The story of Mr. Glenn Ford.

The story of Mr. Glenn Ford.

 Mr. James Varney’s editorial published in NOLA.com on March 12, 2014, demands and deserves public acknowledgement for its emotional assessment of an innocent man languishing in jail since 1988.

Mr. Varney wrote concerning eloquently about Mr. Glenn Ford. A man wrongly accused and convicted for a murder he did not commit. Mr. Ford, who is now 68 years old, spent 30 years on death row in Angola. What these last 30 years have been like for him is known to him only.  But one can only imagine the devastation, anger and sadness that must have engulfed this man on a daily basis.

As if the entire case is not frightening enough, the fact that the Louisiana State Supreme Court made the decision to uphold a conviction they were not sure off is terrifying.

As a defense attorney, I have come across many who are wrongly accused and many who are wrongly accused. I have seen many lives that are chattered and families that are torn apart whenever an innocent man pays the ultimate prize for police or prosecutorial misconduct. There is no doubt that Mr. Ford and his family have certainly paid dearly for said misconduct.

In my opinion, the death penalty is a course of action that does not square off well with our American Spirit and Generosity. The death penalty diminishes all of us. An innocent man having to wait for 30 years before finding justice is entirely wrong and shameful.  It is simply immoral.

One question we must ask ourselves is: How much longer before we just eliminate it from our legal system?

             I wonder how many Mr. Ford’s are sitting in death rows across the country?

 Even worst, how many innocent men have gone to their death for a crime they did not

commit?

                          If the answer is only 1, then that is 1 too many.

Read more…

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/12/us-usa-deathrow-louisiana-idUSBREA2B06S20140312

http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2014/03/glennn_ford_didnt_commit_murder.html#incart_river