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

• Dustin Blanchard

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.

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.

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

By HARVEY RICE, HOUSTON CHRONICLE

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

Page 1 of 1

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

Graves continues campaign for justice
Exonerated man shares his story in Third Ward

KENNETH WARE JR.
, HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Published 05:30 a.m., Sunday, June 26, 2011

• 
  "The very system that almost took my life for something I did not do still exists. Yet I am still hopeful," Anthony Graves, who was freed from death row and exonerated of murders he didn't commit, said at S.H.A.P.E. Community Center on Sunday. Photo: Chronicle, Billy Smith II / HC
  "The very system that almost took my life for something I did not...

Anthony Graves

 

 

Houston and Texas

Page 1 of 1

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

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

Page 1 of 1

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

ROBERT STANTON
, HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Published 05:30 a.m., Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Houston and Texas

Page 1 of 1

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.

robert.stanton@chron.com

Perry getting measure clearing way for Graves compensation

Exoneree reform plan heads to Perry's desk

ASSOCIATED PRESS

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.