Seeking Justice 22 Years Later
By Jeffrey Page
When I was a reporter for the Times Herald-Record during the Seventies, I covered the Sullivan County Courthouse where I met Judge Louis B. Scheinman, a former district attorney, who brooked no nonsense either as prosecutor or as jurist.
Scheinman was a political realist who understood that district attorneys must show the public a stack of successful prosecutions if they hope to get re-elected. He also was convinced of something more important. The D.A.’s real job – in fact, his single most important responsibility to the law-abiding public – is to seek justice. This far outweighs waving lists of convictions and reciting excuses for acquittals.
There are some prosecutors at work today who could stand a few lessons in this uncomplicated, but apparently elusive doctrine.
Take the case of Lebrew Jones, 52, currently and for the last 22 years, a New York inmate, housed nowadays at the state prison in Otisville. Jones was convicted of the brutal killing of a woman in New York City and sent away for 22 years to life. Several people, including the victim’s mother, don’t believe he’s guilty.
Of course such beliefs are not proofs. And so, as Jones goes before the parole board his week, his lawyers try to win a reversal of his conviction.
So what’s wrong with this picture?
For one thing, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office has rejected a request by Jones’s lawyers to provide them with important evidentiary material about his case. This forces the lawyers to file motions in court to get these papers and adds more time to Jones’s ordeal. Why would the D.A.’s office withhold this information? Because, as the Record reported in a stunning story over the weekend, the material was provided to Jones’s original trial lawyer and he no longer has it.
Read that again. The man’s been in jail for 42 percent of his life – he has no other criminal record – but the Manhattan D.A. won’t hand over a second copy of paperwork that might be key to proving Jones’s innocence. The prosecutor declines to seek justice for Jones after two decades in prison. Which leads to an important question. What is Robert Morganthau afraid of? Running up a high Xerox bill? What could be the real reason for this in-your-face refusal?
It’s important to note that it was after the Times Herald-Record began looking into Jones’s conviction that Morganthau’s office launched a new investigation of it. That was two years ago. The office has yet to finish this examination of a case in which it played a prominent role, the Record reported on Sunday. They don’t seem to move fast at the Manhattan D.A.’s office, do they? But hey, it’s nothing serious – just two more years out of the life of a man who might be innocent.
The case against Lebrew Jones was full of holes. The Record’s story noted that nothing in the glut of evidence at the crime scene connected Jones to the killing. No medical examiner went to the scene.
One of the pieces of evidence against Jones was his often conflicting statements made during a 20-hour grilling. It turns out that Jones, described by the Record as “intellectually challenged,” at one point suggested that the woman killed herself by pounding her own skull with a rock. He renounced his speculation later but this self-pounding story remained part of the record. Did you ever try to make sense after sitting up for 20 hours?
The district attorney’s refusal to provide Jones’s lawyers with the paperwork they need – because he gave a copy to a previous lawyer – is not part of the pursuit of justice. I wonder how Judge Scheinman would describe the prosecutor’s actions in light of his inability to suffer fools well.
Jeffrey can be reached at jeffrey@zestoforange.com
Tags: Jeffrey Page
