In jail for 40 years innocent 76 year old Texan man leaves prison

[NNN0LHI]

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBZQ7224YD.html

Texas Man, 76, Walks Free From Prison After Judge Finds His Robbery Confession Was Coerced

LUFKIN, Texas (AP) - A 76-year-old man who spent nearly every day of the last four decades in prison walked free after a judge found that deputies extracted his confession to a 1962 robbery by crushing his fingers between cell bars.

After walking out of the Angelina County jail Tuesday with his wife, Robert Carroll Coney said he was not bitter.

"I'm going to try to pick up the pieces," Coney said. "If I was angry, what could I do about it?"

Coney was convicted of robbing a Safeway supermarket in 1962 and sentenced to life in prison. Many times he escaped from facilities in other states - including South Carolina, Louisiana and Mississippi - only to be recaptured each time. He was returned to the Texas prison system last year.

Coney said his identity had been confused with a man he had carpooled with through Lufkin on the day of the robbery.

more...Note to mods: Original headline would not fit in space allowed. Had to rewrite it.

[THUNDER HANDS]

1. since when do you get LIFE for robbery?

and what the HELL is up with texas?

[jeff30997]

4. What would the judge have done if...

The guy had been executed?

[DrWeird]

20. Since as long have their been black people in the US.

I'm sure there's still quite a few doing life sentences.

The standard republican will just say, "don't do the crime if you can't do the time."

[lottie244]

26. This guy had to be black. They don't even give white men life for murder.

What the hell is wrong in Texas? Sorry if I am wrong about this man's race, but I can not even begin to believe that white would have received the same sentence for the same crime.

[Soloflecks]

2. Story not complete!

I saw this at least a week ago on the nooze. He was involved in voter registration when this happened. There was also an order to have him released which never made it to the prison system. None of the stories I've read included these two vital pieces of information.

[AirAmFan]

8. NY Times has more details than AP. He escaped from N Koreans, too!

He was a veteran of both WWII (ammo room of a destroyer in the Pacific) and Korea. His wife (of 50 years!) served time for smuggling hacksaw blades into him.

Don't worry--chances are we'll be hearing a lot more about this story on newsmagazines and in made-for-TV movies. Coney seems to be a modern-day Jean Valjean. Apparently, 'The Fugitive' was like a trip to Disneyland compared to Coney's life.

See http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/20/national/20convict.html

[UpInArms]

3. and we are returning to those "darker years" under this

mal-administration as rapidly as they can rollback the clock.

"It really contains everybody's worst fears about what went on during certain darker years in this country," said Huntsville attorney David P. O'Neill, who worked on Coney's case.

[girl gone mad]

5. Never, never, never..

give a false confession, under any circumstances. Teach your children.

[NNN0LHI]

6. Easy to say when not being suffocated with a plastic bag over your head

http://cnnstudentnews.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0307/01/ltm.15.html

<snip>G. FLINT TAYLOR, PATTERSON'S ATTORNEY: Well as Aaron said, he was tortured in Medieval ways. Had a plastic bag placed over his head and was suffocated. He was punched in the stomach. There's a notorious commander here named John Berge (ph) who led a torture ring for over 20 years. And there are many witnesses to his torture.

So it's not just Aaron Patterson's word against John Berge and the police, it's a long line of people from 1972 to 1989 who were tortured by John Berge, not only with bags put over their head, had guns put in their head, they've been electric shock with devices. It basically is the kind of torture you'd expect to hear from some place like South Africa before the liberation from apartheid, or some of the Central American countries. But we had it right here in Chicago. We have now 90 documented cases of police torture over that 20-year period.

[Pert_UK]

11. Without meaning to be overly pedantic.....

Since when did "Medieval torture" involve plastic bags, guns and electric shocks....

Not meaning to belittle the suffering, but goodness me that's a shocking piece of journalism.

P.

[thebigidea]

21. yes, how shocking to report what the freakin' guy said.

It wasn't editorial commentary, it was what the death row inmate called it.

I suppose he should've mentioned the Iron Maiden to satisfy torture purists.

I'm afraid this bit of pedantry means you're first in line for the Big Push next week.

[Pert_UK]

22. Well actually......

It was the victim's attorney who said the torture was "medieval".

The victim had described the things that had happened to him, and the attorney referred to that torture as being medieval...which it wasn't.

So we're all wrong......

Except the reporter, who did indeed report what was said.....

But I'm especially wrong.

Sorry.

On edit - wow! That's 3 times at least that you've edited your comments..........But I've still got no idea what you're talking about re: the "big push" next week. Is it some kind of threat???

[thebigidea]

23. obviously you need to brush up on your Blackadder Goes Forth!

Joke. Meant to imply I'm not entirely serious about this.

One more edit for a footnote for our friends in foreign lands:

Melchett: Aah, are you looking forward to the big push?
(pinches Baldrick's cheek)

Baldrick: No sir, I'm absolutely terrified.
(pinces Melchett's cheek)

[Pert_UK]

24. GOD DAMN IT!!!

The day I take Blackadder advice from a Yankee is the day I roger the Archbishop of Canterbury with a prize-winning leak!!!

:evilgrin:

Brace yourself, your eminence.......

I joke of course.

I'm looking forward to bullying off for the final chukkha (sp?) and giving Fritz 6 of the best, trousers down.

Apologies for missing the point - nice call.

Peace - and I like your sense of humour, plus willingness to overlook my pointless and offensive pedantry. Thanks.

P.

NB - in case it's not clear, I'm not being sarcastic, I am actually chuffed that you are so reasonable.

[thebigidea]

25. Now if only I could get my hands on some region-free Alan Partridge DVDs

Insert cryptic transferred-from-ancient-PAL-Comic-Relief-Special-Blackadder-reference-here...

[lil-petunia]

13. Burge, now living the good life in FLorida

Unfortunately for that rotting piece of bird turd, he must comply with a subpeona and testify back in several trials in Chicago. I suspect that there will be other subpeonas waiting for him as he gets off the plane. There are high hopes that he will not be able to return to his life of leisure.

The Burge counts have increased to more than 200 credible reports of forced confessions. His favorite tools, for those not following Chicago crimes and politics, were live electrical wires to the mouth and testicles, and ye almighty Chicago telephone book repeatedly over the head while the dude is being held down in his chair. It leaves no marks and causes unbelieveable pain.

[Mel]

7. that and keep

your mouth shut!
Ask for your attorney and keep your mouth shut!

I don't care if your innocent or not it's best to keep your mouth shut! I have little faith in the so called 'blind scales of justice' 5 to 4 showed me and I don't think I will ever trust justice or rule of law again.

To much is wrong with our system Jim Crow drug laws innocent people executed or on death row the poor and people of color not getting proper representation.

Far to many corporate privatized prisons for me to Ever feel like things will be right our system is broke and it needs fixing.

Nope no more trusting that if your telling the truth justice will be on your side it's pie in the sky.

Money talks and having the right skin color or class status is what matters and if you don't any of those you are screwed in most cases.

[amber dog democrat]

12. I don't think you should give ANY confession

or information beyond. Name Rank and Serial Number. This even applies to routine traffic stops. Our ends are not congruent. I will stay on the right side of the law - but the cops are NOT my friends.

[sam sarrha]

9. Think about how many like him were on death row..that Bush executed..

there are literally no appeals in Texas.. any appointed judge that gave a retrial would be considered soft on crime and would lose their position on the bench.. and their 6 figure income the next day... so no one will.

every time you see *ush on TV remember him making fun of the woman pleading for her life..by the way she didn't, even the Pope personally pleaded him to give life in prison to her. him laughing and Enjoying it, that sucker is psycho..

after the first case where DNA proved a convicted man inocent 85% of all the stored DNA in Texs was destroyed

[Senior citizen]

19. Isn't destroying evidence a crime?

I know law enforcement isn't supposed to take drugs from the evidence room and use or sell them--so how can they destroy stored DNA?

Was anybody prosecuted for this, and if not, why not?

[David__77]

10. He was Black, of course.

I think it's a pertinent piece of information.

[shanti]

14. funny

but i knew he had to be black. :-(

[Damn Hippie]

16. Thanks for pointing that out

I had a feeling that was the case when I read the headline and figured it was likely when I saw that he worked in the ammo room of a destroyer in WWII.

[shadu]

18. I didn't guess that

You would think that by now I would be cynical
enough to have figured that out.

[Blue_Tires]

15. justice, tejas-style...n/t

i'm surprised they didn't just hang him from the nearest tree, especially back in those days

[shadu]

17. In a just country the offending deputies would be lynched

[GoddessOfGuinness]

27. He should not have to file a civil suit.

They should give him everything he needs for the rest of his days. And they should take care of his wife as well.

Sons o' bitches...

[Gregorian]

28. They tortured him. Think what they do these days.

It just dawned on me that the act of coercing a statement from him, was torture. It's like we never graduated from the Witch Trials.

[opihimoimoi]

29. Pure and simple torture.....kinda like the INQUISITION???

Heathen or Not?