease, when they approach him. Even if is a hero to many of us, he is not craving adoration, and is always quick with a laugh and a joke. During the question and answers-session he is asked about his relations to the guards during his years in prison, and when he answers that he mainly were on good terms with all of them, and that in fact many believed that he was innocent, you know that this must have a lot do to with the way he treats people: you feel very strongly that this is a person who is a stranger to violence, that tries to respect everybody – if possible laugh with everybody.
He also gets general questions, of course. One very topical is about his views on Osama bin Laden. And he keeps with his principles: “I don’t think it’s right to kill anyone.” And he repeats that what we need to do is: “Educate. Educate.”
We go back to Stockholm in the glorious Spring evening, when everything is green. “I could buy a house in this country. Once I get my compensation money”, Anthony muses when he takes a break from his computer, because he is trying to keep up with his job at the Texas Defender Service and keep in touch with his family and friends back home. 

Monday, May 9

We spend the night at ha hotel near the airport, because Anthony is catching an early flight to Germany. Later he will travel to Switzerland and to France, most of the time giving speeches and meeting with other friends that are looking forward to giving him the first hugs.
While we are having breakfast, another of the guests comes up to Anthony to shake his hand. Anthony recognizes him right away as one in the audience in Thursday’s event. Anthony has certainly made an impact here. We part without tears, we know we will meet again before too long, either in Texas or in Sweden. Because he says: “I love Sweden”. And by now we can say: Sweden loves you too, Anthony.