ALIVE
e.V.
Voices From Inside
James during visitation on Aug. 9, 2001
Band "Heathrow" performing in San Francisco in October 2004 -
wearing "Free James Anderson"-T-Shirt
ALIVE Chairwoman P.E. Herrmann at the members meeting 2003
-
wearing a pendant James Anderson created for ALIVE e.V.
While returning to Las Vegas, Nevada (home) as a passenger in a vehicle driven and owned by Fred Anders (along with his sister Sheila Lynn Anders) Fred exited the Freeway to turn around and approached a vehicle at/on the side of the Freeway with its hood up. Two (2) females were in/at the disabled car. Fred, Sheila and I exited Fred’s car (’68 Mercury Station Wagon) and approached the disabled vehicle. The two females had exited their car. The younger female was explaining what had happened to their car. Fred and I looked at the motor for any visible problems. I couldn’t find any, Fred continued to look and touch different parts of the motor (while talking wit the two females).
Fred Anders returned to his vehicle and retrieved a few tools from a toolbox in the back of his station wagon, then returned to the disabled car. Sheila Anders and I sat on the tailgate of the station wagon (which was perhaps 8 – 10 feet in front of the disabled car) talking about Las Vegas, Baltimore etc…
After 5 – 10 Minutes had passed, Fred returned to his car, stated that he couldn’t fix their car, but that they had relatives that lived a few miles up the Freeway on Dillion Road. Fred, the younger female (Donna Coselman), Sheila and I got into Fred’s car and returned to the Freeway, heading west on I-10. The elder female wished to remain at their disabled vehicle to prevent vandals.
Fred Anders (driving his vehicle) exited the Freeway on the Dillon Rd. exit, stopped at the gas station for gas and water (I bought a Soda from a coke machine) than preceded for a short distance on Dillon Rd. He turned onto a dirt toad and drove until he came to a small trailer, which had a tricycle and other small children’s toys lying on the ground. As Fred, the younger woman, Sheila and I exited the car, the younger female (Donna Coselman) became concerned about leaving her grandmother (the elder female – Louise Flannagan) at the disabled car alone, and asked if I’d return to pick up her grandmother, to which I stated that I would. Fred conveyed Donna’s wish to bring the grandmother.
Sheila Anders and I returned to the station wagon and left the area, leaving Fred and Donna Coselman alone. We returned to the disabled vehicle to find the elder female still sitting in the car. I informed her that her granddaughter was concerned about her safety and requested that I bring her to the location off of Dillon Rd. She appeared to understand, so I assisted her in locking up the disabled car. Then we proceeded to return to the exact location at which Sheila and I had left Fred Anders and Donna Coselman.
We (Sheila, Louise Flannagan and myself) arrived at the same location and I honked the horn of the car several times in an effort to let them know that we had returned. After several minutes passed, I honked the horn again several times, but neither Fred nor Donna returned to the car.
After looking around the immediate area for a minute or so, I noticed that there were footprints on the ground and began to follow the footprints up the dirt access road (see red X and arrow on page 7 of police reports by J. Duncan), Sheila and Louise Flannagan had just gotten out of the car as I began following the footprints up the Access Road. I returned to the car and drove it a short distance up the dirt access road to the last place I had seen footprints on the road.
I followed the footprints up the access road and into the Orange Grove, where I discovered Fred Anders standing over Donna Coselman. Coselman was on her knees immediately in front of Fred Anders. I interrupted them by simply stating that “we are back” and left them as I had found them, as I wasn’t quite sure of what I had seen “or thought I had seen”. But as I approached the dirt access road, I was certain that I had seen the young woman’s hands behind her back (tied) and went back to where they were to be sure.
When I returned, I found the young woman lay on the ground. Fred Anders was not with her. I called out Fred’s name loudly, but there was no response, nor did the woman move or attempt to stand up… which I found was strange. I proceeded in the direction that she was lying and discovered that her hands were in fact tied behind her back. I shook her shoulder in an effort to get her attention, or perhaps wake her. It was then that I realized that she wasn’t breathing, and yelled for Fred Anders several times – with no response.
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Shortly after yelling for Fred, I heard his car start, and realized what had been obviously taken place. I ran through the Orange Grove towards (CID Labor Camp Rd. – See Police Reports – Page 7 Diagram Map ) the dirt road, but by the time that I reached the road, all I could see was dust. Fred had left the crime scene obviously driving very fast. |
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Being more than confused and frightened, I ran back through the Orange Grove trying to locate Sheila and the elder woman, while yelling Sheila’s name. I finally found her (Sheila) standing on the access road, not far from where the car had been parked, and informed her of what I had seen, including the fact that “Fred had left al of us there in the Orange Grove.”
Sheila seemed to be equally surprised at first, then reminded me of a conversation that she and I had had a week or so before, wherein she had informed me that Fred had raped his own nine (9) year old daughter, and that the mother of the child had threatened and warned Fred (who she was or had been in a relationship with) that if he didn’t leave town and never attempt to return or contact them, that she would have Fred arrested and prosecuted for raping their child, and of course, Fred left town. Sheila and I briefly discussed this previous conversation, as well as Fred having place his arm around Sheila (with his hand simply hanging down) in an inappropriate matter while Fred, Sheila and myself were enroute to California from Las Vegas.
I then ask Sheila where the elder woman was. She said that the last time she (Sheila) saw her she had just entered the Orange Grove looking for her granddaughter. So Sheila and I began walking in the direction that she had pointed to – down the access road – towards the CID Labor Camp Rd.
We found the location that the grandmother had gone into the Orange Grove and followed footprints a short distance into the grove, but the footprints disappeared into barely visible long marks. I followed the marks up to tree where they completely disappeared. It was at this point that I discovered the elder woman, who “appeared” to be resting under the tree, but upon closer inspection I could see that she was actually suspended by another length of rope, which was tied to the branches of tree.
I immediately called Sheila, whom was standing a few feet away and viewed what I’d discovered. She didn’t seem to be quite surprised as I was and said “I think he did it because he hate seeing me with a black man, but I didn’t think he’d do anything like this to get me away from you.”
Being somewhat surprised at her response and confused as to what to do. I informed Sheila that I was going to return to Las Vegas and began walking out of the Orange Grove towards the Freeway. Sheila caught up with me and began walking beside me, and talking about the incident of Fred and his raping his daughter and how little she knew about him. We reached Dillion Road and began waking southeast toward the Freeway.
Walking towards the westbound on ramp to interstate 10 I notices a police patrol car passing, but as I was confused and frightened, I didn’t stop the police and continued walking until reaching the westbound on ramp. After waiting for a few minutes and seeing that there was no traffic, I and Sheila continued walking on Dillion Road in search of finding a small town or community, but I had to rest (as I have a “metal pin” which was inserted into the bone of my right leg many years ago) and decided to rest for a few minutes under a short bridge which was/is located a short distance from freeway on ramp.
After resting for perhaps ten minutes I decided that it would be best if I were to try to walk back to the service station to place a phone call to Las Vegas for a friend to come to the service Station to pick both Sheila and myself up and return to Las Vegas. As Sheila and I were walking towards the service station – a short distance from the bridge. A fast moving car approached and skidded to a stop – with the passenger side door and a man pointing a pistol at me. The man identified himself as a police officer and ordered me to “place my hand on my head and lay down on the ground”, both Sheila and myself complied with the order.
I was then handcuffed and read the Miranda Rights by the police officer and placed in the rear seat of the police car – along with Sheila – and driven to the Coachella Police Station. At the police station I was asked if I knew anyone named Fred Anders and informed that he had told the police and detectives “he had been a witness to my raping a woman in an Orange Grove.” I responded to the officer by stating that I hadn’t raped or ever touched anyone, and that someone should talk to Fred again.
Another officer entered the room and spoke briefly with the officer that had been talking to me, the officer returned to me and informed me that a woman’s body had been found in the Orange Grove and that I was being arrested and charged for the murder. After being questioned for an hour or so I signed a statement, which stated that I had NOT committed any crimes against any person(s) nor did I have any information or knowledge of any crimes having been committed.
An officer then confiscated my shoes, jewellery, money and wallet and “supposedly” placed these items into evidence – it should be noted that at the end of the 1979 trial, the judge released all of my jewellery, money, wallet and clothing expect my shoes – as the district attorney’s investigation disclosed, that all of the items belonged to me.
A female detective informed me that Sheila Anders had given her a statement, which confirmed that I DID NOT and “COULD NOT HAVE” committed any crimes, but the she needed to get a statement from me for the record. I repeated the statements that I had previously made to the officer that had initially questioned me. The female detective (Betty Byers) also inquired as to whether or not I had any knowledge about Sheila having a knife or any jewellery. I responded that “I had never seen her with a knife and that she had several pieces of jewellery from the first day that I had met her several months previously.”
A short time later, I was placed in a police car and transported to the Indio City Jail and booked into the jail, charged with murder. I was informed by an officer at the booking desk that a Sheila Anders was enroute to the jail and would be charged as well.
Several months after having been charged with two murders – police had located the body of the second victim the day after I was arrested – and while going to court, a young woman (also in custody) introduced herself as Dawn Sandford, informed me that she knew Sheila Anders. She also informed me that Sheila had recently been allowed a visit by her brother (Fred Anders – whom was assigned as the prosecutor’s witness), there at the Indio City Jail and that “Fred had somehow convinced his sister Sheila to change her initial statements to implicate and place me (James Anderson) as being the person responsible for the victim’s deaths (as opposed to her brother Fred Anders) and that she (Dawn Sanford) would testify to what Sheila had discussed in court if necessary.”
As result of this warning from a complete stranger, I began saving all of the letters (also known as kites) that the jail allowed inmates to write and send to other inmates. All kites were read and perhaps copied by the jail’s personnel/staff while in custody. All the Sheila’s kites made statements of inferences to Fred’s being guilty of committing the crimes, and while none of these kites were used as evidence during the first (1979) trial – on the advice of appointed attorney Michael B. Lewis- After being convicted, I gave Mr. Lewis all of the kites to mail to my family for “safe-keeping” for use in future appeals proceedings. These were given to the attorney at the booking desk of the Indio City Jail in presence of the desk officer. As of 1990 Dawn Sanford continued to live in Palm Springs, California with her parents and was available to testify as a witness regarding Fred Anders visiting his sister Sheila Anders and the statements she made related to her changing her original police report statements to basically corroborate Fred Anders version of what had occurred.
After being convicted of the crimes, the appointed public defender Michael B. Lewis visited the Indio City Jail to inform me that my case was the FIRST capital case that he had been appointed to defend, that there were many aspects of my case that had not been even briefly investigated and that he had draft and sign an affidavit that would inform any future appeal attorneys and/or courts that his defense was grossly incompetent. However Mr. Lewis DID NOT produce this document nor did he retrieve any of my personal property, jewelery or monies which judge Moore had released (several weeks previously) during court proceedings, before I was transported to San Quentin State Prison Death Row in December 12, 1979.
2008 - Documents
Documents about his artwork
New documents about his case
New Documents about the Death Penalty and other legal issues
NEWS 2007
Documents 1 - 9 - Parole Consideration Hearing Sheila
Anders (co-defendant)
- click on the thumbnails -
Letters between James Anderson and co-defendant Sheila Anders in 2000
Fred Anders' inconsistent Statement
about the case
Death
Row Artist James P. Anderson, A Case Of Reasonable Doubt
Aricle by Steve Argue
Two of James Anderson's attorneys were suspended from the practice of law in California
Read about Philip Deitch and the Declaration for Keith H. Long
www.cafepress.com/iconoclastsf
(here
you can buy t-shirts and more with artwork of James)
Tears From Heaven; Voices From Hell
The Pros and Cons of the death penalty as seen through the
eyes of the victims of violent crime and death row inmates throughout America.
by Diane P Robertson
Cover by James Anderson
"Piece of
mine"
"Decisions"
"Spirit"
James Anderson
C-11400
San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin, CA 94974
USA
(c) ALIVE e.V.
Note All pen-friend requests are edited by ALIVE e.V.