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"...DNA tests show the hairs used to link him
to the crime did not belong to the victim..."
Michayl Rivera
Florida Death Row
News About Michayl's
Case
Key witness and Jail House informant Lied - DNA evidence is also now in question |
Examples Of Michayl's Crocheted
Items
"I'm an excellent crocheter so if you'd
like anything such as an afghan, baby blanket, baby booties,
baby bonnets or some types of sweaters, contact me and we can work something
out."
( Florida DOC no longer permits prisoners to make art and crafts - these
items are no longer available.)
|
Letter to clemency board
from Michayl's mother
There are
a few errors but for the most part it is correct, especially the part about
my innocence.
Since my conviction I've
been appealing my case with limited, short lived successes here and there.
Since I'm indigent I've been represented by a State agency.
The attorney's there are overworked and underpaid, sometimes handling up
to 20 death cases at one time ! Unheard of. There
is also a high turnover rate. Please take the time to read trhe following
article on CCRC (Capital Collateral Regional Councel) reported in the Florida
Bar News p.12 June 15 1998. Nothing has changed since then.
|
Article
on CCRC from Florida Bar News
Funding for
the CCRC has not been significantly increased as recommended. I sincerely
believe that the attorneys want to do good. But the caseload
and bureaucracy stunts their efforts. Thus my appeal to everyone for
donations to help me obtain private counsel and or investigators.
There are some areas that need investigating that have been left dormant
for reasons unknown. Most likely "allocation of resources."
If you don't think innocent people are executed, read the following article
from the Associated Press, December 24, 1998.
|
Associated Press - Dec 24, 1988
|
" . . . Just so you know where state Rep. Victor Crist, R-
Temple Terrace is coming from,
he was once quoted as saying, ' We should have electric
bleachers...' That
guy's a trip . . .
"...The media
was told blond hair was found in one of the cars,
but they were not told it was dog hair belonging to our dog Bugsy. "
- Excerpts From A Letter his mother wrote to the clemency
board in 1990
LEGAL DEFENSE FUND (L.D.F) Information
Thank you for stopping by my LDF page. Inside
you will find information on how and where to send donations.
Fund administration will be available upon request. You
will also find enclosed evidence examples.
I came to Florida's death row in 1987 for
a crime I did not commit, the murder of a precious young girl.
A horrible crime by any account which inflames a whole
community and makes it extremely difficult for true justice
to be performed. Since arriving here I've recognized that
only those blessed with earthly riches, able to afford private
representation at the trial and appellate levels, ever get
any real protections against wrongful convictions and / or constitutional
violations. I'm unable to afford such protections and
so have been represented by overworked, underpaid attorneys working
for a state agency. The legislature even tried passing a bill
that limited appellate time frames ONLY for those represented
by these state agencies, not those represented by private counsel
! Clearly if you are indigent the legislature feels you do
not have the same rights as non indigents. I'm in need of a skilled
private counsel as my case is a tedious complicated one.
Although I am INNOCENT of the crime I am here
for I have been in trouble in the past so my case is not a "pretty"
one. If I gain relief on the death conviction I'll still
have time to do on a former conviction which is very weak itself.
This means no photo ops for any firm that may take my case, which
means its is very unlikely a firm would take my case pro bono (legal term
for "free"). I've been trying.
Thus it is imperative to raise funds in order
to hire a firm to handle my case. With this in mind I've
established the MICHA'EL RIVERA LDF (legal defense fund). Any
amount contributed would be very helpful and appreciated. Donating
anonymously is fine although knowing who the donor is will give
me the opportunity to thank you. I will acknowledge all known
donations...even if I must sell a desert for a stamp to do so.
If you are reading this from another country
that english is not the primary language please consider translating
this text and mailing it to me so I can also post that translation
in your native language.
If you have skills in fundraising,please do so.
If you know people with kind hearts who care about justice
share this information with them. Please help get the word
out any way you can. Contact local church groups, synagogues,
civil rights organizations, benevolent associations, etc...If
anyone is aware of any fund set up for this type situation,
contact them or contact me and let me know about them.
New general greeting cards, postcards and stamps
are very helpful as well. Up to 10 greeting cards and
/ or 10 postcards allowed per mailing. Up to 20 first class
stamps or the equivalent thereof allowed per mailing. These
items can be sent to the UCI address.
I close with the hope that everyone's righteous
endeavours will be blessed with unheralded success. SHALOM
DEFENSE FUND INFORMATION - PLEASE
HELP
Money orders, Cashiers checks or checks made
payable to:
MICHAEL RIVERA LDF
Mail to :
NAVY FEDERAL
c/o ER BROWNFIELD
1241 SPRING CIRCLE DRIVE
CORAL SPRINGS, FLORIDA
33071 USA
Money orders and cashiers checks can be mailed
directly to me.
Be sure my name and DOC number is on it. (Miche'al Rivera
640779)
Mail to:
Micha'el Rivera 640779
U.C.I P5217
7819 NW 228 St
Raiford, Florida
32026 USA
EVIDENCE EXAMPLES OF MURDER CASE
* Three (3) jailhouse
(lying) informants (snitches) in varying ways said I confessed
to them. They all recieved some type of sentencing reductions
in their cases although they testified that no promises were made
to that effect.
One person from jail testified that he knew of
the 3's scheme to "burn Mike." And since then, in 1995,
another person came forward that was in the jail at the time and
he said "I contacted the Broward County Sheriff's office because
I knew that I coul get a deal if I gave them information about Michayl
Rivera. The information that I told the police was false. They
told me what to say about Michayl Rivera's case and I was promised
a deal if I cooperated...all of us at the Broward County Jail were
reading about MR's case in the newspaper and heard about it on the television.
Most of the information all of us provided we got through television
and newspapers. EVEN THOUGH I DIDN'T TESTIFY AT THE TRIAL, THE
STATE GAVE ME A DEAL IN THIS CASE FOR THE INFORMATION THEY TOLD
ME TO PROVIDE ABOUT MICHAEL RIVERA" (emphasis added). Presumably
they gave him a deal anyway to keep him quiet. He was, for 8
years.
* There are
no eyewitnesses.
*There are three
(3) women who testified as to phone calls they recieved from
someone "confessing" to the crime. These calls were uncontested
but were presented as mere fantasy by the defense. What
was said in the calls and the facts of the crime do not match up.
Example : A) Ascertained by the calls is that the
victim was rendered unconcious by an ether soaked rag. No
rag was presented at trial. No ether was presented at trial.
Fat and muscle tissues were never examined for any ether deposits.
There were tests done on fat tissues from the victim for
any chemicals that may be related to a can of lacquer thinner found
in a van purportedly used to commit the crime.
Chemicals found in muscle tissue of victim
Chemicals found
in fat tissue of victim
Chemicals found in a can of lacquer thinner
1. Ethanol
1. Methanethiol
1. Toluene
2. Acetone
2. Ethanol
2. Methyl cyclohexene
3. Isopropanol
3. Acetone
3. 2-Propyl
4. Normal propanol
4. Isopropanol
4. 1-Heptanol
5. Trichlorofluoroethane
5. Nomal propanol
5. 4-Methyl
6. Isobutanol
6. Trichlorofluoroethane
6. 2-Pentanone
7. Ethyl acetate
7. Ethyl acetate
7. 2-Butoxyethanol
8. Normal butanol
8. Normal Butanol
8.
Acetone
9. Isovaleraldehyde
9. Isovaleraldehyde
9. Isopropanol
10. Butonic acid
10. Dimethlyl disulfide
10.
Methyl ethyl ketone
11. Ethyl ester
11. Ethyl ester of butanic
acid
11. Cyclohexene
12. Toluene
12. 1,1-Dimethyl cyclopentane
13.
1,2-Dimethyl cyclopentane
14.
2-Methylhexane
15.
2,4-Dimethylhexane
16.
2,3-Dimethylhexane
17.
3,4 Dimethylhexane
18.
2-Methylheptane
Matching chemicals muscle
/ fat tissue of victim to that of components found in lacquer thinner
1. Acetone
2. Isopropanol
3. Toluene
In control samples (of muscle and fat) from people
who have been known to die of natural causes some or all
of the three (3) above components have been found.
There were five (5) control samples.
Control Sample
#1
Control Sample #2
Control Sample #3
Control Sample #4
Control Sample #5 ____
1. Acetone
1. Acetone
1. Acetone
1. None found
1. Acetone
2. Isopropanol
2. Toluene
2. Toluene
2. Isopropanol
Remember, these are control samples from people who are known
to have died via natural causes ! Therefore finding them in
the victim to the instant case is really of no significance.
There was absolutely zero components from the lacquer thinner found
in the victim that were not found in the control samples.
B) The use of a van was alluded to in the phone calls.
The state decided to focus on an associate van that I had
access to and used on occasion. The owner of the van testified
during the grand jury investigation (for purposes of indictment)
that I did not have use of the van during the time in question.
Sadly, my attorney failed to locate this person,
and so he never testified to this fact at trial. The state
presented the van and "evidence" within (lacquer thinner) anyway,
although they knew about this.
My attorney could have entered the van owners grand jury testimony
into evidence but DID NOT ! Since then we have located
the van owner and although his statements are somewhat inconsistent
to when I actually had the van they are all constant in one respect...THAT
I DID NOT HAVE POSSESSION OR CONTROL OF THE VAN AT THE
TIME IN QUESTION.
C) The recipients of the phone calls testified
that the caller said the victim was wearing "silky" shorts. The
victim was actually wearing long legged blue jeans and a long sleeve
jacket with a zipper.
D) One recipient of phone calls clais the caller
claimed to have concealed the victim in Lake Okeechobee. (Lake
Okeechobee is a huge fresh water lake in central Florida apprx.
60 miles from where the victim was found. Lake Okeechobee is
40 miles across at one point.) The victim was found in a field
unconcealed and not so near a stream of water which the prosecutor
contends is meant by Lake Okeechobee. The witness was coached
to give an opinion to "how" it was said. Like it was said quickly
and "off the top of the head." Like it was not true.
* Old, severely weathered adult magazines (2 or 3)
were found in the vicinity of the victim's body. Prosecution
claimed they could have come from my residence as they found a
stack of them under the sink in the lavatory and ascribede ownership
to me. That is the family home and although I did look
at them I did not own them, my brother did.
I can say I've never purchased one. More to
the point...the evidence is vaguely circumstantial and should not
have been allowed. It was testified to that the area was used
as a quasi dumping ground for trash, and so the prosecution had boxes
of this trash lined up against the wall to make it appear that they
had a mountain of evidence. This case was weak and restorted to
this type, "smoke and mirrors".
* Another part of their case was to play on the jury's
emotions. showing an overabundance of victim photographs...decomposed.
Not only that, they even provided a video show of the dead
body, including aerial shots.
This is the evidence that proved my guilt "beyond a reasonable
doubt". I was defending myself with a state appointed attorney
5 years out of law school - posibly with his first death case and
severely limited resources against a beast with UNLIMITED resources
and no trouble prosecuting a person that they may have believed to
be innocent. This is the type of "hard evidence" that is needed
to put someone to death.
Following is another tidbit of hard evidence.
* During interrogation a detective walks in and states
(actually lies...they are allowed to do that during investigation).
"We have a technique to recover prints off of clothes and skin
and we have your prints." I answered sarcastically, "Yeah, I
bet you do", thinking these guys are setting me up for sure. As
it turns out they were.
This same detective testified (lied - again) at trial
of the "unusualness" of my response, like I really thought they
had my prints on the body and or clothes.
I clearly responded with a sarcastic tone. More
of their "hard" evidence to put someone to death. Tones
and opinions.
HELLO!
I'm 5'11", 165 lbs, born 6.25.62. I would love to connect
with a woman who cares about the larger world while at the same
time would like a close, loving, intimate relationship or friendship.
Would like to be able to share the things I love and develop
new interests by sharing your favorite things. I have no one
and seek to connect with that one special person. I seek friendship
as well, male or female. Torah observant.
Michayl Rivera
640779
P5217
Union Correctional Institution
7819 N.W. 228th St.
Raiford, FL 32026
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This page was
last updated July 7, 2003
Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty
This page is maintained and updated by Dave Parkinson
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