FEATURED POST

USA | The execution I witnessed haunts me. Biden, clear death row before Trump returns: Opinion

Image
Under Trump, there were 13 executions in his last six months as president. Biden must clear death row now to stop that and what Albert Camus described as the most cold-blooded premeditated murder. On Jan. 14, 2021, I stood in a small chamber in the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, while the federal government carried out an execution. Relegated to a spot 6 feet away from the gurney, I prayed with Corey Johnson, the “Gentle Giant” as he was known on death row.  He was one of the last of 13 people executed under then-President Donald Trump, who carried out an unprecedented killing spree during the final six months of his presidency.

US: Bite Mark Evidence Sends Innocent Man to Death Row

Ray Krone: "I was called a monster,
then an unremorseful killer"
Ray Krone was arrested for the sexual assault and brutal murder of a female bartender in Phoenix, Arizona in 1991. The case rested largely on bite mark evidence on the body of the victim, 36-year-old Kim Ancona. Krone was dubbed by the media as the “snaggletooth killer.” He was found guilty and recieved the death penalty.

“I was called a monster, then an unremorseful killer, then sentenced to death and shackled and taken right straight to death row,” says Krone.

He vehemently maintained his innocence and fought for a retrial. In 1996 Krone was given a second chance to prove he didn’t commit the murder. Again, the same bite mark expert's testimony portrayed him as guilty, but this time Krone’s defense team had their own bite mark experts to rebut the prosecution.

“I was starting to get a sense of real faith again in the system, the truth was coming out. The jury was seeing this, this bite mark expert for the prosecution was going to be exposed and things were going to be OK for me and my family again,” he said.

But the jury once again found Krone guilty. “It hurt, it was more painful than the first time,” says Krone. He added, “but it isn’t what nearly killed me. What cut me to the bone, to the core, was they said ‘guilty’ and I heard this most horrible scream, this moan from my Mom and sister about five feet behind me (in court).”

Although Krone was found guilty a second time, the judge had doubts about the case and took him off death row and reduced his sentence to 25 years to life in prison. Krone says despite the lesser sentence, he nearly lost all hope.

“I’m not going back to death row, but really you already took my life, my freedom, my honor, my word is no good, I’m a monster, you might as well kill me. What is there to live for?”

But he never gave up fighting and his family and defense team never stopped believing in his innocence. In 2002, DNA from the crime scene was analyzed and not only didn't match Krone’s, but there was another person in the DNA database who it matched perfectly. To make things easy on law enforcement, the perfect match was already behind bars – a convict named Kenneth Phillips.


Source: CNN, AC360, December 21, 2011

Related articles:
Sep 26, 2011
2002: Ray Krone is exonerated and set free 10 years after being sentenced to death for the kidnapping, rape and murder of a bar worker. The scientific testimony was wrong. 2003: John Thompson is exonerated and set free ...
Oct 14, 2008
In 1992 Ray Krone, a former sergeant in the US Air Force, was sentenced to death row for the murder of Kimberly Ancona, a bar manager found stabbed to death in a restaurant near his home in Arizona. ...
Nov 06, 2008
"It's not something to be ashamed of, not something to be embarrassed by," said Ray Krone , who spent three years on Arizona's death row. "It's something to grow from and be proud of, that you can and will take that step ...

Comments

Most Viewed (Last 7 Days)

USA | The execution I witnessed haunts me. Biden, clear death row before Trump returns: Opinion

Indonesia | Filipino woman on Indonesia death row recalls a stunning last minute reprieve and ‘miracle’ transfer

Could Joe Biden Pardon Everyone on Federal Death Row?

Biden commutes roughly 1,500 sentences and pardons 39 people in biggest single-day act of clemency

Indonesian President to grant amnesty to select prisoners while considering expediting execution of drug convicts

Filipina on Indonesia death row says planned transfer 'miracle'

Two men on Mississippi's death row dealt new setbacks. Here's what happened

Texas | Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for 2 Venezuelan men accused of killing Texas girl