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Genzler was convicted of the murder of Dusty Harless, 25.  In college, Harless was an AAU National Wrestling Champion.  He worked as a wakeboard (surfboard) salesman, and was a world-class wakeboarder.  He was apparently very popular as hundreds showed up at his funeral.  After midnight one Saturday night, Harless walked with his girlfriend, Sky Flanders, to a nearby liquor store with the intention of hailing a cab.  Because it was raining, Flanders ran up ahead to get out of the rain.  Genzler was driving by and stopped his car to ask if she needed a ride or, according to some, made a lewd comment.  He was not aware that she was with Harless.  Harless went around to the driver’s side of the car to talk to Genzler and an altercation ensued.  Harless ended up with a four-inch stab wound that cut his aorta, the massive artery that carries blood from the heart.  He soon bled to death.  Genzler drove off.

Flanders got Genzler’s license plate number, which police traced, but Genzler was not immediately found.  When Genzler turned himself in, he refused to tell police the location of his car or give them the clothes he was wearing.  These however were eventually located.  Genzler, 25, was a finance student at San Diego State University.  He was thin, wore glasses and did not look like a person who would start a fight or readily stab another.  At trial, Flanders painted Genzler as the aggressor.  A motorist, Scott Davis, who worked as a bouncer and knew Harless, had stopped to view the conflict.  He testified he saw Genzler punch Harless in the face, knocking him on his back.  He then saw Genzler straddle Harless and stab him in the chest.  Davis said he fled because Genzler threatened him too.

Genzler said Harless had pulled him out of his car, wrestled him down, and pinned him face forward to the ground.  He said that Davis was not a bystander but an active participant, who kicked him repeatedly while he was on the ground.  Genzler said that while pinned he grabbed a knife from his pocket and blindly thrust backward, stabbing Harless.  However, Genzler’s shirt had far more blood on the front than the back, making it appear he was lying.  He was sentenced to 20 years to life imprisonment.

In retrospect, the state’s case rested on the implausibility of a relative weakling starting a fight with a wrestling champion, bringing him to the ground, stabbing him without provocation, then scaring away a bouncer.  Following conviction, witnesses came forward who stated that Harless was a brawler who started fights easily.  Toxicology reports indicated that Harless was legally intoxicated at the time of his death with a .12 blood alcohol level.  He also had traces of marijuana in his system.  In addition, the defense discovered Flanders initially gave a different version of events than what she testified to a trial.  She had stated initially that Harless had pinned Genzler to the ground and that she thought Genzler had stabbed Harless because Harless would not let him up.  Flanders subsequently admitted she was coached to lie at trial.  Although she had testified otherwise, she admitted knowing Harless had beaten another man badly with little provocation and that she heard reports of him doing that to others.

Genzler’s defense developed a way to explain the blood evidence on his shirt.  Apparently, when cut, the aorta does not spurt blood continuously, but only when the heart beats.  After Genzler stabbed Harless, Harless backed off allowing Genzler room to quickly turn around.  There was a large amount of blood on the shoulder of Genzler's shirt that apparently came out while Genzler was turning around.  Then Genzler was face forward with Harless as Harless continued to bleed before the two separated and Genzler left in his car.  At retrial in Aug 2000, the new evidence was presented.  A Hall of Fame wrestling coach testified that Genzler’s detailed description of how he was pinned accurately described how a trained wrestler would pin an opponent.  A forensic animation was presented that showed how Harless was stabbed and how his blood fell on Genzler’s shirt.  The retrial jury acquitted Genzler of murder, but convicted him of the much lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter. Genzler was sentenced to 6 years in prison, most of which he had already served.  He was released in March 2001.  (Forensic Files: Pinned By The Evidence)  (SD Union-Tribune)  [1/08]

John and Coke Brite, brothers, were convicted of the murders of deputy sheriffs Martin Lange and Joseph Clarke, as well as the murder of Captain Fred Seaborn, a U.S. Navy officer. The Brites, who were gold prospectors, returned to a cabin on their rented land, where their parents stayed, and then headed out again. At nightfall they set up camp on the land of a neighbor, B. F. Decker, and went to bed. Two intruders then entered their camp, another neighbor, Charley Baker, and his friend, Fred Seaborn. At trial, Baker alleged they were looking for a strayed horse that Baker owned. It was later learned that Baker had been using the cabin on the Brites’ property for rent-free storage and had motive to drive the Brites from their land. Baker and Seaborn picked a fight with the Brites, which proved to be a mistake as the Brites made quick work of them. Baker then went to a judge and talked him into issuing warrants charging the Brites with assault.

Baker got the deputy sheriffs to depart from normal procedure and serve the warrants by sneaking into the Brites’ camp the same night at 1 a.m. Later, the brothers said they fought for their lives, thinking Baker had brought a gang to attack them. Neighbors reported hearing a “roar of gunfire.” The deputies and Seaborn ended up dead, but Baker escaped unharmed.

Following the killings there was great local sentiment against the Brites. A posse was sent to find them with orders to “shoot on sight and shoot to kill.” Even if the brothers escaped the posse, it seemed most likely they would be lynched. After interviewing Baker and other witnesses, the district attorney, James Davis, did not like what he was hearing. He concluded that even if everything Baker had told him was the truth, the brothers had acted in self-defense. Davis then arranged for the brothers to turn themselves in and spirited them out of the county.

Davis refused to prosecute the brothers. However, a grand jury indicted them and appointed a special prosecutor. The Brites were convicted of first-degree murder and initially sentenced to death. Baker gave many inconsistent and contradictory statements about the night of the killings. However, all his stories indicated that the deputies successfully snuck up on the Brites and were on top of them, clubbing them with blackjacks. It was not clear how the Brites could have resisted. The brothers did not remember anything about the killings other than the initial clubbing and finding dead bodies around them later. The brothers' report seems especially credible in the case of John Brite whose behavior immediately following the killings indicated he was clubbed somewhat senseless.

The case later came to the attention of a program called “The Court of Last Resort” in which wrongfully convicted prisoners’ cases were studied and reported on in Argosy Magazine. In its investigation Argosy found evidence that Baker never mentioned and took some steps to deny. The brothers had a good-sized dog with them named Smoky. Both the Brites and a neighbor, B. F. Decker, stated that the dog was in the Brites’ camp. Decker distinctly remembered the dog barking shortly before the shooting. It was a peculiar growling bark that a dog makes when it is engaged in some sort of struggle.

During the assault, the dog grabbed hold of the back of Deputy Clarke’s coat while he was blackjacking Coke Brite. The dog brought Clarke to his knees and pulled the end of the coat over his head. At this point, Clarke’s rump was higher than his head. In an attempt to stop the dog, a member of the Baker party apparently fired a shot at the dog and missed. The bullet entered the base of Clarke’s spine and exited out his right shoulder.

At the Brites’ trial it was alleged that all bullets fired in the melee were fired from the Brites’ rifle. However, recovered shell casings indicate that only two bullets were fired from the rifle. In addition, the base of the rifle was used as a club, indicating the Brites had run out of ammunition. The bullet that hit Seaborn and the bullet that hit the leg of Officer Lange could have come from the Brites’ rifle. At trial the Brites were convicted of first-degree murder for firing two shots though Officer Lange’s forehead as he lay on the ground. Evidence, however, indicates that these shots could not have been fired from the Brites’ rifle, nor could the shots have been fired while Lange was on the ground. Evidence also indicates that another shot, from a rifle, had been fired from outside the Brites’ camp towards the location of the Brites.

After Argosy magazine printed its investigation of the Brites’ case, it became clear to authorities that the brothers could not be guilty of first-degree murder. In Sept. 1951 the Brites were released on parole.  (CLR) (Sacramento Bee) (People v. Brite)  [6/08]

Patrick Eugene "Hooty" Croy was sentenced to death for the murder of Bo Hittson, a Yreka police officer. A weekend of partying led to an ill-fated shoot-out between police and a group of Native Americans, including Croy. Croy was convicted of attempted robbery, conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, assault, and the murder of the police officer.

In 1985, California Supreme Court overturned most of Croy's convictions. The Court found that the trial judge had read the wrong instructions to the jury, allowing the jury to convict Croy of robbery even if he did not intend to steal. Because the murder conviction was based on the theory that Croy had intentionally committed a robbery that had caused the officer's death, the murder conviction was reversed.

At retrial in 1990, Croy’s defense presented evidence that Croy acted in self-defense during the shoot-out, including evidence that Croy himself was shot twice during the altercation, expert testimony regarding the antagonistic relationship between law enforcement and local Native Americans at the time of the crime, and that Officer Hittson had a blood alcohol level of .07 at his time of death. Croy was acquitted of all charges for which he was tried, based on self-defense. The trial court entered a finding that, if the conspiracy and assault charges had been included in the retrial, Croy would have been acquitted of them as well. Croy was resentenced on these charges and was released on parole.

In 1997, Croy violated parole and was given an indeterminate life sentence. In 2005, Croy’s original conspiracy and assault convictions were also overturned. The state decided not to appeal and Croy was freed in Mar. 2005. He had served 19 years in prison, 7 of them on death row.  (Source)  [6/08]

Maye, a black man, was sentenced to death for the murder of a white police officer.  One night while the 21-year-old Maye was drifting off to sleep in front of a television, a violent pounding on his front door awakened him.  It sounded as though someone was trying to break it down.  He retrieved his handgun and went to the bedroom where his 14-month-old daughter was sleeping and got down on the floor next to the bed.  He hoped the noises would go away, but they shifted around to the back of the house, where after a loud crash, Maye’s rear door was violently flung open, nearly separating it from its hinges.  After someone kicked open the bedroom door, Maye fired three shots.  The next thing Maye heard is someone scream, “Police!  Police!  You just shot an officer!”  Maye then dropped his gun and surrendered.  The shot officer, Ron Jones, was wearing a bulletproof vest, but one of Maye’s bullets hit him just below the vest and proved fatal.  Jones was the son of the town’s police chief.

Maye was severely beaten after his arrest.  Police denied this charge, but a press photo shows him with a swollen black eye.  Maye’s family was prohibited from seeing him for more than a week -- long enough for his bruises to heal.  Police had raided Maye’s duplex because a reputed drug dealer – a person Maye had never met – lived in an adjoining half of the duplex.  A confidential informant said there were large stashes of marijuana in both halves of the duplex.  Only the remains of a smoked joint were found in Maye’s duplex.  Maye had no criminal record and police did not know his name prior to the drug raid.  Maye’s conviction has provoked outrage not only by liberals concerned about racially charged Southern Justice, but also by conservative supporters of the right to bear arms.  Maye’s death sentence was overturned in Sept. 2006.  (Reason)  [4/07]

Johnnie Beck, 18, used a hunting rifle to shoot twice into the chest of Jeffery Watts, 19, in the parking lot of a Whiteville Burger King.  Watts had just stabbed Johnnie’s twin, Ronnie Beck, three times in the chest and once in the arm, just before turning on Johnnie and slicing off his left thumb.  Johnnie was charged with second-degree murder as the state argued that the second shot was premeditated murder, even though it was fired only one to two seconds after the first.  Watts happened to be a relative of state senator R.C. Soles.  There was a last minute change of judges before trial and the trial was marked by jury tampering.  The defense argued self-defense, but Beck was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to a minimum of 10 years imprisonment.

Beck was released in June 2006 after the charge was reduced to manslaughter and he was released with time served. Beck's father spent half-a-million dollars on lawyers and investigators before successfully having his son's murder conviction set-aside.  (Blue Line Radio)  [3/07]

Manning was convicted of the third-degree murder of Harry Burley Jr.  Burley, 30, was fatally stabbed at a Sunoco gas station on Route 611 in Scotrun.  Burley was the boyfriend of Manning’s stepsister.  On Route 611 Burley and his friend Tyrone Bass, 30, were behind Manning in Bass’ car, and after Manning, then age 27, stopped for gas at the Sunoco, Bass and Burley pulled in behind him.  At trial, witnesses disputed events, but apparently Burley and Manning wrestled and punched each other for nearly two minutes.

The prosecution portrayed Manning as the aggressor, allegedly chasing Burley around Bass’s car despite the fact that Bass and Burley followed Manning into the gas station.  The prosecution also alleged that Manning produced a knife and was chasing Burley with it before stabbing him.  Manning claimed that Burley produced the knife and that Burley used it to slash at him.  Manning had cuts on his left hand that he said were from warding off the Burley’s slashes.  He said he managed to take possession of the knife, but he does not recall ever stabbing Burley with it.  He said he drove off unaware that Burley was fatally wounded.

The prosecution and its witnesses appeared to withhold two pieces of evidence:  what Bass saw and who held the knife.  Despite knowing that there was going to be some altercation, Bass claimed not to have witnessed much of the fight, and instead said he put his car seat back and turned up the car stereo.  One might presume that there was some improper behavior on Burley’s part that Bass did not want to reveal.  Secondly, the prosecution found fingerprints on the knife handle, but refused to determine who the prints belonged to, other than acknowledging that they did not belong to Manning.  The prosecution thus left open the possibility that they belonged to Burley and that Burley had initiated a knife attack on Manning.

Manning did not seem entirely truthful in claiming ignorance about how Burley was stabbed, but the worst case, and most plausible scenario is that Manning acted in self-defense and stabbed Burley.  Self-defense is allowed under the law and is not considered murder.  Manning was sentenced to 12 to 30 years in prison.  In 2002, an appeals court overturned Manning’s conviction because the prosecutor made a prejudicial statement during his closing argument.  In 2004 it was reported that Manning pleaded guilty to a voluntary manslaughter charge that carried a four to eight year sentence.  Since Manning had already served more than the minimum four years, he was placed on parole.  (Manning Website) (Patrick Crusade)  [7/07]

Gary Michael Benn was sentenced to death for the shooting murders of his half-brother, Jack Dethlefsen, and his half-brother's friend, Michael Nelson.  The shootings occurred in Dethlefsen’s house.  At trial Benn did not testify directly, but he made statements to a third party who testified to his version of events.  According to this version, the killings were in self-defense.  Benn’s version was reasonably corroborated by the position of the bodies relative to the guns in the house.  The killings were presumably not premeditated as Benn did not use his own gun, but had left it in his car.  Dethlefsen had a reputation for violence.

The prosecution presented another version of events through the testimony of Roy Patrick, a jailhouse informant, who shared a cell with Benn as he was awaiting trial.  According to Patrick, Benn had perpetrated two insurance scams together with Dethlefsen and Nelson involving the burglary and arson of Benn’s trailer.  Benn allegedly refused to share the proceeds of these scams with Dethlefsen and Nelson, and then killed them because they threatened to disclose the crimes to the police.  Benn did report a burglary on Oct. 12, 1987 and had a fire on Dec. 11, 1987.  There was some dubious evidence presented that these events occurred for insurance fraud purposes, but explanations for this evidence emerged after trial.

In 2002, the Federal Ninth District Court overturned Benn’s conviction because of multiple Brady violations, which were failures by the prosecution to turn over exculpatory evidence.  Patrick’s identity was not disclosed to the defense until the day before trial.  The prosecutor had told the defense that it could not disclose his identity because he was in the witness protection program.  However, Patrick was never in such a program.

The prosecution failed to inform the defense of extensive evidence that would have severely undermined Patrick’s credibility as a witness.  One example: a week before trial, Patrick received $150 from detectives in advance payment for a nonexistent videotape that Patrick said would show Benn committing one of the Green River serial killings.  The Court characterized Patrick as “completely unreliable, a liar for hire, [and] ready to perjure himself for whatever advantage he could squeeze out of the system.”  The prosecution also failed to turn over a fire investigator’s report that conclusively stated that the fire in Benn’s trailer was accidental and could not have resulted from arson.  Benn was scheduled for retrial in Sept. 2003.  (Benn v. Lambert)  [7/07]