PHOTO: Tara Liddell
William Nieves, a former death row inmate, speaks to
students about the death penalty.
William Nieves can be contacted at:
215-537-1578
William Nieves sat on Death Row this
past February while a public hearing
before the Senate Judiciary Committee
was arguing the issue of possible
innocents being among this very
group. Many of us were calling for a
Moratorium on the Death Penalty
allowing more careful analysis. Nine
months later, William was delivered
into freedom. On November 21, 2000
in the Capital Rotunda, Mr. Nieves
stood alongside Jeff Garis, Ernie
Preate, Senators Helfrick and Kukovich
and others of us showing that not all
on Death Row are for certain guilty
and deserving of death by our public
hands.
This innocent 34 year old Philadelphia
man spent nearly 6 long years on
sterile Death Row before having the
fortune of an experienced lawyer and a
new trial. He was acquitted and
released in October after our PA
Supreme Court had ordered a retrial.
Many have great concern about the
inadequate legal representation and
prosecutorial misconduct that flaws
the system. There is great imbalance
between the wealth and resources
available to the prosecutors' side of
argument compared to the caliber of
legal representation many of these
offenders are limited to. If our state
wants to kill some of our neighbors,
the accused at least deserve effective
representation in capital cases. The
General Assembly approved $614,000
last May for the training of
Defense Lawyers in PCRA cases, but
it is now months later and none of
this money has been disbursed yet.
William Nieves was fortunate to
have a lawyer, but his original trial
used a divorce lawyer who never
before handled a criminal case. The
problem exists where there is gross
imbalance between attorneys
presenting their "cards" before the
court.
Thanks to recent DNA testing, the
investigative interests of university
students, and caring people
everywhere, dozens of innocent
inmates are gaining release in our
nation. This does not diminish the
much larger need to incarcerate
those who are guilty and violent for
whom alternative sanctions would
not currently be an option.
William Nieves was held on death row for six years before
a re-trial determined that he was, in fact, innocent.
Yesterday afternoon, Nieves addressed a casual group of
about 150 students in the Frizzell Room of the Eisenhower
Chapel. Many attended from campus groups.
"I have a common story to tell you today," Nieves said as
he began to speak.
Nieves said that he had been taking classes at the
Community College of Philadelphia for about two weeks
when Philadelphia Police Officers approached him for
questioning in connection with the Dec. 22, 1992 murder
of 21-year-old Eric McAiley.
"As it was almost a year after the event, I was unable to
provide an alibi," Nieves said.
Nieves had problems with his trial from the beginning. It
was the first capital case that his lawyer had ever handled.
"I was being represented by an attorney who was only
paid $2500 to represent me," said Nieves.
Nieves' trial lasted only two days before a jury found him
guilty of murder. The sole eyewitness testimony was from
a prostitute who had changed her story. A sentencing trial
placed him on death row.
Nieves staunchly maintained his innocence as he was
moved to the Pittsburgh State Correctional Institution to
live on death row. Once he arrived, he began to research
his own case. He found that he had been given ineffective
and incorrect legal council.
Nieves found new legal representation and began to seek
a re-trial.
In 1997 Nieves' original trial judge granted him a re-trial
based on his previously ineffective legal council.
The original prosecutor of the case fought the granted
re-trial, and the case was taken to the Pennsylvania
Supreme Court. On Feb. 17, 2000, the court upheld the
re-trial.
"It took the Supreme Court only three weeks to be
convinced that my trial council was ineffective," Nieves
said. "They decided that I was deprived of my
constitutional right to testify on my own behalf."
As the new trial progressed, Nieves said, he discovered
that the prosecutor had withheld crucial evidence that
would have helped him to prove his innocence.
"It was disturbing to know that the prosecutor had in his
possession the identity of an eye-witness who could prove
me innocent, yet it didn't bother him to re-prosecute me
and seek a second death sentence," Nieves said.
On Oct. 20, 2000, Nieves was found not guilty of the
crime. He had spent six years on death row.
"My daughter is now ten," Nieves said, "and she is having
difficulty drawing close to me."
He spoke about the changes and hardships his family had
gone through in his absence.
"It's like getting acquainted with a new family," Nieves
said.
After telling his story, Nieves began to speak about the
problems with the death penalty.
"When my re-trial was granted, my death warrant would
have been signed in 30 days, and I would have been killed
by lethal injection," Nieves said.
Nieves said that he understood that many prosecutors
tried to use the death penalty as a deterrent, but that it
wasn't working. He referred to the recent mass shooting in
Philadelphia, and the fact that the death penalty clearly
hadn't deterred anybody in that situation. He went on to
say that Pennsylvania is experiencing an increase in murder
crimes despite harsher penalties.
"Is the death penalty really the solution?" Nieves asked the
audience.
He said the death penalty is hypocritical, arbitrary and
racist, and that there was no place for it in American
society, ending with nods of agreement from audience
members.
The event was sponsored by Amnesty International, the
ACLU, Pax Christi, the United Campus Ministry and
Students for Life.
PHOTO: Tara Liddell
William Nieves, a former death row inmate, speaks to
students about the death penalty.
The CCADP offers free webpages to over 300 Death Row Inmates
Contact us for more information.
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