Meanwhile, six witnesses testified in McMillians defense, saying he was hosting a fish fry at his house during the crime. According to NYU (where he's an Aronson Family Professor of Criminal Justice), he started representing death row inmates from the Deep South in 1985, and founded the nonprofit law organization Equal Justice Initiative in 1989. McMillian already had a target on his back from his affair with Karen Kelly, and the police had that target in their sights. Grandmother . .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. Judge Key warns Stevenson not to take on the case of, death row inmates. Financial TimesWalter McMillian (left) and Bryan Stevenson after McMillians conviction was overturned in 1993. Walter McMillian and Bryan Stevenson Equal Justice Initiative. The Registry also maintains a more limited database of known exonerations prior to 1989. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. He claimed that McMillian's exoneration "proved the system worked. When Minnie became pregnant in 1962, they were married. The petition also alleged that the state of Alabama "had violated his constitutional rights by withholding exculpatory and impeachment information". They put me on death row for six years! Death: Immediate Family: Son of Laban Parks McMillian and Ada Kirk. Walters case complicated the debate in very graphic ways. And thats how his affair with a white woman 18 years his junior became the talk of the town. McMillian is portrayed by Jamie Foxx and Stevenson is played by Michael B. Jordan, the "Black Panther" star who has used his considerable leverage to bring the story to the screen. A Life on Both Sides of the Ocean Mary McMillan in her early twenties Mary McMillan was born in Boston in 1880, just a few years after her parents emigrated from Scotland. Starting with, ordinary life lets the reader know that this could happen to anyone of color. Walter McMillian with his family after his release from prison. Explore genealogy for Walter McMillian born 1941 Monroe County, Alabama, United States died 2013 including ancestors + more in the free family tree community. What effect does this have. Clients. Tell Known to his friends and family as Johnny D, Mr. McMillian spent 15 harrowing and tortuous months on Alabamas death row before trial. He was subjected to graphic questions about the nature of his and Kellys relationship, and he left the courtroom feeling uneasy. Mr. McMillian was sent back to his cell on death row, where he ultimately spent six years. From my cell you could smell the stench of burning flesh. [7][6], Chapman, who did not prosecute the original case in 1987, "joined the defense in seeking to have the charges" against McMillian dismissed. In the case Walter McMillian v. State proceedings it was recorded that Myers identified Larry Ikner, and Thomas Tate, as the law enforcement officers. Its really infuriating that the people involved received no backlash. Born to a poor black family outside of Monroeville, Alabama, Walter became a successful small businessman as an adult. It was clear that Myers and McMillian didnt know each other; Myers word was the sole evidence connecting McMillian to the crime. McMillian (Jamie Foxx) was an African-American pulpwood worker from Monroeville, Alabama, who was wrongfully convicted of the murder of 18-year-old Ronda Morrison, a white dry-cleaning clerk. Equal Justice InitiativeWalter McMillian spent six years on Alabamas death row for a murder he didnt commit. After the jury took a vote, the final decision was made, and McMillian was sentenced to death.5, In 1988, freshly graduated from Harvard, Bryan Stevenson was eager to help inmates on death row. Report an error or add more information about this case. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against McMillian, holding that a county sheriff could not be sued for money damages. This article is informative and well written! We would often talk about situations and people connected to the case that, for all the damage they had caused, had still made us laugh at their absurdity. As Bryan Stevenson, McMillians future lawyer, wrote in his memoir Just Mercy, Tree work is notoriously demanding and dangerous. Myers heard popping sounds, and he found McMillian standing over the victim with a gun in his hand. I'm going to put twelve people on a jury who are going to find your goddamn black ass guilty. After six months with no leads or suspects, their attention focused on Walter McMillian. 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. Enter a grandparent's name. We encourage you to research and examine these . Several months later, police arrested 30-year-old Ralph Myers, a career criminal, on suspicion of murdering a woman in nearby Escambia County. 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. The man was Russell Charley. Its so clear they will believe someone that had inconsistent and false testimony over many people confirming his alibi. [9][Notes 5], In 1992 the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals in McMillian v. State 594 So. Innocence conference at Northwestern Law School, Chicago, 1998. As a black man living in southern Alabama, McMillian didnt stand a chance. Husband of Libbie Wood. I am deeply troubled by the way the criminal system treated me and the difficulty I had in proving my innocence, he told the committee. A new investigation was ordered. As a result, Alabama passed its 2001 compensation statute. 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. Little did he know that the murder of Ronda Morrison would impact his life in a major way later on.2, On June 7, 1987 at around 11:00 a.m, McMillian was peacefully driving down Route 84. Walter McMillian lived an ordinary life alongside his wife Minnie McMillian and their three children. [10][11], The 2019 film Just Mercy dramatizes McMillian's case, and stars Jamie Foxx as McMillian and Michael B. Jordan as Bryan Stevenson, with direction by Destin Daniel Cretton, based on Stevenson's 2014 book Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption.[20]. Walter with friends and Stevenson The McMillian family was known to be a "large, tight-knit family" made up Walter, his wife, Minnie, and five children. Stevenson's uncle died in prison . [7], In the fall of 1992, McMillian's case received national attention in the CBS News program 60 Minutes. TRIAL: Defense asked for the trial to be moved from Monroe County to Baldwin County in Alabama due to the publicity. Police could not solve the crime. McMillian." I find it very heartbreaking that even with inconsistencies and testimonies in favor of him, that he was still condemned because of the way he looked. Advertisement. His case lacked evidence but he was still. "[6], Eighteen-year-old Ronda Morrison, a white dry-cleaning clerk, was murdered at Jackson Cleaners on November 1, 1986, in Monroeville, Alabama. After six months, the police had a possible person of interest. Instant downloads of all 1682 LitChart PDFs [9] McMillian was charged with a two-count indictment "for the offense of murder made capital because it was committed during a robbery in the first degree", and the jury recommended a life sentence. - celebrated for convicting Walter McMillian - refused to release Walter McMillian despite family members, church members, black pastors, and others pleading with him and offering their testimonies - brought Walter McMillian to death row (Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama) from the county jail on August 1st, 1987 Subsequently, McMillian settled with other officials for an undisclosed amount. Stevenson next calls to the stand Clay Kast, was being held on death row as punishment for refusing to continue his testimony against, testimony while Ikner, Tate and Benson coerce him to continue. I am also worried about others. Walter McMillians post-conviction ordeal is featured in the film. Today, more than 160 people who were on death row have been proved innocent and released. Tate replied, "I don't give a damn what you say or what you do. Until his dying wish he did not receive justice for his wrongful conviction. The Registry provides detailed information about every known exoneration in the United States since 1989cases in which a person was wrongly convicted of a crime and later cleared of all the charges based on new evidence of innocence. He had no prior criminal history and was a 45-year-old self-employed logger who had done work for many people throughout the community. They lived in a sharecropper's shack. McMillian had a business of his own and was an upstanding member of his community. He was a family friend, and the rumor was that hed been lynched for dating a white woman. Then, read the harrowing last words of 23 executed criminals. Walter McMillan spent six years on death row for a crime he didn't commit, but even after the Alabama resident was exonerated, he remained tormented by his years behind bars. "[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. He had a large, tight-knit family and several children with his wife Minnie, but, following an affair with a white woman, Walter was falsely accused and convicted of murdering a different white woman. 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. Still, the police were desperate to wrap up the Morrison case, and they felt that this was their opportunity. Sheriff Tate was never removed from office; he retired in 2019. That one testimony of Hooks was all it took to convict him for the murder of Ronda Morrison. The only evidence connecting McMillian to the killing was testimony by Myers, in line with his recorded statement, and two other witnesses who claimed to have seen McMillians "low-rider" truck outside the building at the time that the crime allegedly occurred. He had spoken to other inmates on death row that day, but Walter's case is the one that . I believe that needs to be discussed more, and I am glad you included how it had such a negative impact on McMillian and was traumatic. [3] He died on September 11, 2013. In his police interview, he made up all sorts of wild stories, like how the sheriff of a nearby county murdered Pittman. 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. What seemed to bring him attention is that hed had an affair with a married white woman. McMillian was accused of murdering an 18-year-old girl and was put on death row. A 60 Minutes segment and other national press coverage about his case led to other exonerations. He "did not have a history of violence. They had 2 children: Isabella Mae McMillan and one other child. In 1988, Walter McMillian, a Black man, was wrongly convicted and sentenced to death for . HBOWalter McMillian (left) meets with his attorney, Bryan Stevenson. In the last two years of his life, he couldnt enjoy the outdoors or get around much without help. They knew their statements against a white mans perjured testimony didnt stand a chance.4, McMillians trial lasted two days. 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. McMillian, freed from death row in 1993, died September 11, 2013, at age 71. 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). [6] McMillian's conviction and death sentence were affirmed on appeal in 1991 in McMillian v. State, 594 So. Bryan, who was the attorney on Walter's case, was young and just starting his career. "Michael has. McMillian was completely clueless as to why this was happening to him. They tortured me with the promise of execution for six years. Teachers and parents! "[5] It emerged that Sheriff Tate and investigators with the Monroe County D.A. Grandfather. Myers had pled guilty as a conspirator in the murder and received a 30-year prison term. Contact profile manager; View family tree; The false testimonies claimed that they had seen McMillian near the cleaners the morning of the murder. The 45-year-old self-employed logger had worked for several people in the community and had no criminal history. It was founded in 2012 in conjunction with the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law. On March 2, 1993, prosecutors dismissed charges against McMillian and he was released. Aside from having a misdemeanor charge from a barroom fight, he had a clean record and no other charges to his name. Mr. McMillian was released from death row as a free man in March 1993. This set off a chain of events that changed Mr. McMillians life forever. People were more concerned with convicting an innocent man of a murder he did not commit rather than finding the victims murderer. EP.32 The case of Walter McMillian-New way of looking at the death penalty Walter "Johnny D." McMillian (October 27, 1941 - September 11, 2013)[1] was an African-American pulpwood worker from Monroeville, Alabama, who was wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to death. After an investigation revealed that McMillians truck was converted to a low-rider six months after the crime took place, the eye-witnesses recanted their testimony and admitted to lying. McMillian had explained to Sheriff Tate shortly after his arrest that he was at the fish fry on the morning of November 1. 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. One of the many Alabama cases assigned to him is that of. Walter McMillian (1941 - 2013) . App.1991). This article illuminates how unfair and biased the justice system is to the minorities but also people of color. EJI proved the States witnesses had lied on the stand. As depicted in Just Mercy, Walter McMillain's case was among the first - and the most important - of attorney Bryan Stevenson's career.After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1985, nearly a year before Morrison's murder (an inaccuracy in the film's timeline), Stevenson moved first to Atlanta, Georgia and then to Montgomery, where he helped form the Alabama Capital Representation . 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. He implicated not just himself, but McMillian as well. He was allowed forty-five minutes of exercise per day and a few hours in the day room per week. All NRE reports represent a moment in time. The smell of someone you know burning to death is the most painful and nauseating experience on this earth. Again, great work! In 1986, an 18-year-old white woman named Ronda Morrison was murdered in downtown Monroeville, Alabama. Walter McMillian spent six years on Alabamas death row for a murder he didnt commit. McMillian later developed dementia and died in 2013, but his name lives on at the center of the criminal justice reform movement. About $35 was missing. based on a true story, just mercy(2019) follows civil rights defense attorney bryan stevenson (michael b. jordan) as he recounts his experiences and details the case of a condemned death row prisoner, walter mcmillian (jamie foxx), whom he fought to free, as he becomes embroiled in a labyrinth of legal and political maneuverings and overt and "Just Mercy," a movie about the case, opens in theaters this . His conviction was wrong It took a significant toll on his health and led to him developing early-onset dementia. "[9] D.A. Mr. McMillians conviction was overturned and he was released from death row. It is a miracle that Mr. Stevenson reviewed Mr. McMillans case, without his review, an innocent man would been put to death due to racial discrimination. [19] Subsequently, McMillian settled out of court with other officials for an undisclosed amount. Bryan Stevenson stands in 1993 with Walter McMillan, a man wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death row for six years for the murder of an 18-year-old dry cleaning store clerk in Monroeville, Ala. Stevenson successfully argued that Stevenson was with family 11 miles away at the time of the crime, that witnesses had lied on the stand, and that the prosecution had illegally suppressed . Part of the evidence revealed a tape where a witness confessed to having been pressured to frame McMillan. When McMillian reached adulthood, he noticed this trend and borrowed money to buy his own equipment; by the 1980s, he owned a modestly profitable pulpwood business. They threatened me for six years. 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. [6] McMillian's attorney then filed a motion to dismiss all charges. On March 3, 1993, the County District Attorney finally dismissed the charges. All That's Interesting is a Brooklyn-based digital publisher that seeks out stories that illuminate the past, present, and future. The following week, on March 2, Circuit Court Judge Pamela W. Baschab ruled on the motion, dismissing all charges against McMillian. The fact that the testimonial of the witnesses that saw McMillian near the cleaners the morning of the murder didnt even add up, and nobody seemed to care is upsetting. Jamie Foxx portrays McMillian and Michael B. Jordan stars as Stevenson. "[9] Myers confessed that "he knew nothing about the crime, that he was not present when the crime was committed, that he had been told what to say by certain law enforcement officers, and that he had testified falsely against McMillian because of pressure from the officers. His days were spent twenty-three hours a day in a dark cell. [5] In 1986 he had been married to Minnie McMillian for 25 years and they had nine children. I am at least happy to find out that Mr. McMillians made it out of deaths hand due to his lawyer, however this is one of many cases and not all of them end in a happy way. On the night Walter McMillian, a black woodcutter in rural Alabama, was . Home; . "[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. In the 1988 trial, under a controversial Alabama doctrine called "judicial override", the judge imposed the death penalty, although the jury had voted for a sentence of life imprisonment. Walter was born on October 27, 1941 and passed away on Wednesday, September 11, 2013. . Walter McMillian (left) and Bryan Stevenson after McMillians conviction was overturned in 1993. And he had an alibi: He was at a family fish fry the morning Ronda Morrison was murdered. McMillian. 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. He had a large, tight-knit family and several children with his wife. On Feb. 23, 1993, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals reversed McMillians conviction and ordered a new trial. Although there are still injustices for colored people in todays society, it Definitely has gotten better and Im glad that were working towards that. 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. But the overwhelming evidence of innocence ultimately forced the State to agree to drop the charges. 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. Thirty-six of the nearly two hundred convicts on death row are there because of override."[5]. You know theyll try to kill you if you actually get to the bottom of everything. 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." McMillian recalls his time there as a terrible experience. With his conviction overturned, Walter McMillian was released from death row in 1993. harrowing last words of 23 executed criminals. 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. Walter Miles McMillian's Geni Profile. This was Alabama in 1986. In 1988, Bryan Stevenson met Walter McMillian and began working to appeal his conviction and death sentence. 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. [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. Early History of the McMillan family. Our death penalty system treats you better if youre rich and guilty than if youre poor and innocent. Suddenly, State Troopers, city cars, sheriffs, and deputies surrounded his car. Stevenson tries to hasten, rushes to the courthouse to pick up the 35-page ruling in which the judge nullifies, Before a new trial can be scheduled, Stevenson files a motion to have all of, The morning of the hearing, Stevenson tells, A camera crew came to the U.S. to interview EJI and people theyd represented, including. "[6] He was held there, pre-trial, for 15 months. information about the Registry, Perjury or False Accusation, Official Misconduct. They had three children and lived in a dilapidated house in Repton, about 10 miles south of Monroeville. McMillian was then placed in a cell on death row where he waited for a year before his trial took place. Myers already pleaded guilty as an accomplice in Morrisons murder and received a 30-year prison sentence avoiding a possible death sentence for the Pittman murder. Jamie Foxx plays Walter McMillian in the film, Just Mercy. McMillians original attorneys in the trial, J.L. Resistance to acknowledging Mr. McMillians innocence was intense. Walter McMillian worked hard providing for his wife and their three children. 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. [13][5][Notes 2], The "jury ignored multiple alibi defense witnesses, who were black, who testified under oath that he was at a fish fry at the time of the crime. After he had decided to take the appeal, he got a phone call from Judge Key discouraging Stevenson from taking the case. Stevenson opens chapter five with over a page of direct quotations from McMillian's sister and other family members. on our list, Other 416 pp. The controversial case received national attention beginning in the fall of 1992. Select this result to view Walter McMillian's phone number, address, and more. 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]. . McMillian and his wife, Minnie, met when when they were teenagers and married after she became pregnant in 1962. One of his friends said they were working on that same truck that morning; the transmission was out of it. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. Set off a chain of events that changed mr. 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