But when the word got out about their affair, he grew worried. I ought to take you off and hang you like we done that nigger in Mobile. "[3], After returning to his family and hometown of Monroeville, McMillian filed a civil lawsuit against state and local officials, including "the three men in charge of investigating the Morrison murder Tom Tate, the Sheriff of Monroe County; Larry Ikner, an investigator with the District Attorney's office in Monroe County; and Simon Benson, an investigator with the Alabama Bureau of Investigation",[19] for his wrongful prosecution and conviction. This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McMillan research. The Alabama Bureau of Investigation ultimately confirmed the evidence uncovered by EJI and determined that Mr. McMillian was innocent, but prosecutors still wavered on whether they would join the motion filed by EJI to dismiss all charges against Mr. McMillian. He was a family friend, and the rumor was that hed been lynched for dating a white woman. All he could do was sit there and listen as three witnesses for the prosecution lied in their testimonies. They knew their statements against a white mans perjured testimony didnt stand a chance.4, McMillians trial lasted two days. Before you check out Jamie Foxx in the new film Just Mercy, learn the true story of Walter McMillian, an Alabama man wrongfully convicted for a brutal murder who spent six years on death row. His conviction was wrongfully obtained, based on police coercion and perjury. Before you check out Jamie Foxx in the new film Just Mercy, learn the true story of Walter McMillian, an Alabama man wrongfully convicted for a brutal murder who spent six years on death row. List of wrongful convictions in the United States, "Death of justice in Alabama: Brian Baldwin was condemned to the electric chair by a racist travesty", "Double Jeopardy: In Alabama, a judge can override a jury that spares a murderer from the death penalty", "Alabama Releases Man Held On Death Row for Six Years", Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, "An Alabama Sheriff, a Mystery Check and a Blogger Who Cried Foul", "Alabama frees black man on death row for 6 years - Walter McMillan", "One Lawyer's Fight For Young Blacks And 'Just Mercy', Jamie Foxx in Talks to Join Michael B. Jordan in Legal Drama 'Just Mercy', Equal Justice Initiative - Walter McMillian, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Walter_McMillian&oldid=1134436044, Overturned convictions in the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 18 January 2023, at 17:56. During the closing argument of the trial, the state emphasized the victim's beauty and her life, as well as the brutality of her murder. They had already received previous backlash from the public because his son was known for marrying a white woman. Plus, McMillian didnt fit the profile of a murderer: He had no prior felony convictions, just one misdemeanor for getting dragged into a bar fight years earlier. In front of the camera, In his funeral speech, Stevenson explains that , Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. His conviction was wrongfully obtained, based on police coercion and perjury. For many death row inmates, it takes years to get the kind of legal representation and investigation necessary to prove your innocence., Learn more about Walter McMillian by reading "Just Mercy". The only evidence connecting McMillian to the killing was testimony by Myers, in line with his recorded statement, and two other witnesses who claimed to have seen McMillians "low-rider" truck outside the building at the time that the crime allegedly occurred. They threatened me for six years. The suspect, who was from a prominent family then fled town. McMillian had a business of his own and was an upstanding member of his community. In November 1992, he told CBS News 60 Minutes that Alabama was preparing to execute the wrong. Equal Justice Initiative With his conviction overturned, Walter McMillian was released from death row in 1993. There was no evidence proving Walter McMillians guilt, and a mountain of evidence proving his innocence and the polices and prosecutions racist complicity in his conviction. / Walter McMillian (left) celebrates with family after Bryan Stevenson won his release from death row in 1993. When he visited McMillian in prison,[10][16][Notes 4][17] McMillian maintained his innocence. EJI proved the States witnesses had lied on the stand. Report an error or add more information about this case. It was founded in 2012 in conjunction with the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law. Still, the police were desperate to wrap up the Morrison case, and they felt that this was their opportunity. He was allowed forty-five minutes of exercise per day and a few hours in the day room per week. Research genealogy for Walter Mcmillian of Florida, as well as other members of the Mcmillian family, on Ancestry. Because the case generated extraordinary publicity in Monroe County, where the white population was 60 percent, the trial was moved to Baldwin County, where whites made up 86 percent of the population. I believe there are other people under sentence of death who like me are not guilty.. You know theyll try to kill you if you actually get to the bottom of everything. I lost my I lost my dignity.. He was then taken to the local jail where the charge was quickly dismissed. he sees the report about EJI for the first time. Either way, its a shame that not only our officers, but our prosecutors, which I believe work closely with the police department (at least more than defense attorneys), have also been shown to be racially biased. Judge Robert E. Lee Key overrode the jurys sentence of life imprisonment and sentenced Mr. McMillian to death by electrocution. But the jury 11 white members and one black member took the prosecutions word. About $35 was missing. Just Mercy is a 2019 American biographical legal drama film co-written and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and starring Michael B. Jordan as Bryan Stevenson, Jamie Foxx as Walter McMillian, Rob Morgan, Tim Blake Nelson, Rafe Spall, and Brie Larson.It explores the work of young defense attorney Bryan Stevenson who represents poor people on death row in the South. This article is informative and well written! Support The National Registry of Exonerations , The Contribution of Forensic and Expert Evidence to DNA Exoneration Cases, Race and Wrongful Convictions in the United States, 2022, Government Misconduct and Convicting the Innocent, Witness Recantations: Preliminary Findings, May 2013, Exonerations in the United States: 1989 - 2012, Tell us about an Exoneration that we missed. McMillian's case served as a catalyst for Alabama's compensation statute, which was passed in 2001. It was pointed out that Monroeville, Alabama, was "best known as the home of Harper Lee, whose To Kill a Mockingbird told a painful story of race and justice in the small-town Jim Crow South. In 1988, Walter McMillian, a Black man, was wrongly convicted and sentenced to death for . Starting with, ordinary life lets the reader know that this could happen to anyone of color. 2. . Walter McMillian was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of a young white woman in Monroeville, Alabama. In 1998, he joined other survivors at a national conference on Wrongful Convictions and the Death Penalty attended by more than 1,000 lawyers, law students, professors, and criminal justice reform advocates. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Meanwhile, six witnesses testified in McMillians defense, saying he was hosting a fish fry at his house during the crime. Walter McMillian died in 2013: he was 71-years-old. The McMillian family: Walter McMillian had a family of believers. We encourage you to research and examine these . After reading about the remarkable life and work of attorney Bryan Stevenson, whos saved hundreds from prison, learn all about the case of the Central Park Five, a group of non-white teenagers who were wrongfully convicted of brutally raping a white woman in the 1980s. Walter McMillian lived an ordinary life alongside his wife Minnie McMillian and their three children. His conviction was wrong They convicted McMillian of first-degree murder. [4] According to his attorney Bryan Stevenson, McMillian purchased logging and paper mill equipment and became a "moderately successful businessman". The only reason Im here is because I had been messing around with a white lady, he told the New York Times from death row. The crime sent shock waves of fear and anger through the small community. On March 2, 1993, prosecutors dismissed charges against McMillian and he was released. In the 1988 trial, under a controversial Alabama doctrine called "judicial override", the judge imposed the death penalty, although the jury had voted for a sentence of life imprisonment. A new investigation was ordered. His truck was later examined by Bill Hooks who claimed to have seen McMillians truck at the cleaners. The trauma Mr. McMillian experienced led to early-onset dementia. There are numerous examples of this shown throughout the book. We are all broken by something. 's office and the Alabama Bureau of Investigation (ABI) had "pressured [Myers] into lying about Mr. Walter had 3 siblings: Isabelle Page (born Mcmillan) and 2 other siblings. The crime took place at the Jackson Cleaners in Monroeville. After listening to it, they flipped the tape over and discovered a recorded conversation in which Myers complained bitterly that he was being forced to implicate McMillian, whom he did not know, for a crime neither of them had any role in. Enter a grandparent's name. "[6][Notes 1][5] McMillian was represented by attorney J. L. Chestnut. Walter McMillian passed away on September 11, 2013.7. Grandmother . "[6], The story was featured in a 1995 book entitled Circumstantial Evidence: Death, Life, and Justice in a Southern Town by former Washington Post journalist Pete Earley. By the 1950s, however, cotton became less profitable, and the state of Alabama helped many white farmers transition to growing and chopping timber. The people of Monroeville, Alabama was shaken up with fear and anger by Morrison's murder. In 1988, Walter McMillian, a black man, was wrongly convicted and sentenced to death for murdering an 18-year-old white woman in Monroeville, Alabama. He is survived by four sons and daughters-in-law, Jimmy and Brenda McMillian, Roger and Carol McMillian all of Galax, Charles and Sandra McMillian of Hillsville, Michael McMillian of Fancy Gap; three brothers, Rush. McMillian." CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE Death, Life, and Justice in a Southern Town By Pete Earley Bantam. It was clear that Myers and McMillian didnt know each other; Myers word was the sole evidence connecting McMillian to the crime. Walter McMillian and Bryan Stevenson Equal Justice Initiative. Born to a poor black family outside of Monroeville, Alabama, Walter became a successful small businessman as an adult. Born on Oct. 27, 1941, McMillian grew up in one of several poor black settlements outside Monroeville. [9], On February 23, 1993, in Walter McMillian v. State in the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, all judges concurred that "the state suppressed exculpatory and impeachment evidence that had been requested by the defense, thus denying the appellant due process of law, requiring the reversal of his conviction and death sentence, and the remand of the case for a new trial. The real-life Walter McMillian (left) and lawyer Bryan Stevenson. Our death penalty system treats you better if youre rich and guilty than if youre poor and innocent. Walter "Johnny D." McMillian (October 27, 1941 - September 11, 2013) was an African American pulpwood worker from Monroeville, Alabama, who was wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Walter McMillian (left) and Bryan Stevenson after McMillians conviction was overturned in 1993. The author did a great job about explaining the life of Mr. McMillians and the troubles he experienced due to the fact of being wrongly convicted for a crime he didnt commit. I don't give a damn what your people say either. It also emerged that District Attorney Theodore Pearson "had concealed evidence proving his innocence": a witness had seen the victim alive after the time when prosecutors claimed that McMillian had killed her. The smell of someone you know burning to death is the most painful and nauseating experience on this earth. In 1987 Walter McMillian (played by Foxx) was convicted of killing a white woman who was shot multiple times in the back at a dry cleaners. Advertisement. Its so clear they will believe someone that had inconsistent and false testimony over many people confirming his alibi. In addition, the two witnesses who had testified that they had seen McMillians truck retracted their testimony, and admitted that they lied at trial. McMillian recalls his time there as a terrible experience. Walter (Johnny D.) McMillian was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1988 and sentenced to death. [7], In the fall of 1992, McMillian's case received national attention in the CBS News program 60 Minutes. SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES No. [7][9] Myers pleaded guilty as a conspirator in the murder and received a 30-year prison term.[7]. Morrison, who was white, had been bludgeoned, strangled and shot three times. Walter McMillian. In the last two years of his life, he couldnt enjoy the outdoors or get around much without help. No. North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000. What effect does this have. Aside from having a misdemeanor charge from a barroom fight, he had a clean record and no other charges to his name. "[6] In a prison interview in 1993, McMillian said, "The only reason I'm here is because I had been messing around with a white lady and my son married a white lady. Walter "Johnny D." McMillian (October 27, 1941 September 11, 2013)[1] was a pulpwood worker from Monroeville, Alabama, who was wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to death. But as much as his family fought against the system, the system had a way of taking hold. The visits from his family were the only thing getting him by in his time there. Several months later, police arrested 30-year-old Ralph Myers, a career criminal, on suspicion of murdering a woman in nearby Escambia County. It was a pleasure to read this article about William McMillan. The false testimonies claimed that they had seen McMillian near the cleaners the morning of the murder. They had an affair, and when Kellys husband found out, things took a turn. Judge Key warns Stevenson not to take on the case of, death row inmates. When Minnie became pregnant in 1962, they were married. Walter McMillian (left) meets with his attorney, Bryan Stevenson. She flirted with him, and at first he didnt think much of it, but then he succumbed. [6][7][8] Both McMillian and the attorney he had in 1987, J. L. Chestnut, "contended that Mr. McMillian's relationships alone had made him a suspect. His trial start on Aug. 15, 1988 and lasted only a day and a half. His story was a counter narrative to the rhetoric of fairness and reliability offered by politicians and law enforcement officials who wanted more and faster executions. The . The trial lasted only a day and a half. Things would be fine, he thought, as long as everything was kept secret. Today, more than 160 people who were on death row have been proved innocent and released. [5] In 1986 he had been married to Minnie McMillian for 25 years and they had nine children. "[6] He was held there, pre-trial, for 15 months. Walter often sought better work to support his family. Thirty-six of the nearly two hundred convicts on death row are there because of override."[5]. The trial began on August 15, 1988. Grandfather. American wrongly convicted of murder (19412013), According to the 1993 appeal, Judge R.E.L. According to Myers, reinstated in 1975, the majority of Alabama death row inmates have been black, although when, that the practice is occurring. On the night Walter McMillian, a black woodcutter in rural Alabama, was . It was too easy for the state to convict someone for that crime and then have him sentenced to death. The case outlines the basic premise of frustrated local law enforcement, the DA of Monroe County, needed to, for lack of a better term, save his ass. Aside from having a misdemeanor charge from a barroom fight, he had a clean record and no other charges to his name. [5][14], The two witnesses who had testified that they had seen McMillian's truck retracted their testimony, and admitted that they lied at trial, committing perjury. I had never heard about this case before reading this article, and it is unfortunate to read about McMillian and his experience. HBOWalter McMillian (left) meets with his attorney, Bryan Stevenson. Walter McMillian lived an ordinary life alongside his wife Minnie McMillian and their three children. Another time journalism helped bring justice into worldview was in the Walter McMillian case. [7][14], McMillian's "appellate lawyers discovered that prosecutors had withheld evidence and that the state's star witnesses had lied. [9], Following his own trial and sentencing, Ralph Bernard Myers told McMillian's trial counsel that the testimony he gave "against McMillian was false. Just one grandparent can lead you to many discoveries. McMillian. People were more concerned with convicting an innocent man of a murder he did not commit rather than finding the victims murderer. As depicted in Just Mercy, Walter McMillain's case was among the first - and the most important - of attorney Bryan Stevenson's career.After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1985, nearly a year before Morrison's murder (an inaccuracy in the film's timeline), Stevenson moved first to Atlanta, Georgia and then to Montgomery, where he helped form the Alabama Capital Representation . After, Stevenson agrees to work with the CBS program 60 Minutes to produce a story about, an innocent man in prison until the real murderer is found. The National Registry of Exonerations is a project of the Newkirk Center for Science & Society at University of California Irvine, the University of Michigan Law School and Michigan State University College of Law. Tell McMillian clearly recalled the moment the news got to them. As a result, Alabama passed its 2001 compensation statute. information about the Registry, Perjury or False Accusation, Official Misconduct. They stopped him with guns pointing at his face, and they shoved him up against his truck. Mr. McMillian at his familys home on the day of his release after six years on death row. We encourage you to research and examine these . Like Walter, she is from the poor black community just outside of Monroeville. [3][12] McMillian was arrested in June 1987. We have all hurt someone and have been hurt. I am also worried about others. She supports and cares for her five children during Walter's incarceration. How famous was Albert Walter McMillian? He died on September 11, 2013. His case drew public attention to wrongful convictions, and many more people were exonerated in the years after his release. She was shot three times in the back, and it looked like money had been taken from the cash register. After an investigation revealed that McMillians truck was converted to a low-rider six months after the crime took place, the eye-witnesses recanted their testimony and admitted to lying. This article was very sad and eye opening for the treatment of black men in a still prejudice south. In a 2015 NPR interview, Stevenson described how that phone call was a "very, very bizarre start to my career and to the work that I was doing in Alabama." "[13][5] There was no physical evidence implicating McMillian. We in the African American community have always known that the criminal justice system is a threat, that it will take people who are innocent or wrongly convicted and it will treat people unfairly, Stevenson said in an interview with Essence magazine. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. We would often talk about situations and people connected to the case that, for all the damage they had caused, had still made us laugh at their absurdity. During his interrogation, police said that they had witnesses who would testify that he had committed the Morrison murder along with Walter McMillian, a 46-year old African-American man who was notorious in the community because he had a white girlfriend. How Racism, Police Incompetence, And Lying Witnesses Put Walter McMillian On Death Row For Six Years. Walter was implicated in the murder of Ronda Morrison, which led to a rather unfair trial against him. Police arrested McMillian (known to some friends as "Johnny D"), a black man, in 1987 and charged him with murdering an 18-year-old white woman named Ronda Morrison at a Monroeville, Alabama dry . Hooks later testified at McMillians trial. This set off a chain of events that changed Mr. McMillians life forever. But the overwhelming evidence of innocence ultimately forced the State to agree to drop the charges. "[6] Stevenson disagreed, telling the court that "it was far too easy to convict this wrongly accused man for murder and send him to death row for something he didn't do and much too hard to win his freedom after proving his innocence. McMillian was looking at two options for his sentence: death by electrocution, or life in prison. The police wouldnt buy it, and so Myers said he had information on the Morrison case. His conviction was wrongfully obtained, based on police coercion and perjury. From my cell you could smell the stench of burning flesh. Or we can deny our brokenness, foreswear compassion, and, as a result, deny our own humanity. The appellant, Walter McMillian, was jointly indicted with Ralph Bernard Myers in a two-count indictment on December 11, 1987, in Monroe County, for the offense of murder made capital because it was committed during a robbery in the first degree, a violation of 13A-5-40(a)(2), Code of Alabama 1975. Again, great work! He "did not have a history of violence. The Registry provides detailed information about every known exoneration in the United States since 1989cases in which a person was wrongly convicted of a crime and later cleared of all the charges based on new evidence of innocence. "[9] Myers confessed that "he knew nothing about the crime, that he was not present when the crime was committed, that he had been told what to say by certain law enforcement officers, and that he had testified falsely against McMillian because of pressure from the officers. (334) 269-1803 [emailprotected], Mr. McMillians testimony specifically addressed the failure to provide adequate legal help to people in prison and on death row. Amazon Removes Christmas Products Featuring Images Of Auschwitz After Online Blowback, Toxic Foam Washes Up On Indian Beach And People Keep Taking Selfies In It, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. 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 on immunity laws. It is a miracle that Mr. Stevenson reviewed Mr. McMillans case, without his review, an innocent man would been put to death due to racial discrimination. Little did he know that the murder of Ronda Morrison would impact his life in a major way later on.2, On June 7, 1987 at around 11:00 a.m, McMillian was peacefully driving down Route 84. 53 records for Walter Mcmillian. The fact that this man was innocent, and everyone knew, he was still guilty. McMillian and his wife, Minnie, met when when they were teenagers and married after she became pregnant in 1962. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class., Southern Prisoners Defense Committee (SPDC), Voting Rights Protests of 1965 (Selma-to-Montgomery Marches). Despite insisting he was at a church fish dry with dozens of witnesses, including a police officer, he was seen as a suspect. Less than two years later, he was convicted of murder a murder he didnt commit. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. In what The New York Times described as "an extraordinary move", McMillian "was immediately sent to Alabama's Death Row, in Holman State Prison, Atmore, which is usually reserved for convicted murderers awaiting execution. login . Did they ever reopen the case for the murder of Ronda Morrison, since Walter McMillians was proven to be innocent, or had the statute of limitations passed then? .com is the online source for current local and national obituary news and a supportive community where friends and family can come together during times of loss and grieving to honor the memories of their loved ones with lasting personal tributes. On November 1, 1986, the body of 18-year-old part-time clerk Ronda Morrison was found under a rack of clothing at Jackson Cleaners in Monroeville, Alabama. Jamie Foxx plays Walter McMillian in the film, Just Mercy. The way the content is organized, Walters legal case serves as the central storyline of the book. I lost my job. 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