ALIVE e.V.
Voices From Inside
 

Dear....

I would like for you to know that my heart and soul goes into each and everything that I approach. At this very moment all my words enter into your mind, my role purpose hopefully is to reach into your being, so that we can establish some form of communication

I want you to learn who I am, where I am and why I am, so that we can hopefully meet on common ground, not allowing color, weight, age, religious or any set standards to become a wedge between good people.

Prison undoubtedly is a terrible place to be under any circumstances, but even so I used it to my advantage by restructing some of my old habits. I have truly learnd to apreciate some of life's complex gifts.

I need a true friend who is willing to live life to the fulliest. someone who is not afraid to take a chance at friendship, someone who can share my dreams, someone who is honest and open minded.

If this describes you then please write to me. Before I go, I want to say that we all have had our encounters with life disappointments. However I hope you will not be disappointed if you decided to write me

Sincerely yours

Willie D. Minor  

Willie D. Minor
Z606  U - 9
Donaldson Corr. Facility
100 Warrior Lane
Bessemer, AL 35023-7299
USA

Introduction

Greetings. My Name is Willie D. Minor. A Tuscaloosa County Grand Jury indicted me for the murder of my son, E’bious Jennings. The indictment in this case charged me with the intentional murder of my son, a child under fourteen years of age, and thus a capital felony charge. On September 22, 1995, I entered a plea of not-guilty. On February 6, 2001, a jury returned a guilty verdict. On March 17, 2001, I was sentenced to death for a crime I did not commit.

Our press delights in frightening so-called model citizens with reports of crime until the public is influenced to the degree in style at the time. Few people are aware of the devastating and immoral acts of some politicians. In only a matter of minutes you can become aware of the total insanity of the judicial system’s need to incarcerate. We often hide behind the need for closure and justice, blinded to the outrageous behavior of our law enforcement officials and petty laws designed to break the poor.

Any assistance or support you may be able to give will be greatly appreciated. This is a matter of life and death. Thank you.

In Solidarity

Willie D. Minor

Questionable Evidence

• The state’s case against Minor was based on inconsistent, contradictory and confusing facts. First there is a lack of certainty as to the direct cause of the victim’s death. It is unclear whether the victim’s bone fractures were sustained the night he died or whether they were the result of earlier injuries. When the victim was treated in the emergency room the night of his death, a doctor examined the X-rays and remarked that the fractures looked old. During the trial, Lakeisha Jennings (the victim’s mother), admitted that E’bious had previously fallen off the couch on the day of his death.
     

• Also at the trial, a Dr. Evans testified that E’bious suffered at a minimum, three traumatic events including severe shaking, a blow or blows to the head, and a blow or blows to the abdomen, but that he didn’t obtain any external injuries. A Dr. Warner indicated that the cause of E’bious’ death was a blunt-force trauma to the head and chest, in addition to brain damage. However, a Dr. Whitley testified for the defense that neither the exact cause, nor time, of death could be determined. He stated that the nature of the injuries indicated that they occurred six to eight hours prior to E’bious’ being taken to the hospital. Minor was not present at that time, and did not have the child in his custody. Because the time of the injuries was not conclusively established, a question remains as to the circumstances surrounding the victim’s death.

Inconsistencies

• The testimony of the state’s main witness, Jennings, changed several times over the course of the investigation. Jennings made a statement after the victim’s death that Minor met her at the door holding the victim. At trial, however, she testified that the victim was lying in the bed when she came home.
     

• Jennings also stated that she never hit the victim’s head on the door frame on the way out of the apartment the night the victim died. However, Dr. Vetter, a state witness, testified that Jennings said the victim’s head had, in fact, hit the doorframe in her rush to the hospital. This is critical because other state witnesses testified that the victim’s injuries could be consistent with Jennings hitting the victim’s head on the doorframe.
     

• Several important state witnesses, including Jennings, "remembered" facts and evidence long after the victim’s death. Jennings’ testimony at the trial regarding how she and her mother waited for Minor in the car the night of the crime--allegedly showing Minor’s lack of concern-- was a recollection that came to her a month or two after the victim’s death which she did not report until the trial. Similarly, her recollections as to whether Minor met her at the door with the victim in her arms or whether the victim was lying in the bed occurred after her initial statements to the police. Indeed, it was not until Jennings realized that she was herself a suspect in her son’s death that she "remembered" the events of that clearly.
     

• Jennings gave a statement on videotape telling a homicide officer that Minor did not kill his son.
     

• Jennings’ younger sister, Latia Pitts, also recalled new details about the night of the victim’s death, despite the fact that she first gave a statement about those events some fourteen months after the fact. Although Pitts testified that E’bious was in her sister’s right arm, and that Jennings’ left arm hit the door, she did not provide the piece of information to the police until only a few days before trial.
     

• Homicide officer Stan Bush testified at a bond hearing that he did not have any eye witnesses, physical evidence, or any type of evidence to prove that Minor committed capital murder. However, at an evidence hearing he testified that he obtained physical evidence--a stick with blood on it, evidence that was later determined to be false.

Other Legal Injustices

• The state did not allow Minor to properly and fully present his defense. Defense witnesses were not allowed to testify against Jennings in regard to her child abuse of other children, including her daughter Raquel.
    

• The defense was not allowed to impeach Officer Bush or Dr. Warner on their credibility, although they both had records of bad acts against them.
    

• Jennings had an uncle employed by the Tuscaloosa Sheriff Department, and an aunt employed by the Tuscaloosa Police Department. This had a major influence on Jennings not being arrested and charged with her son’s death.
    

• Minor was told by Officer Bush that if he gave a statement saying that his son’s death was an accident, he would get the District Attorney to drop the charges against him so that he could make bond prior to trial.

These are just some of the examples of the unfair nature of Willie Minor’s conviction for the murder of a son that he loved.

For more information contact:

G. Darryl Reed
Sidley, Austin, Brown+Wood LLP
10.S Dearborn Street
Chicago, IL
60603
Phone 312-853-7000

Eamon P. Joyce
Sidley Austin LLP
787 Seventh Ave.
New York, NY
10019
Phone 212-839-5300

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