In 1986, Rhonda Morrison, a white woman, was murdered at work in Monroeville, Alabama.
The police could not solve the crime.
Six months later, Walter McMillan, a black man, became a suspect. Though he had no criminal history, it was widely known that he had an affair with a married white woman. The divorce of the married woman became a public matter and McMillan received a great deal of attention.
The day of Morrison’s murder, Walter was at church at a Fish Fry. Several witnesses testified at the trial to this fact.
When McMillan informed Sheriff Tom Tate of his alibi, Tate told him, “I don't give a damn what you say or what you do. I don't give a damn what your people say either. I'm going to put twelve people on a jury who are going to find your goddamn black ass guilty.”
Witnesses for the state testified against Mr. McMillan. One witness was coerced. Another was given leniency in a separate case and received money.
The jury found Walter McMillan guilty.
The judge, Robert E. Lee Key, ignored the jury’s decision to impose a life sentence in prison and ordered the death penalty.
Bryan Stevenson, who later became Walter’s attorney, proved, by newly discovered recordings, that the State’s witness lied to the court and jury. He proved that the prosecutor, Theodore Pearson, had suppressed exculpatory evidence.
Walter McMillan’s conviction was overturned in 1993 by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals.
The Alabama Bureau of Investigation agreed with Stevenson’s findings.
McMillan sought to hold public officials accountable. As stated on eji.com:
EJI filed civil rights lawsuits against state and local officials for incarcerating Mr. Millan on death row before his trial in violation of his rights. An effort to hold the sheriff accountable went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the Court ruled that Sheriff Tate was protected from liability based un immunity laws.
Four Corners of Justice diagram scoring:
The electorate receives a -1.
The investigators receive a -5.
The prosecutor receives a -7.
The judge receives a -9.
The defense attorney receives a -3.
The witness receives a -5.
The jury receives a -1.
The grand jury receives a -1.
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An always remember, The End of Justice is the absence of truth.
Links:
https://eji.org/cases/walter-mcmillian/
https://www.goodreads.com/questions/1018191-how-is-it-possible-that-sheriff-thomas
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20342617-just-mercy
https://bittersoutherner.com/in-the-hate-of-dixie-monroe-county-lynchings
https://www.deseret.com/1998/11/12/19411811/death-s-door/
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/curriculum/high-school/courtroom-cases/walter-mcmillian-1985
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