Darryl Burton Talks About 'Life After Exoneration'
Darryl Burton, a man exonerated after spending 24 years in a Missouri prison for a crime he did not commit, spoke to Washburn Law students on December 1. His presentation, hosted by the Center for Excellence in Advocacy, focused on how he was wrongfully convicted, how he survived in prison, how he was exonerated, and what he has done with his life since exoneration.
Darryl explained that his ordeal began in 1984, when he was falsely identified as the suspected gunman in a homicide at a St. Louis, Missouri gas station. Despite an absence of any motive and reliable eyewitness accounts which identified the shooter as a light skinned African American significantly shorter than Mr. Burton, the prosecution was able to present testimony from "professional witnesses" which ultimately secured Darryl's conviction.
Darryl spoke at length against the use of "professional witnesses," or "snitches" who have been offered incentives by state prosecutors to testify a certain way. Darryl also spoke about how the poor efforts of his public defender contributed to his conviction, including her refusal to present evidence that another man committed the crime and her refusal to attempt to impeach the "professional witnesses." Darryl Burton was found guilty of capital murder and armed criminal action. With sentences imposed concurrently, Darryl would not have been eligible for parole for 75 years.
Darryl also shared shocking and gruesome details about the twenty-four years he endured in the Missouri State Penitentiary, or "the Walls," as it was affectionately known to the people who visited, lived in or near the prison in Jefferson City, Missouri. Darryl shared how he obsessively studied the law, late into the night, and how for years he wrote and filed hundreds of legal pleadings, motions, and letters asking for help to correct his wrongful conviction. Darryl also explained how he discovered his strong Christian faith while in prison and how his faith and spirituality helped him survive.
Darryl eventually contacted an organization that expressed a willingness to take on his case, but Darryl would have to be patient, because Centurion Ministries had a ten year waiting period before they could help him. So Darryl continued to write to Centurion Ministries, sometimes once, sometimes twice a year, until, ten years later, the organization agreed to help him prove his innocence. Centurion Ministries worked with Darryl and attorney Cheryl Pilate and organized a legal campaign to prove his innocence. As an expert in federal habeas corpus litigation under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, Cheryl Pilate and Centurion Ministries reinvestigated his case, interviewed witnesses and gathered evidence, including recantations from the witness who testified against him at trial. This evidence was presented to a United States District Court, but his petition was denied. On appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, Judge Kermit Bye provided an extraordinary decision expressing sincere regret that the Eighth Circuit could do no more to help Darryl, although they believed he may actually be innocent. The court's hands were tied by "confounding" procedural hurdles erected by Congress to limit the effectiveness of Federal Habeas Corpus Petitions. See Burton v. Dormire, 295 F.3d 839, 841-42 (8th Cir. 2002).
Darryl explained how confused he was to hear his lawyers celebrating what seemed to him to be another defeat, but after he read Judge's Bye's opinion, Darryl understood that his exoneration was just a matter of time. Eventually Darryl's lawyers filed a Rule 91 petition in a Missouri State Court and were granted a hearing. Darryl's attorneys presented all the evidence that could have been presented at his trial, in addition to new evidence, some of which was kept hidden from his original public defender.
Darryl revealed how in late August of 2008, the warden visited Darryl in his prison cell and told him he had a court order that he was to release Darryl. Darryl told the audience that he was so shocked that he could not remember walking through the last two doors to his freedom, that he was frightened by how quickly his lawyer drove him away from the prison, and how he was skeptical of TGIF fried mozzarella sticks. Today, Darryl proudly revealed how his faith has kept him emotionally grounded and helped him forgive the people that wrongfully brought him to prison and why fried mozzarella sticks will always be one of his favorite foods.
Jeffrey Dazey contributed to this story. Posted December 15, 2009.
