McMillian had a business of his own and was an upstanding member of his community. 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. That one testimony of Hooks was all it took to convict him for the murder of Ronda Morrison. It is disappointing to learn that the criminal justice is so corrupted that someone ethnicity can hurt them when face with a criminal charge. Key had retired by 1993, During the 1993 appeal it was revealed that, "Two mechanics, Willie Nettles and Clay Kast, testified that they had modified the appellant's truck to convert it to a low-rider and that they did not do this work until several months after the commission of the crime at Jackson Cleaners. Struggling with distance learning? Part of the evidence revealed a tape where a witness confessed to having been pressured to frame McMillan. When he asked for an explanation, they loudly and angrily said that he was being charged with sodomy for assaulting a man. Grandfather. This left McMillian even more clueless as they didnt provide him with an explanation for how or why he was being charged with such a crime. Walter McMillian with his family after his release from prison. Equal Justice InitiativeWalter McMillian with his family after his release from prison. McMillian already had a target on his back from his affair with Karen Kelly, and the police had that target in their sights. Her . The following week, on March 2, Circuit Court Judge Pamela W. Baschab ruled on the motion, dismissing all charges against McMillian. On March 2, 1993, prosecutors dismissed charges against McMillian and he was released. Walter McMillian lived an ordinary life alongside his wife Minnie McMillian and their three children. He was arrested by Monroe County Sheriff Tom Tate and eventually charged with capital murder. This was Alabama in 1986. And this case had given him lots of fodder. / Walter McMillian (left) celebrates with family after Bryan Stevenson won his release from death row in 1993. Mr. McMillian at his familys home on the day of his release after six years on death row. At the time of her murder, Walter McMillian was at a church fish fry, where he was seen by dozens of witnesses, one of whom was a police officer.[10][11]. Years later when the case settled, the compensation was much less than had been hoped. Walter McMillian is in the back row. Walter McMillian spent six years on Alabamas death row for a murder he didnt commit. They had 2 children: Isabella Mae McMillan and one other child. They found evidence that the States witnesses against Mr. McMillian had been coerced, including tape recordings proving that the States only eyewitness had been pressured to testify falsely at Mr. McMillians trial. As a gregarious guy who owned his own business rare for a black man in the area McMillian was a bit of a local celebrity. [9][5] She had been shot numerous times from behind. It was clear that Myers and McMillian didnt know each other; Myers word was the sole evidence connecting McMillian to the crime. While McMillian did receive an undisclosed amount of compensation, it was less than he had hoped for. The sheriff arranged for Mr. McMillian to be placed on death row before his trialwhen he hadnt even been convicted of a crime. I think this article not only spreads awareness on systematic racism and wrongful convictions, but it also starts a conversation on the inhumane conditions of prisons. [emailprotected], Mr. McMillians testimony specifically addressed the failure to provide adequate legal help to people in prison and on death row. Research the McMillian family Start your family tree now. And it was too hard in light of the evidence of his innocence to show this court that he should never have been here in the first place.. His trial lasted only a day and a half. Jamie Foxx plays Walter McMillian in the film, Just Mercy. "[6] He was held there, pre-trial, for 15 months. .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. But as much as his family fought against the system, the system had a way of taking hold. They had three children and lived in a dilapidated house in Repton, about 10 miles south of Monroeville. Suddenly, State Troopers, city cars, sheriffs, and deputies surrounded his car. Mr. McMillian was with his family 11 miles away from the dry cleaning store where Ms. Morrison was murdered at the time of the crime. In November 1988, 28-year-old attorney Bryan Stevenson, a Harvard Law School and Harvard School of Government graduate, who was the director of the newly formed Alabama Capital Representation Resource Center in Montgomery, took on the task of appealing the case. No fingerprints, no fibers not a single piece of physical evidence connecting McMillian to the crime scene. But we keep fighting.. It is also so sad to think about the families of those who are wronged by the justice system and to imagine what they themselves are going through. Bryan, who was the attorney on Walter's case, was young and just starting his career. I have plenty of friends who are sentenced 10 or 20 years in jail and they feel doomed as soon as the judge slams the gavel. industry in its place. Walter McMillian was nearly put to death for a crime he did not commit One of young lawyer Stevenson's first and most incendiary cases after founding the non-profit Equal Justice Initiative was. McMillian was shocked and absolutely saddened to hear about it. "[Notes 3][4], On September 19, 1988, Judge Robert E. Lee Key, Jr., overruled the jury's recommendation of a life sentence and imposed the death penalty. When he visited McMillian in prison,[10][16][Notes 4][17] McMillian maintained his innocence. 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. Despite insisting he was at a church fish dry with dozens of witnesses, including a police officer, he was seen as a suspect. Stevenson opens chapter five with over a page of direct quotations from McMillian's sister and other family members. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against McMillian in a civil lawsuit filed against state and local officials in Alabama, citing that a county sheriff cant be sued for money damages. As Bryan Stevenson, McMillians future lawyer, wrote in his memoir Just Mercy, Tree work is notoriously demanding and dangerous. 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. We welcome new information from any source about exonerations already on our list and about cases not in the Registry that might be exonerations. . Throughout the case, Stevenson battles political and legal maneuverings, as well as overt and institutional racism, all in the name of fighting for . His conviction was wrongfully obtained, based on police coercion and perjury. He then slipped him a note, supposedly written by Karen Kelly, but McMillian looked confused and threw the note away. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. Since then, the EJI has made some landmark advances in leveling . Then, read the harrowing last words of 23 executed criminals. To him and his family, the money he got from picking cotton was worth a lot more than an education. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. Weeks later, at around 10:45 a.m. on Nov. 1, 1986, 18-year-old Ronda Morrison a white college student who was beloved by the local community was found dead at a Monroeville dry cleaners, where she worked part-time. According to the Equal Justice Initiative of Montgomery, Alabama, "No capital sentencing procedure in the United States has come under more criticism as unreliable, unpredictable, and arbitrary" than the judge override. Mr. McMillians experience on death row was traumatic. 2. (including. Hooks later testified at McMillians trial. With his conviction overturned, Walter McMillian was released from death row in 1993. harrowing last words of 23 executed criminals. I'm going to put twelve people on a jury who are going to find your goddamn black ass guilty. By the 1950s, however, cotton became less profitable, and the state of Alabama helped many white farmers transition to growing and chopping timber. "[6], Eighteen-year-old Ronda Morrison, a white dry-cleaning clerk, was murdered at Jackson Cleaners on November 1, 1986, in Monroeville, Alabama. McMillian's case served as a catalyst for Alabama's compensation statute, which was passed in 2001. Mr. McMillian was an unlikely suspect. He "did not have a history of violence. 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. 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." Kellys husband called McMillian to testify in their divorce proceedings. Or we can deny our brokenness, foreswear compassion, and, as a result, deny our own humanity. The suspect, who was from a prominent family then fled town. / Bryan Stevenson speaks with reporters after oral argument in the U.S. Supreme Court in 2012. Mr. McMillian was arrested, and in an extraordinary move, was immediately . He was a family friend, and the rumor was that hed been lynched for dating a white woman. The visits from his family were the only thing getting him by in his time there. This set off a chain of events that changed Mr. McMillians life forever. [7][Notes 7], McMillian later developed dementia, believed to have been brought on by the trauma of imprisonment. Four former death row inmates have been released from prison just this year after their innocence became apparent: Kirk Bloodsworth, Federico Macias, Walter McMillian, and Gregory Wilhoit. We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to their family trees to create each person's profile. They had met as teenagers. Walter married Maggie Ella McMillan (born Miller) on month day 1908, at age 24 at marriage place. Equal Justice Initiative With his conviction overturned, Walter McMillian was released from death row in 1993. EJI proved the States witnesses had lied on the stand. "[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. Sheriff Tate was never removed from office; he retired in 2019. Research genealogy for Walter McMillian of Mississippi, USA, as well as other members of the McMillian family, on Ancestry. 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. Stevenson was in his 20s and eager to take on the case, even though the unfortunately named judge discouraged him from doing so. Walter McMillian lived an ordinary life alongside his wife Minnie McMillian and their three children. How famous was Albert Walter McMillian? Judge Robert E. Lee Key overrode the jurys sentence of life imprisonment and sentenced Mr. McMillian to death by electrocution. It was appealed to the United States Supreme Court,[19] which ruled against McMillian, holding that a county sheriff could not be sued for monetary damages. An uncle of the murder victim, in fact, came by and told them she was killed, witnesses said. Born to a poor black family outside of Monroeville, Alabama, Walter became a successful small businessman as an adult. A week later, prosecutors dismissed the charges. Walter McMillian. In addition, one of his sons had married a white woman. This article illuminates how unfair and biased the justice system is to the minorities but also people of color. Walter McMillian, who is Black, was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of a young white woman who worked as a clerk in a dry cleaning store in Monroeville, Alabama. Walters case complicated the debate in very graphic ways. I think everybody needs to understand what happened because what happened today could happen tomorrow if we dont learn some lessons from this, said Stevenson on the day McMillians charges were dismissed. 2d 1289 (Ala.Cr.App.1992) denied the claims by McMillian's attorneys. But then police arrested Ralph Myers, a white man with a drug problem and a lengthy criminal record who was also a new friend of Karen Kellys, McMillians ex. McMillian was completely clueless as to why this was happening to him. 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? McMillian recalls his time there as a terrible experience. Subsequently, McMillian settled with other officials for an undisclosed amount. The jury recommended a life in prison, but judge Robert E. Lee Key, Jr. overrode their recommendation and imposed the death penalty. ", According to David Rose in his 1999 article in. information about the Registry, Perjury or False Accusation, Official Misconduct. SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES No. How Racism, Police Incompetence, And Lying Witnesses Put Walter McMillian On Death Row For Six Years. At the trial, Hooks kept his testimony and claimed to have seen the truck near the Jackson Cleaners at the time of Ronda Morrisons murder.3, McMillian was innocent. The McMillian family: Walter McMillian had a family of believers. [3][12] McMillian was arrested in June 1987. Another 267 words (19 lines of text) covering the years 1775, 1790, 1452, 1454, 1540, 1555, 1670, 1753, 1670, 1745 and 1745 are included under the topic Early McMillan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Morrison, who was white, had been bludgeoned, strangled and shot three times. She flirted with him, and at first he didnt think much of it, but then he succumbed. "[18], From 1990 to 1993, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals turned down four appeals. The smell of someone you know burning to death is the most painful and nauseating experience on this earth. Find Walter Mcmillian's phone number, address, and email on Spokeo, the leading online directory for contact information. Mr. McMillian was sent back to his cell on death row, where he ultimately spent six years. We can embrace our humanness, which means embracing our broken natures and the compassion that remains our best hope for healing. McMillian. The 45-year-old self-employed logger had worked for several people in the community and had no criminal history. Born to a poor black family outside of Monroeville, Alabama, Walter became a successful small businessman as an adult. Each testimony had inconsistencies in their stories, but that did not matter. Walter McMillian (Photo/Equal Justice Initiative). We have a choice. "[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. We encourage you to research and examine these . He saw Walter as the perfect way to do that, and this is because of his race and how . [6] McMillian's conviction and death sentence were affirmed on appeal in 1991 in McMillian v. State, 594 So. [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. The crime took place at the Jackson Cleaners in Monroeville. Testimony of the trial lasted a day and a half. We are all broken by something. The Morrison case had generated considerable publicity in Monroe County, which was 40 percent black, and so Walter McMillians trial was moved down south to Baldwin County which was 86 percent white. It was the laughter of liberation. Please enable scripts and reload this page. Report an error or add more information about this case. Myers said he heard popping sounds, and that when he entered the building he found McMillian, with a gun, standing over the dead body of Morrison and robbing her. Teachers and parents! I feel like they done put me on death row, too. Sexual or romantic relationships between blacks and whites were still very much taboo, especially out in the land of forests and plantations. There are numerous examples of this shown throughout the book. This story is incredibly heartbreaking and sadly not very uncommon. Early History of the McMillan family. Birthdate: estimated between 1837 and 1897. In 1992, Ed Bradley reported that the wrong man might have been sitting on Alabama's death row. 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. 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. Stevenson, now 60, continues his social justice work in Alabama. Police, prosecutors, and judges are immune from judgments that require them to make payments to people victimized by abuse of authority. The real-life Walter McMillian (left) and lawyer Bryan Stevenson. A deputy then revealed to McMillian that the initial charge was only a way to impound his truck. Judge Robert E. Lee Key, Jr., "had McMillian await trial on death row, as if a death sentence were a foregone conclusion, and relocated the trial from a county that was forty per cent black to an overwhelmingly white one," Baldwin County, where 86 percent of the residents were white, because the case had "generated extraordinary publicity. TRIAL: Defense asked for the trial to be moved from Monroe County to Baldwin County in Alabama due to the publicity. Aside from having a misdemeanor charge from a barroom fight, he had a clean record and no other charges to his name. Walter is related to Jane Marie Price and Jaline Renae McMillan as well as 3 additional people. I lost my I lost my dignity.. Stevenson finishes by calling on, of the other witness testimonies. Stevenson came across McMillians case and met with him and began working on appealing his case. Its narrative backbone is the story of Walter McMillian, whom Stevenson began representing in the late 1980s when he was on death row for killing a young white woman in Monroeville, Ala., the . 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. Stevenson recounts the story Myers gave during. Known to his friends and family as Johnny D, Mr. McMillian spent 15 harrowing and tortuous months on Alabamas death row before trial. He died on September 11, 2013. All he could do was sit there and listen as three witnesses for the prosecution lied in their testimonies. Another time journalism helped bring justice into worldview was in the Walter McMillian case. 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. Were going to keep all you niggers from running around with these white girls. McMillian presented six alibi witnesses who testified that they had been with him at a family fish fry the entire day. 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. Ariana Brockington. McMillian and his wife, Minnie, met when when they were teenagers and married after she became pregnant in 1962. "[5] This practice, called judicial override, allows "elected trial judges to override jury verdicts of life and impose death sentences." On February 23, 1993, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals reversed McMillians conviction and ordered a new trial. [6] McMillian's attorney then filed a motion to dismiss all charges. "[6][Notes 1][5] McMillian was represented by attorney J. L. Chestnut. Not to mention, the way the author starts the article is genius. They stopped him with guns pointing at his face, and they shoved him up against his truck. A white man accused of crimes in another county was pressured by police and ultimately made false statements accusing Mr. McMillian of murdering Ms. Morrison. 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. Skip Ancestry main menu Main . And thats how his affair with a white woman 18 years his junior became the talk of the town. Walter McMillian (Photo/Equal Justice Initiative) 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. Family History Search. He first encountered Walter while he was on death row (20). McMillian was convicted by a jury of eleven whites and one African American. 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). 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. As a result, Alabama passed its 2001 compensation statute. Eventually, Myers gave a taped confession in which he said that he drove McMillian to the scene of the crime and that McMillian went into the building alone. He met Karen Kelly, who was 25 and unhappily married, at the Waffle House where he ate breakfast. Walter McMillian (left) and Bryan Stevenson after McMillians conviction was overturned in 1993. We have all hurt someone and have been hurt. It was truly heart wrenching that all of the people were apart of the crime were not criminally charged nor punished, yet the only person who was punished was the innocent man. He claimed that McMillian's exoneration "proved the system worked. The fact that this man was innocent, and everyone knew, he was still guilty. When asked whether his change of fortune restored his faith in the justice system, McMillian simply replied, No. He filed civil lawsuits against state and local officials for his wrongful conviction. For the first time in six years, Walter McMillian was a free man. [15], Since then, the frequency of the judge override in Alabama has come under scrutiny: "Nearly seventy Alabama judges have single-handedly ordered an inmate's execution, and collectively they have done so more than a hundred times. Walter McMillian passed away on September 11, 2013.7. 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. 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. His case lacked evidence but he was still. Sponsored by Ancestry. Before Walter McMillian was released from death row. Tell
I get that Morrison was at a disadvantage when faced against white men for that exact reason, but if the testimonies were so obviously inconsistent, they should have known better. Walter McMillian was sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit. 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. The person of interest was a black man named Walter McMillian. Bryan Stevenson discusses the outrageous miscarriage of justice in the case of Walter McMillian. He suffered mentally and physically to the point where he developed early on-set dementia. From my cell you could smell the stench of burning flesh. Innocence conference at Northwestern Law School, Chicago, 1998. McMillian was looking at two options for his sentence: death by electrocution, or life in prison. Bryan Stevenson and EJI received death threats. Appellant, Walter McMillian, was jointly indicted with Ralph Myers, in a two-count indictment, on December 11, 1987, in Monroe County, for the capital offense of murder committed during a robbery in the first degree, in violation of 13A-5-40(a)(2), Code of Alabama 1975. . In Alabama, Monroeville, 1986, Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), a member of Monroevile's Black community and owner of a tree felling company, was arrested for the murder of 18-year-old girl Ronda Morrison at the local cleaners. Walter was implicated in the murder of Ronda Morrison, which led to a rather unfair trial against him. It was too hard in light of the evidence of his innocence to show this court that he should never have been here in the first place.. He picked cotton with his family, went to the local colored school for a couple of years, and then went back to picking cotton at around age eight or nine. EJI filed civil rights lawsuits against state and local officials for incarcerating Mr. McMillian on death row before his trial in violation of his rights. 53 records for Walter Mcmillian. They tortured me with the promise of execution for six years. His truck was later examined by Bill Hooks who claimed to have seen McMillians truck at the cleaners. Those six years on death row traumatized McMillian in many unthinkable ways. [3] A journalist described him as a "black pulpwood worker". 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. Home; . The trial lasted only a day and a half. Margaret M (McMillan) Williams 12 Jul 1891 Ontario, Canada - 24 Jan 1932 managed by Dave Stern Susannah (McMillan) McRae 24 May 1810 Robeson, North Carolina, United States - 30 Aug 1886 managed by Rod Medders Jane (McMillan) Henderson abt 1809 Stirlingshire, Scotland, United Kingdom - abt 1859 managed by Lesley Robertson Mr. McMillians conviction was overturned and he was released from death row. He was subjected to graphic questions about the nature of his and Kellys relationship, and he left the courtroom feeling uneasy. I believe there are other people under sentence of death who like me are not guilty.. "My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." Less than two years later, he was convicted of murder a murder he didnt commit. "[9][Notes 6][3][12] In pursuing those claims, the attorneys obtained the original recording of Myers' confession. It was a pleasure to read this article about William McMillan. Walter McMillian worked hard providing for his wife and their three children. Walter McMillian lived an ordinary life alongside his wife Minnie McMillian and their three children. [9], Following his own trial and sentencing, Ralph Bernard Myers told McMillian's trial counsel that the testimony he gave "against McMillian was false. Resistance to acknowledging Mr. McMillians innocence was intense. In 1988, Walter McMillian, a Black man, was wrongly convicted and sentenced to death for . On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. "[3] Monroe County was described by The Guardian as "a remote, dirt-poor region of pine trees and bean farms". [6] However, Chapman did not agree that there had been a "deliberate effort to frame Mr. His days were spent twenty-three hours a day in a dark cell. The point where he developed early on-set dementia married a white woman house in Repton, about 10 miles of... 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Genealogy for Walter McMillian and tortuous months on Alabamas death row ( 20 ) to questions! That the wrong man might have been hurt, the compensation was less... To people in the land of forests and plantations money he got from picking cotton was worth lot! Named Walter McMillian ( left ) celebrates with family after his release after six years feeling uneasy stopped with... For six years on Alabamas death row before his trialwhen he hadnt even been convicted of murder murder... Local officials for his wrongful conviction with a white woman were going to put people... To do that, and at first he didnt commit imprisonment and sentenced to death by electrocution to having pressured! Witnesses said revealed to McMillian that the criminal justice is so corrupted someone! Do that, and at first he didnt commit quote on LitCharts imprisonment! 1999 article in February 23, 1993, the money he got from picking was. Presented six alibi witnesses who testified that they had three children system is to the publicity but looked... ) denied the claims by McMillian 's attorney then filed a motion to dismiss charges. `` proved the States witnesses had lied on the day of his community for. S death row very uncommon believed to have been hurt white, had been him... Niggers from running around with these white girls to graphic questions about the Registry that might exonerations.
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