Biography: Unwritten
Acknowledgements & Notes
BIOGRAPHY: UNWRITTEN
By Toby Lee Greenberg
Notes and Acknowledgements
A great deal of thanks to Sister Helen Prejean for her tireless work to end the death penalty and raise awareness of the tragedy of wrongful convictions. Reading her book Dead Man Walking nearly 30 years ago was eye opening and served as a catalyst for my exploration into the history and continued use of capital punishment in the United States.
And to Kirk Bloodsworth, whose horrifying story of being wrongfully convicted was one of the first I read about many years ago. Learning about Bloodsworth’s conviction and death sentence for a crime he did not commit and his subsequent exoneration through DNA evidence -- the first in the United States -- compelled me to explore and “speak out” about the inhumanity of wrongful convictions and the death penalty through my art. Since his release and exoneration, Kirk Bloodsworth has worked tirelessly as an activist to abolish capital punishment and end wrongful convictions.
While researching Biography: Unwritten, I comb through numerous resources, gathering information on the men and women who have been exonerated from death row. The titles of my books imply they are biographies, with subtitles suggesting details about the person’s life, often prior to becoming entangled in the criminal justice system. The final page of each book, the epilogue, contains a simple paraphrased sentence, completing the prompt “Missed…”, as in “Missed building a credit history.” These “Missed” statements reveal a milestone or simple moment, which was lost while incarcerated, usually with lifelong consequences. Factual information regarding the subject’s time on death row completes each epilogue.
The following organizations have provided a wealth of information
My starting resource has been, and continues to be, the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), whose Innocence Database has been an invaluable source of primary and in-depth information.
The Innocence Project
Witness to Innocence
https://www.witnesstoinnocence.org/action
Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
https://cwc.law.northwestern.edu
Equal Justice Initiative
Sister Helen Prejean and the Ministry Against the Death Penalty
The National Registry of Exonerations
A project of the University of California, Irvine Newkirk Center for Science & Society, University of Michigan Law School, and Michigan State University College of Law.
https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/about.aspx
Forejustice
Innocence Database: http://forejustice.org/search_idb.htm
Countless newspapers and other media have provided substantial background information. The following list is a sampling of some of the sources which were especially helpful in researching the corresponding people.
PETER LIMONE & RAY MILTON KRONE
Fields-Meyer, et al, December 2, 2022. Free At Last. People
SABRINA BUTLER-SMITH
Butler-Smith, Sabrina. “Sabrina’s Near-Death Experience”, YouTube via Witness to Innocence, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_PRTeCtPIM
Sharp, Rachel, December 21, 2021. Sabrina Butler-Smith: The fight for freedom of the first woman ever exonerated from death row in the US. Independent
GORDON “RANDY” STEIDL
May 29, 2004. Convicted Man Free After 17 Years. Herald and Review
McGee, Noelle, May 29, 2004. Double-murder charge dropped, inmate freed. The News-Gazette
KIRK BLOODSWORTH
Chebium, Raju, June 20, 2000. Kirk Bloodsworth, twice convicted of rape and murder, exonerated by DNA evidence. CNN.com
ROLANDO CRUZ
Rimer, Sara, December 10, 2000. Life After Death Row. The New York Times
DAVE ROBY KEATON
The Exonerated. Directed by Bob Balaban, Brian Dennehy, Danny Glover, Delroy Lindo, Aidan Quinn, Susan Sarandon, Court TV / Radical Media, 2005.
Freedberg, Sydney P., July 4, 1999. The 13 Other Survivors and Their Stories.
St. Petersburg Times
GLYNN RAY SIMMONS
“Glynn Simmons Exonerated 48 Years After He Was Sentenced to Death in Oklahoma,” Death Penalty Information Center, September 20, 2023
Hattenstone, Simon, February 28, 2024. “I spent 48 years in prison for a murder I didn’t commit. Here’s how I fought my way to freedom. The Guardian
Osborne, Deon, September 11, 2023. Glynn Simmons: Black Man’s 48-Year Prison Case Dismissed. The Black Wall Street Times
SAMUEL POOLE
April 18, 1974. Inmate Freed; ‘It’s a Miracle,’ Says Mother. Winston-Salem Journal
WILBERT LEE
Sonsky, Steve, August 29, 1983. They’re free, but in Port St. Joe Pitts and Lee will always be guilty. The Tampa Tribune
Metz, Kevin, Sunday, February 20, 1994. Looking for Justice. The Tampa Tribune
Shaw Jr., Robert D. Pitts, May 3, 1978. Lee Lobby Lawmakers to OK $150,000 Claims Bill.
The Miami Herald
JONATHAN CHARLES TREADWAY JR. (AKA TREADAWAY)
Spriggs, Dave, September 14, 1974. Calls threaten family of sex-slaying suspect.
The Arizona Republic
Turco, Frank, August 13, 1978. Jonathan Treadaway facing 2nd trial in 1974 sex-slaying of 6-year-ol boy. The Arizona Republic
Death Penalty Alternatives for Arizona
https://www.azdeathpenalty.org
JERRY BANKS
Wicker, Tom, October 20, 1980. What If an Innocent Man’s Executed? The Columbus Ledger
Wicker, Tom, October 21, 1980. Georgia Awaits the Final Verdict. The Macon News
October 2, 1975, Guilty or Innocent? Jerry Banks Was Condemned on ‘Circumstantial Evidence’. The Atlanta Constitution
LAWYER JOHNSON
October 20, 1982, Ex-murder convict declared free man. The Berkshire Eagle
December 9, 1983. Legislature Acts To Pay Moral Debt. Athol Daily News
Lehman, Betsy and Harvey, October 20, 1982. Joseph, Murder charge dropped, he’s free man again. Boston Globe
DENNIS WILLIAMS
Terry, Don, June 15, 1996. DNA Tests and a Confession Set Three on the Path to Freedom in 1978 Murders. The New York Times
RONALD KEITH WILLIAMSON
Graham, Ginnie, October 21, 2001. Men Freed by DNA face new world. Tulsa World
Bikel, Ofra. PBS. “Burden of Innocence: Ron Williamson”, Frontline, May 1, 2003
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/burden/
Wagner & Lynch. “The Innocent Man – The Story of Ronald Williamson”. SeokLaw.com
https://seoklaw.com/the-innocent-man-the-story-of-ronald-williamson/
Grisham, John, The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town. Bantam Dell, 2006
Rimer, Sara, December 10, 2000. Life After Death Row. The New York Times
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/home/20001210mag-deathrow.html
Baseball Reference, “Bullpen Front Page”. baseball-reference.com
GLENN FORD
Numerous articles from The Shreveport Times, including:
Stroud III, A.M., March 20, 2015. Lead prosecutor apologizes for role in sending man to death row. The Shreveport Times
Welborn, Vickie, March 22, 2015, Prosecutor to Glenn Ford: ‘I apologize’. The Shreveport Times
https://www.newspapers.com/image/115448692/?match=1&terms=Glenn%20Ford
Bellware, Kim, March 30, 2015. Glenn Ford, Wrongfully Convicted and Dying of Cancer, Denied Restitution for 30 Years on Death Row. HUFFPOST.COM
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/glenn-ford-restitution_n_6972158
Finn, Kathy, March 12, 2014. Louisiana Man Walks Free After Nearly Three Decades on death row. Reuters.com
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-deathrow-louisiana/idUSBREA2B06S20140312/
CLIFFORD “BOONIE” WILLIAMS JR.
June 13, 1980. Court Throws Out Killers’ Sentences. Palm Beach Post
Kendall, Tyler, October 31, 2019. 2 relatives spend decades in prison for a crime they didn’t commit. Only one is getting compensated. CBSNews.com
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nathan-myers-clifford-williams-inmate-compensation-florida-2019-10-31/
Nell Perkins, Tobie, January 15, 2024. After 43 years wrongfully imprisoned and less than 5 years free, Clifford Williams dies. First Coast News
Edwards, Breanna, October 23, 2020. After Spending 43 Years in Prison, 2 Men Wrongfully Convicted of Murder are Finally Free. ESSENCE
https://www.essence.com/news/clifford-williams-nathan-myers-wrongfully-convicted/
January 20, 2024. Loved ones can’t wait to see man freed after decades in prison. News4Jax
Cassels, Laura, January 22, 2020. He didn’t do it: Exoneree Clifford Williams files claim for 43 years of wrongful incarceration. Florida Phoenix