Help for Ed Chapman

Guest post from SERVE member Tamara Puffer:

Ed and Pam

I had heard some of Ed Chapman’s story but I had never met him so I invited him out to dinner. The funny thing about our meeting was, he had just bought his fiancé an engagement ring and planned to give it to her that night. He said he got so nervous at the store that he couldn’t decide which one to buy so he bought both!  I had to smile because he was really excited.  

Ed deserves to be excited because his story is an appalling one.  He served almost 14 years on Death Row in North Carolina before being released when corruption in his case was discovered by local attorney, Frank Goldsmith, and mitigation specialist Dr. Pam Laughon, chair of the Psychology Department at UNC-Asheville.  The Court overturned the convictions on three separate grounds; police officers lied and concealed evidence, Ed’s attorneys provided ineffective assistance of counsel, and one of the alleged victims was probably not murdered at all. So he had been on death row for two murders he didn’t commit, one of which wasn’t even a crime!

Even though watching fellow prisoners leave their cells for their executions was painful, he said that prison really did turn his life around. While there, he got his GED and took a couple of college classes.  I can only imagine how difficult it is to live in this world with little education after spending so much time behind bars.

 
Dr.  Pam Laughon encouraged him to move here to Asheville where he now resides. He works in a hotel downtown for not much money.  In fact, his car broke down and he needed another so one of our members gave him one at a low cost. If Governor Perdue signs a Pardon of Innocence for him by Jan 9th 2013, he will receive compensation for every year he was incarcerated.  As you can imagine, this money is sorely needed and well deserved. 

I hope you’ll send a letter to Governor Purdue encouraging her to sign a Pardon of Innocence so that Ed will receive compensation  for those lost years. (You can cut and paste the letter below, sign it and then mail it to the Governor.)  She has indicated that she will make a decision by Jan. 9 when she leaves office.

He deserves to be able to buy his own car now.  He’s definitely earned it.  

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Governor Beverly Perdue

Governor’s Clemency Office

4294 Mail Service Center

Raleigh, NC  27699-4294

RE:  Pardon of Innocence for Glen Edward Chapman

Dear Governor Perdue:

Glen Edward Chapman was released from Death Row on April 2, 2008 after being incarcerated for over 14 years for crimes he did not commit.  This case is about a man who was very nearly sent to his death because police detectives lied at his trial, covered up the existence of a confession by the real killer, buried the results of a photo lineup in which someone else was positively identified, hid witness statements that pointed to the innocence of Mr. Chapman and the guilt of another man, and altered other witness statements to make them better fit with the law enforcement’s theory of guilt.  Those fabricated statements were knowingly disclosed to the defense lawyers to prevent an adequate defense of Mr. Chapman at the time of his trial. 

Glen Edward Chapman’s case is a case of official corruption that exposes striking frailties in our system of justice.  The police misconduct was compounded by the complete ineptitude of the lawyers assigned to defend Mr. Chapman at his trial, both of whom conducted virtually no independent investigation of the evidence and failed to even utilize the investigators they had appointed to his case.  Forensic medical evidence demonstrated that one of Mr. Chapman’s victims was probably not a victim of homicide at all, a finding that went largely unchallenged by the state during the post-conviction hearings. 

The Court overturned the convictions on three separate grounds:  police officers lied and concealed evidence, Mr. Chapman’s attorneys provided ineffective assistance of counsel, and one of the alleged victims was probably not murdered at all.  Consequently the Court vacated the convictions and ordered a new trial.  Both convictions were then dismissed by the District Attorney of Catawba County, and Mr. Chapman was finally released after 14 years on Death Row.

I urge you to grant Mr. Chapman a Pardon of Innocence on the grounds that Mr. Chapman did not commit the crimes for which he was convicted, so that he may receive compensation from the State of North Carolina for his unjust and unlawful incarceration per N.C.G.S.A. 148-82-84.

Since his release Mr. Chapman has been a productive citizen in North Carolina, consistently employed, paying his taxes, and giving back to his community.  Please make right the wrong that was done to this man by the state.  In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr.:  “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Thank you kindly for your attention to this matter.

Respectfully submitted,

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