Introduction to
Jeff's Case
"You
can't try a dead man" said the judge - as it if was Jeff's fault that the
man who confessed to friends his guilt, took his own life 2 years after Jeff's
conviction. Jeff Howard was convicted of the murder of his roommate, Duane
McCormick, more than seventeen years ago. Pete Farley, the key witness at the
trial, committed suicide in 1983. Affidavits were collected in 1984-1987, from
Pete's friends who came forward with information that Pete had told them he had
killed a man and sent another man to prison for it. Since then, all but one of
these witnesses have died.
Shortly
before Pete's suicide, one of his sons overheard a conversation his father had
where he confessed that he had killed a man and sent another man to prison for
it. This son came forward after his father's death and spoke with Jeff's
attorney, but she did not take any action. This same public defender, who was
handling Jeff's application for a writ of habeas corpus at the time, and had
collected all of this information, decided not to file the habeas (even though
it was not her decision to make).
Since
then, Jeff tried to get people interested in his case, but worked alone from
the inside of his prison cell. In 1993, others became involved in his case and
an application for a new writ of habeas corpus was filed. Witnesses were found
and interviewed that were not present at the original trial.
The day finally came for the habeas hearing - June 18, 1996 -
thirteen years after the initial application! The judge would not hear anything
having to do with "dead guys" (his words), so none of the new
information or testimony regarding any of the affidavits, nor testimony from
witnesses about Pete Farley, or his son, would be heard by the judge. The writ
was denied on the spot - as if it had already been decided before the hearing.
While "you can't try a dead man,"
all of the new information received after the original trial, points away from
Jeff having done this crime. It is not Jeff's fault that Pete Farley took his
own life (quite possibly because he could not live with what he had done!); it
is not Jeff's fault that the other witnesses have died; The
state claims they are prejudiced because of the time that has elapsed! Jeff is
the one one who is prejudiced against - it was not
his fault the ball was dropped so many times and so many years have
passed...yet Jeff is still sitting in prison after almost 17 years, for a crime
he didn't do! At the trial, he was convicted without any solid evidence, and mainly
on the testimony of the state's key witness, Pete Farley, a man with a rap
sheet "a mile long." Jeff's attorney did not call any witnesses on
his behalf. The prosecutor zealously prosecuted Jeff without gathering evidence
or looking for other suspects!
Jeff has
already served more than 24 years of a life sentence. In
Please
read the information and see for yourself what can happen in a country where
you are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, where prosecutors are
supposed to be more concerned with solving a crime than in convicting a certain
person, and where our rights to a fair trial are supposed to be guaranteed by
the Constitution of the United States of America!
Jeff's
favorite Bible verse (well, one of them) ...and how he copes with the
injustice:
"...for
I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased,
and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to
be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all
things through Christ who strengthens me." Phillipians
4:11b-13
Jeff's story [Introduction]
[Jeff's
Background] [Case Synopsis 1981 - 2001]
Jeff and Judee's
Story [Jeff & Judee] [Wedding]
[Our
Hope]
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