The Free Patch Project 40 yr prison
Donation protected
My mother and I need $15,000 to appeal my brothers conviction. My brother was given 40 years in prison for shooting back at an armed invasion of his home. The man trying to rob his home and shot his fiancee in the face only received 10 years. My brother shot no one and received forty years. He has been in prison for ten years. They have his records sealed. Please help us free him.
From my brother:
It was the middle of the night, my fiancee woke me up, there was a man pounding on our front door - he had a gun. The clock said 2:00AM. I wasn't dreaming, but my nightmare was about to begin.
I stood naked at the front door. He opened fire. My fiancee was hit in the face. After retrieving a gun, I returned fire. He emptied 17 rounds into our home. I shot back six times. I missed him with every shot. My fiancee was on the floor, alive but seriously wounded. He shot her in the face. Miraculously, the baby was safe in her crib. Several shots went right through her bedroom wall.
Our assailant escaped. He was apprehended later after fleeing the state.
I was the intended target of an armed robbery/attempted murder. Several years later, members of the same gang were convicted of robbing and killing another man in the same area. In someway I guess I am blessed that I'm here in prison instead of being found in the bottom of a well like their other victim.
Because I refused to accept a 15 year sentence in a plea bargain as a felon with a firearm, the prosecutor forced me to trial and enhanced the charges against me. I am now serving a 40 year sentence. I was willing to accept my just punishment for possession of the .25 caliber gun that saved my families lives, but 15 years didn't seem appropriate for defending my home and family.
Prosecutors routinely "over charge" defendants in order to force them to plead guilty. In my case, because I refused the 15 year plea bargain, the prosecutor offered a "deal" to the man who shot my girlfriend in the face. In exchange for his false testimony against me, he received a 15 year sentence. Yes, the prosecutor cut a deal with the man who was trying to rob and kill me and my family, in order to convict me for being in possession of a .25 caliber pistol that saved the lives of my finacee, our daughter and myself.
To enhance the penalty against me the assailant testified that he was there to settle a $130 drug debt. In the federal courts claiming drugs were involved drastically increases the penalties. There were no drugs. No drugs were found at the scene or anywhere else. The only evidence of any drugs was the testimony of the would be killer.
My lawyer was completely ineffective. At times I thought he was helping the prosecutor instead of me. He refused to call any witnesses on my behalf. He didn't even attempt to mount a defense.
I've been wrongly incarcerated since April of 2004.
I grew up poor. I admit that I really didn't understand how the courts work, but I always had a sense of what's right and what's wrong. I knew what happened to me was wrong, but I didn't know what to do about it. Recently, I've been in contact with a lawyer who explained to me just how unjust my conviction was. My constitutional rigthts were violated. According to his independent review of my files and court records, my former attorney's failure to impeach government witnesses, failure to subpoena defense witnesses, complete failure to investigate the facts of my case and a slew of other mistakes should entitle me to a new trial with a competent counsel.
Getting a false conviction overturned is not easy and freedom is not free. The lawyer will need $15,000 to appeal my case. The grounds are solid and the law supports me finally receiving some justice. Please help me to hire a competent attorney to overturn this miscarriage of justice. Thank you.
From my brother:
It was the middle of the night, my fiancee woke me up, there was a man pounding on our front door - he had a gun. The clock said 2:00AM. I wasn't dreaming, but my nightmare was about to begin.
I stood naked at the front door. He opened fire. My fiancee was hit in the face. After retrieving a gun, I returned fire. He emptied 17 rounds into our home. I shot back six times. I missed him with every shot. My fiancee was on the floor, alive but seriously wounded. He shot her in the face. Miraculously, the baby was safe in her crib. Several shots went right through her bedroom wall.
Our assailant escaped. He was apprehended later after fleeing the state.
I was the intended target of an armed robbery/attempted murder. Several years later, members of the same gang were convicted of robbing and killing another man in the same area. In someway I guess I am blessed that I'm here in prison instead of being found in the bottom of a well like their other victim.
Because I refused to accept a 15 year sentence in a plea bargain as a felon with a firearm, the prosecutor forced me to trial and enhanced the charges against me. I am now serving a 40 year sentence. I was willing to accept my just punishment for possession of the .25 caliber gun that saved my families lives, but 15 years didn't seem appropriate for defending my home and family.
Prosecutors routinely "over charge" defendants in order to force them to plead guilty. In my case, because I refused the 15 year plea bargain, the prosecutor offered a "deal" to the man who shot my girlfriend in the face. In exchange for his false testimony against me, he received a 15 year sentence. Yes, the prosecutor cut a deal with the man who was trying to rob and kill me and my family, in order to convict me for being in possession of a .25 caliber pistol that saved the lives of my finacee, our daughter and myself.
To enhance the penalty against me the assailant testified that he was there to settle a $130 drug debt. In the federal courts claiming drugs were involved drastically increases the penalties. There were no drugs. No drugs were found at the scene or anywhere else. The only evidence of any drugs was the testimony of the would be killer.
My lawyer was completely ineffective. At times I thought he was helping the prosecutor instead of me. He refused to call any witnesses on my behalf. He didn't even attempt to mount a defense.
I've been wrongly incarcerated since April of 2004.
I grew up poor. I admit that I really didn't understand how the courts work, but I always had a sense of what's right and what's wrong. I knew what happened to me was wrong, but I didn't know what to do about it. Recently, I've been in contact with a lawyer who explained to me just how unjust my conviction was. My constitutional rigthts were violated. According to his independent review of my files and court records, my former attorney's failure to impeach government witnesses, failure to subpoena defense witnesses, complete failure to investigate the facts of my case and a slew of other mistakes should entitle me to a new trial with a competent counsel.
Getting a false conviction overturned is not easy and freedom is not free. The lawyer will need $15,000 to appeal my case. The grounds are solid and the law supports me finally receiving some justice. Please help me to hire a competent attorney to overturn this miscarriage of justice. Thank you.
Organiser
William Temple
Organiser
Waycross, GA
