04/06/15 04/06/15 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! >> for all of those that say we believe, star showing. i shouldn't have sat on death row for 30 years. all they had to do was test. when you think you are above the law, you don't have to answer to nobody. but i've got news for you. everybody that played a part in sending me to death row, you

will answer to god. that is all i have to say. amy: anthony ray hinton is freed from prison after spending nearly 30 years on death row. his lawyers say race, poverty, inadequate legal assistance, and prosecutorial indifference to innocence conspired to create a textbook example of injustice. hinton will join us from alabama along with his attorney bryan stevenson of the equal justice initiative. then we go to louisiana to speak with a prosecutor who is apologizing for making a mistake that put another innocent man on death row for 30 years. >> [indiscernible] that i didn't follow up, that i should have done more, that i had an obligation to do more. amy: while when ford was released from prison in 2014 the state of louisiana is refusing to offer compensation for wrongfully jailing him for 30 years.

he got the news and hospice where he is dying of cancer. we will speak with the prosecutor marty stroud. and we will look at the american pharmacist association's new policy urging members not to supply drugs used in lethal injections. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. kenya has launched strikes inside somalia following last week's massacre by the militant group al-shabab. 148 people, mostly students, were killed when gunmen stormed the garissa university college. the attackers went through the university dorms, separating muslims from christians, and killing the christians. the kenyan military says it is bombing several al-shabab bases in retaliation. the strikes come as kenya has begun three days of mourning. on sunday, family members lined

up at a morgue in nairobi to identify their loved ones. a teacher from the garissa region said the government had failed to heed calls to protect the school. >> if the government had listened to us today would have saved the lives of 147 students who perished that day. we tell the government, let us put pride away. we're not going to continue losing kenyans in such a way. if they don't listen today, then it means they're waiting for another bigger number. [indiscernible] do we have any others? they now have an answer. the system is not safe. let the government take responsibility because the information -- amy: one of the four gunmen has been identified as the son of a kenyan government official. al-shabab has called the attack revenge for kenya's military operations in somalia as well as for the mistreatment of kenyan

muslims. it was the group's deadliest attack to date and the worst in kenya since the 1998 bombing of the u.s. embassy. president obama is pushing for public and congressional support of the landmark framework agreement on iran's nuclear program. in his weekly address, obama said the deal was the best of all options. >> i expect robust debate. we will keep congress and the american people fully briefed on the substance of the deal. let's remember, we really only have three options for dealing with iran's nuclear program. bombing iran's nuclear facilities, which will only set its program back a few years while starting another war in the middle east. abandoning negotiations and hoping for the best with sanctions, even though that is always led to iran making more progress in its nuclear program. or a robust and verifiable deal like this one, that peacefully prevent iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

amy: in an interview with "the new york times," obama said the u.s. will preserve the ability to snap back the sanctions into place should iran violate the deal's terms. obama also called iran's supreme leader, ayatollah ali khamenei a "pretty tough read," saying letters they've exchanged are filled with "a lot of reminders of what he perceives as past grievances against iran." president obama's comments came as part of an effort to sell the deal as negotiators turn to a final agreement by june 30. but differences have already emerged in how the u.s. and iran are interpreting the framework details. speaking to iranian state television, foreign minister mohammad javad zarif said a final agreement would lead to the lifting of all international sanctions over iran's nuclear program. zarif criticized the u.s. for releasing a fact sheet suggesting otherwise. >> the americans have compiled a fact sheet of their own making. some points make coincide with the text of the frame work agreement, but some are plain contradictions.

we are protested about it. we said the americans are misrepresenting the position. we said, why are you saying this? i even brought the issue up with john kerry himself. iran-israel amy: despite the differences over the pace of sanctions relief, energy secretary ernest moniz says the two countries' public interpretations are consistent in "most dimensions." as the u.s. and iran try to sell the agreement to domestic audiences, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu continues his campaign to undermine a final accord. speaking to nbc's "meet the press," netanyahu called the deal "historically bad." >> i'm not trying to kill in the deal, i'm trying to kill a bad little. you say it is a historic deal will stop it could be an historically bad deal. it leaves the preeminent state of our time with the vast nuclear infrastructure. remember, not one centrifuge is destroyed. thousands of centrifuges will be left spending uranium. not a single facility is being shut down. amy: despite netanyahu's claim,

the agreement would reduce iran's installed centrifuges by more than two-thirds. the international red cross is seeking a 24-hour pause to fighting in yemen to allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid. the death toll continues to rise amid clashes between houthi rebels and forces loyal to president abd-rabbu mansour hadi in aden. saudi-led airstrikes continue to claim civilian lives, including at least nine members of a single family in a village outside the capital sanaa. dozens of civilians have been killed in bombings attributed to the saudi-led coalition so far. the red cross says it's received permission to fly in aid convoys, but warns yemen's crisis is dire. a number of foreign governments have evacuated hundreds of citizens from yemen in recent days, though the u.s. is not among them. a u.s. citizen was reportedly killed in a bombing in aiden last week.

the united nations is warning of a grave in desperate prices -- crisis for refugees over them by the islamic state in syria. i firefighters are now in control of most of yarmouk. reports of scores of dead residents, including by beheading. hundreds of people have reportedly fled. the head of the u.n. agency for palestinian refugees issued a global appeal. >> it has never been as grave and desperate as it is now. it is a place that has been besieged for two years, where about 18,000 people have been surviving on very minimal assistance for a long time. and now with the fighting intensifying, their lives are in immediate danger. not only the 18,000 civilians, but 3500 children among them. with the intensity of the confrontations, our call has been for parties to immediately suspend military operations that put civilians in danger. amy: it is home to some 18,000

people. yarmouk has been under siege by the al-assad regime for nearly two years and repeatedly stuck in the crisis desk crossfire syria's civil war. a palestinian militia has clashed with isil fighters in defense of the camp, but the al qaeda linked al mnusra has prevented other fighters from battling isil. wounded fighters have resulted been treated in israeli hospitals across the border as part of an air israeli effort to tacitly backed sunni fires -- fighters opposed to iran. "rolling stone" magazine has retracted a story about sexual assault at the university of virginia after a months-long probe found several errors. the article centered on a student named jackie who says she was gang-raped at a fraternity and then ignored by school officials. but "rolling stone" backed off

the story last year after acknowledging discrepancies and raising questions about its source. the columbia graduate school of journalism found several missteps including failing to identify jackie's alleged attacker and not independently interviewing three of jackie's friends, despite quoting them. the story's reporter, sabrina rubin erdely has issued an apology, including to "any victims of sexual assault who may feel fearful as a result of my article." the columbia report notes the university of virginia had a "flawed record of managing sexual assault cases." from 1998 into the beginning of the false muster, uva has expelled 183 students for so-called honor code violations like cheating, and none for sexual assault. meanwhile, the charlottesvile police have kept jackie's case open, saying while they have not found sufficient facts to support her account, "that doesn't mean something terrible didn't happen to jackie."

here in new york, relatives of two of the 43 students missing from the mexican state of guerrero for over six months participated in a run in central park saturday to protest the ongoing disappearance of their loved ones. the mexican government says the students were killed by gang members, but the families question that account and believe they are alive. antonio tizapa, father of missing student, wore a t-shirt which read, "my son is your son, and your son is my son." >> that way we can show our government, the mexican government, that wherever there is a mexican, there is a lot of support. as you can see, there are several fellow mexicans here expressing support for the cause of the missing 43, and making it clear to the government that it is not a closed case, as they would like it to be. amy: late last week, unknown protesters wrote the names of the missing 43 students and on the facade of the mexican

consulate in new york city, with the phrase "consulate accomplice." and those are some of the headlines, this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we begin today's show in alabama, where a prisoner, anthony ray hinton, was released on friday after spending nearly 30 years on death row. >> for all of those that say we believe in justice, this is the case to start showing. because i shouldn't have sat on death row for 30 years. all they had to do was test. but when you think you're high and mighty and above the law you don't have to answer to nobody. but i've got news for you. everybody that played a part in sending me to death row, you will answer to god. that's all i have to say. amy: anthony ray hinton was convicted of murdering two fast-food managers in separate robberies in 1985. he was 29 years old at the time. the only evidence linking hinton

to the crimes were bullets that allegedly had markings matching a revolver that belonged to hinton's mother. there were no fingerprints or eyewitness testimony. after hinton was convicted subsequent tests found the bullets at the scene could not be matched to the gun he was accused of using. last year, the u.s. supreme court threw out his conviction , concluding hinton had been inadequately represented at trial. hinton could not afford defense lawyer. his court-appointed attorney used as a witness a firearms expert he knew to be incompetent. according to the equal justice initiative, which won his release, hinton is among the longest-serving death row prisoners ever to be freed after presenting evidence of innocence. we go now to montgomery, alabama, where we're joined by anthony ray hinton himself. just freed. as well as bryan stevenson the , founder and executive director

of the equal justice initiative. he is an attorney who has worked on death penalty cases in the deep south for decades. he has represented anthony ray hinton since 1999. he is the author of, "just mercy: a story of justice and redemption." his book was just nominated for the andrew carnegie medal for excellence run by the american library association. we welcome you to democracy now! anthony hinton, how does it feel to be free? >> it feels wonderful. a little scared at times especially when i've been out to the mall and i'm not used to being around that many people. amy: where were you, anthony, in prison, when you heard that you would be freed? when was it? >> i was out in the day room at the birmingham county jail. i had just got done talking to one of the attorneys from eji

and he told me to call mr. stevenson right away. i called mr. stevenson and mr. stevenson gave me the news, the wonderful news. amy: bryan stevenson, why did you take on this case? how did you hear about anthony ray hinton in prison, the point you take it on, i mean, he was freed after 30 years -- how did you hear about the case? >> we actually monitor almost all of the cases involving people sentenced to death here in alabama. there is no public defender system. there is no right to counsel. we are people on death throw who are literally dying for legal assistance. we're pretty familiar with all of the cases. we had recruited some lawyers to represent mr. hinton, but it is a very difficult thing to take on. if you don't have a lot of resources and if you're far away, it is hard. mr. hinton and i had actually met many years earlier.

when his lawyers could no longer represent him, we decided to take the case on. i got personally involved. i just have to say how extraordinary it is to be sitting next to my friend of my client. we spent so many hours together at home in prison, but we have never been able to sit together in suits and a place like this. i have to say it is an extraordinary, extra ordinary feeling. amy: you took on this case in 1999. go back to 1985 and what happened, what evidence was imprisoned in -- was presented and what of his wasn't presented. >> this is a good example nation of the critique -- example of the critique. there was a great deal of concern in the community because these restaurant managers have been murdered. they had these bullets. they falsely claimed these bullets could be linked to a single weapon.

they falsely claimed the weapon was mr. hinton's. because his lawyer was only paid $1600 to represent him, he could not get an expert that was competent to disprove that. he got someone with visually impaired civil engineer, and the jury convicted mr. hinton. had he had the resources to get the kind of legal help you needed, he never would have been convicted. the real problem was years later, when we developed the evidence that showed these bullets could not be matched to a single gun and that it wasn't mr. hinton gun, the state then refused for 16 years to even retest the evidence. for me, that was the most distressing part of this case. it was in difference. it was irresponsible. it was really unconscionable they chose to risk executing innocent person over risking the perception that they were somehow making a mistake or not

ring tough on crime. and they fought us tooth and nail. i have to say, it was quite an unlikely and rare occurrence that we could get the united states supreme court to intervene when they did. had they not intervened, i think the risk of a wrongful execution would have been very, very high. there is been no accountability. the experts have not been held accountable. the prosecutors have not been held accountable. there's been no apology. there is been no offer of any kind of assistance. i think this case is a shameful example of all the reforms that are desperately needed. i would also say that race was a factor. i can't leave that out. the investigators who worked on this case would been previously charged in federal court for torturing black prisoners, using cattle prods to coerce statements at a black prisoners. the prosecutor claimed mr. hinton was innocent by looking at him he said he could tell he was evil, just by looking at his face. the prosecutor had been reversed many times for excluding

african-americans from serving on juries. mr. hinton was convicted in part because of the burden -- the presumption of guilt assigned to too many black and brown people in this country when they are accused of a crime. amy: anthony ray hinton, you are on death row for nearly 30 years. did you ever face an execution date? >> no, i didn't. thank god, i didn't face an execution date. i thought about it a long time. but like i stated before, i just have placed god would not let me be executed for something i didn't do. amy: before 1999, that was some well over a decade after you are in prison death row, before the justice initiative bryan stevenson took your case on. did you ever think that your verdict would be overturned? who could you appeal to? >> well, to be honest with you

when you is placed on death row you have to have strong faith. and the lawyer that i had never presented me during the trial once the case go through the alabama criminal court of appeals and you lose their you're on your own. so i wrote mr. stevenson and an actual assistant from them. he got me an attorney out of boston. to be quite honest with you, the lawyer from boston come down and talk to me and he stayed on the case maybe a year or so, a couple of years. it just wasn't working out the way i thought the case should be going. i remember specifically, he told me he was trying to get me life without. i said, get that for someone

that is guilty, i'm innocent. i need someone who would believe in me and would fight for my life as hardest they could, and that is when mr. stevenson k in. amy: and this issue of money. the ballistics expert. explain limited vision, let alone his incompetence, and was money the key issue here anthony? being able to hire a competent ballistics expert? >> yes money was very important. not only the expert than i had at the time of my trial -- he was blind in one eye. when he went to the for in six signs to check the gun, he didn't even know how to turn on the basic machine. here to ask for help to turn on the machine. that should have been a red flag

for those men sitting there watching this man actually -- i not only that, he said once he got up under the microscope, all he could see was his finger. so he testified in court that he had very limited eyesight, had very limited in the telescope he was using. i just don't understand how a judge or anyone could qualify him as being next bird. -- expert. they kept using the term, well he knows more than the average person. i think some laws do to be changed around here, just because you read a magazine about surgery, don't mean i can come up to new york and give you open heart surgery. this is what we need to try to change in alabama. people just getting up on the stand and testifying

considering themselves in the next bird. amy: how did you maintain the sense of humor you have, anthony? you are well respected by both the guards on death row and also other prisoners. >> oh, yes. i think i was born with a sense of humor. 20, 30 years that they took from it, they could not take my soul. they could not take the fact that i love to make people laugh. you can find humor in anything. i used that as a tool to make other people forget their problems. i think it was my biggest asset that i had, having a sense of humor. i recall some time, just sitting up there in a correction officer would come by and i would say hey, i need to go home for an

hour and i promise you i'll come right back. or just different. i would say to try to get myself through it as well as the other inmates surrounding me -- with me. amy: bryan stevenson, the states evidence of a match discredited by three highly qualified firearms examiners including the former chief of the fbi's firearm and tool marks unit if you testified in 2002 that the bullets from all three crimes could not be matched to a single gun at all, much less to anthony's mother's gun. 2002. when he talked they just wouldn't review it, aren't there laws that say you have to review exonerating evidence? i mean, the supreme court unanimously overturned the verdict. >> you're absolutely right. but, no, there aren't those kinds of laws. we rely on the integrity of prosecutors and the integrity of law enforcement officials to do

what is required. in this case, there was an absence of integrity. there was an absence of leadership, and absence of goodwill. that is the challenge that we are facing right now. he is the 152nd person to be exonerated after being sentenced to death. that means for every 90 blood up and executed in this country, we have identified one innocent person. if we had integrity, we would stop executing people until we have dealt with these problems of unreliability. but that is what was missing. we went to every attorney general and the state of alabama during four administrations. we repeatedly asked the prosecutor. they just decided to see if they could get away with holding onto this conviction. it really is shameful, because while mr. hinton's remarkable human being and just incredible resolve, he was on death row when 53 other people were executed. they took them just a few feet from where he was housed and put them in the electric chair and

stacked them on gurneys. they tried to kill them every day of his time on death row. i still think we have great challenges. we don't have integrity units in alabama. i love to see the supreme court have requirements that would make it easier for us to insist on the kind of testing we were denied for 16 years. amy: you were the 152nd person to be exonerated. from death row, anthony ray hinton. when you came outside, your first reaction to standing outside, on the other side of the bars? >> ooh! thanking god all along, seeing so many cameras and family and friends. it was a long time, but i just felt so relieved at knowing i

was finally being free for something i had been telling people that i didn't do. it was a feeling like i never felt before. i can't really explain it to you or you can understand it, but from where i had been for 30 years, just being able to come out and knowing i wasn't going to have to be locked back up, it just is an amazing feeling. amy: your mother died in 2002 when you were in prison? >> yes. amy: were you able to visit her grave when you left? >> yes, i went to her grave. it was my rock. that was everything i had. and i would have loved to be able to say "they finally got

it right, mama, and i'm home." i know she would've been the happiest person. she probably would have cooked me all my favorites. and we would just sit down and hug. she wouldn't have let me leave. coming up, my mother had to be my father. my father lost his mind when i was very young. my mother instilled in us the right thing to do at all times. she was just an extremely woman. a left her more than life itself. i just felt that. i owed it to her to fight as hard as i could because she didn't raise no killer. i think god that he brought me through, and i'm pretty sure that she is jumping around in heaven saying, "thank you,

jesus." amy: bryan stevenson, what about compensation? anthony ray hinton was on death row for 30 years before he was freed, and innocent man. >> there is no amount of money that can totally compensate you for that. they took something from him that they don't have the power to get iraq, but i think they ought to, one -- to initiate something to pay for the outrageous injustices this system creates. i think if there's really going to be an economy meaningful response to this, not only should he be compensated, but people should be held accountable. people should apologize. people should do some soul-searching. we should create some procedures that mandate that when there is evidence that suggests a person is in wrongly convicted, that evidence has to be reviewed. mr. hinton passed a polygraph test when he was first arrested.

he was locked in a warehouse working when one of these crimes took place. they simply it for that. we need to change those procedures. the supreme court has immunized prosecutors and law enforcement officers and judges. the thompson case that was decided to couple of years ago i think it should be changed. we have to incentivize greater commitment and responsibility in these kinds of cases. and finally, i think, there has to be the creation of the kind of integrity conviction unit that are too infrequent in this country. we're going to have to mandate some reforms here. i just don't believe we can rely on the goodwill of the people who have been elected, particularly, when they have acted as a responsibly as they have acted in mr. hinton's case. amy: explain that. in one of the murders that took place of the fast food manager anthony was 15 miles away working at a place that was locked up so you could not get out. and also, this polygraph test. >> yes, there were three crimes.

they only charged him with the two murders, but there's a third crime the surviving victim -- there was a surviving victim. that took place at a quincy's restaurant. mr. hinton -- the crime took place around 12:15 in the morning. mr. hinton was working at her bruno's warehouse, supermarket warehouse. he clocked in at 11:57 p.m., seen but security guard going in. his supervisor gave him his work instructions for the night that was at 12:10. the supervisors often repeatedly over the next several hours. there was no way he could've committed this crime. they knew that. they absolutely knew that. but because they had this gun and his false testimony they decided to persist. they gave him a polygraph. he passed the polygraph. they said the car used in this crime was a big oldsmobile, and

he did not own a car like that. he was driving a small nissan. they ignored all of that. that is with this presumption of guilt gets assigned a black and brown people became a barrier. if you been presumed innocent, no reasonable jury would have convicted him. amy: you mentioned integrity conviction unit. what do you mean by this? >> there are some offices that have basically made a commitment to begin looking at cases where there is evidence of innocence. our prison population is gone from 300,000 in 1972 to 2.3 million people today. there's never been a time in america when we have had more innocent people in jails and prisons than we have right now. we have invested in prisons. we have invested in policing. we have invested a prosecutors and judges. we have not invested in the defense function to protect people from wrongful convictions. they don't have a right to

counsel. they can't get to court. only when you create these units can you really push the state to take seriously these claims. there's a prosecutor in dallas that has done this and some places across the country, where if you have compelling evidence that you have been wrongly convicted, they will initiate the investigation that -- that does not exist in alabama or must it, but it needs to, given the incredible evidence that we have. there are so many wrongly convicted and condemned people in our jails and prisons. amy: anthony ray hinton, can you describe the cell you were held in for nearly 30 years? >> yes, it was five by seven. you have a bed that is mounted to the wall. yet the toilet -- you have the toilet. you have a little slot where they bring you your trays.

the floors is concrete. you don't have no ventilation f or air. it was dark. but now they put some light and fix the lights, so does the smallest cell, being on death row. amy: the way people were killed on your death row, how many in the time that you are on death row? and what were the methods used? >> when i was there, when i first got there 1987, the method was primarily the electric chair. it was about 30 yards i would say from my cell. the next morning by using the

electric chair, you could actually smell the flesh of the person they'd executed the night before. they probably executed may be 20 25 in the electric chair in a few -- and a few with the gurney. amy: bryan stevenson, the equal justice initiative clinical justice initiative, published a major report we talked about "lynching and america." do you see a connection between lynching and a throw? >> i do. i think we created -- there's a narrative of racial difference that a merchant this country ackley during the time of slavery when mr. hinton and i got together this morning, we paused outside her office where we have these signs that talk about the slave trade. we demonize people of color,

said they were different and dangerous. that we did own them and civilize them and that line was never confronted. the emancipation proclamation did not deal with it, the 13th amendment and deal with it. then we have this decades of lynching, terrorism directed at african americans because the same presumption of dangerousness and guilt made people comfortable doing horrific things to people didn't a course of these lynchings. there is great pressure to move the lynchings and door. that was really the beginning of the modern death penalty. the short unreliable, meaningless trials were people were presumed guilty and quickly sentenced to death. and that legacy of inadequate justice that begins with the scottsboro boys and continues in the 1940's and 1950's and 1960's and 1970's and was on display in the 1980's when mr. hinton was wrongfully convicted has never

really been challenged. yes, i don't understand why the state of alabama, who has killed so many people of color wrongly the bodies of thousands of black men and women are buried in the ground where we are sitting him as a result of racial injustice and bigotry and ignorance, and yet we persist. our death penalty -- 84% of the people that i've been executed by capital punishment in the state are black will stop -- are black. it is racially biased in some anyways. the prosecutor who prosecuted mr. hinton have been reversed several times for intentionally excluding in an illegal manner african-americans from serving on juries, and yet he was allowed to keep prosecuting cases. we have 65% of all murder victims in the state are black but 8% of the people on death throw by there for crimes involving whites. the evidence of racial bias is so extremely overwhelming, yet we do nothing. you can't understand that without understanding the

teachings, without understanding slavery, without understanding segregation. and we won't overcome these problems until we start talking about these issues differently. i help mr. hinton's case can really begin the kind of soul-searching and honest dialogue we need to have, not only about our by his cruel justice system, but about the way we tolerate inequality and unfair treatment of the poor and people of color. amy: i want to thank you both for being with us, bryan stevenson of the eagle justice initiative attorney who represented anthony ray hinton since 1999. and anthony ray hinton, thank you so much for being with us. congratulations on your freedom. >> thank you. amy: would we come back, believe it or not, we will speak of the case of another man on death row coming yes, for 30 years. his name is glenn ford. he now lays dying of cancer, but

as a free man. his prosecutor, the lead prosecutor in the 1984 case that led to glenn ford being sentenced to death, is now speaking out. we ask you to take a listen to what he says as we go to shreveport, louisiana. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: "i'm not the man," by 10,000 maniacs. this is democracy now! democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we turn now to another exoneration, this time in louisiana. in march 2014, glenn ford was freed after three decades on death row. he walked out of the angola penitentiary when a judge vacated his murder conviction and death sentence. his exoneration came after new evidence emerged clearing him of the 1983 fatal shooting a jewelry store owner.

glenn ford is african-american and was tried by an all-white jury. in 2000, the louisiana supreme court ordered an evidentiary hearing on ford's claim that the prosecution suppressed favorable evidence related to two brothers initially implicated in the crime. then in 2013, an unidentified informant told prosecutors that one of the brothers had admitted to shooting and killing the jewelry store owner. last year, glenn ford briefly spoke to reporters as he left the prison a free man. >> it feels good. i was locked up almost 30 years for something i didn't do. by someone i loved as a baby, nice a grown man with a baby. amy: shortly after ford's release, he received a second death sentence -- stage three lung cancer, which has now advanced to stage four and spread to his bones, lymph nodes, and spine. his attorney says he has entered hospice care in new orleans. glenn ford filed a federal lawsuit claiming prison

officials and medical authorities knew he had cancer in 2011, but denied him treatment. in february, ford spoke to "the times picayune" about his life after death row. cook's mainly trying to get my help together. wondering what is going to happen after i get denied this compensation. amy: glenn ford is one of the longest-serving death row prisoners ever to be exonerated. under louisiana law, he can ask for a maximum of $330,000 in compensation. but last week, a judge denied his request, saying ford was involved in two lesser crimes. this comes as the lead prosecutor in glenn ford's murder trial has come out in favor of his compensation. in a three-page letter "shreveport times" marty stroud said he no longer supports the death penalty, and apologized to ford. he wrote --

"i apologize to glenn ford for all the misery i have caused him and his family. i apologize to the family of the victim for giving them the false hope of some closure. i apologize to the members of the jury for not having all of the story that should have been disclosed to them. i apologize to the court in not having been more diligent in my duty to ensure that proper disclosures of any exculpatory evidence had been provided to the defense." well for more, marty stroud joins us from shreveport louisiana. we had hoped to be joined by glenn ford, but he is too ill in hospice care. marty stroud how is glenn ford convicted? you were the prosecutor. amy: he was convicted -- the short answer is, on the basis of the evidence presented and the jury found that the evidence established beyond reasonable doubt in their minds that he was

guilty of first-degree murder. one of the problems in the case, however, was that his attorneys had been appointed by the court -- neither of them had ever tried a capital case, in fact, may never have tried a case at all. so looking back on it, though they gave it their best effort, they simply were not skilled in this particular area and mr. ford did not have the benefit of adequate counsel by any stretch of the imagination. amy: when did you realize you may have sent an innocent man to death row, marty stroud? >> shortly after the case, as it is working its way through the appeal, i became concerned about the lack of funding that was afforded to mr. ford in the case, and the lack of visibility to have competent counsel due to

the manner in which counsel appointed in louisiana. for the first two years, i was concerned about the trial itself. i still believed that mr. ford was guilty at that time however, i have doubts about the fairness of his trial and i thought he should be afforded a new trial. as the case continued and going through the appellate process, i testified on one or maybe two occasions. i was asked about evidence and police reports that i don't remember seeing. that caused concerns for me. as we proceeded or as the case proceeded, it was then developed

through other investigations that a confidential informant had come forward and advised the authorities of another individual who allegedly committed the crime. and at a hearing or meeting with the investigators, i was told that had we know the evidence at the time mr. ford not only would have been convicted but it would have been insufficient to cause arrest warrant issue, which is a very stunning statement to make. 30 years after the fact. amy: so he would not only perhaps have not gone to death row, he not -- you would not have been arrested. >> that is correct. as you know, the standard for an arrest is a lot less than the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

it was stunning. and that particular information was set forth, i believe, in a motion to dismiss the case against mr. ford. and it is disturbing fact to me because that is really a stark statement to make, and there is no way you can get around it. i mean, that is probable cause is a lesser standard than prove the on a reasonable doubt. and the state had indicated in a pleading to the judge that there was not -- in effect, was not even probable cause to arrest mr. ford, much less to try and convict him and sent him to death row. amy: marty stroud, describe the scene, the courtroom. you had an african-american man who was the defendant and an

all-white jury. now, you determine that, right? you were the lead prosecutor. >> i was. the jury was selected. at the time i did not believe that i intentionally discriminated against african americans in the selection of jurors. at the time the case was tried there was a different standard than you have now. i believe it was swanson versus alabama, but i guess i forget. it is early in the morning, so my mind is not working on all cylinders. however, swain versus alabama. the standard, the evidentiary standard was the defense would have to prove that the office had a history of systematic exclusion of african-americans and none of that -- under that standard, i felt, i mean, the

court found there had been no intentional discrimination thereafter. the supreme court reversed swain and the batson case indicated if the system is established, for example, if prosecutor or a defense attorney -- it applies both ways -- starts excluding people of race or gender or some other prohibitive purpose, even under the directory challenge -- preemptory challenge, the prosecutor then had to come forward and give race reasons for the exclusion of african-americans or whatever minority. amy: i want to turn to glenn ford being interviewed by "the shreveport times are ."

>> it separates you. it separates you from you and everybody else. can you imagine going 20 something years without no human contact? without sing family, loved ones, so-called friends? and then one day after 30 years with no new contact, one night you're sleeping on death row in the next morning you're in the free world. and that is how overwhelmed -- i still am. amy: that was glenn ford. he first became a resident of louisiana's death row in 1985 and was only released just last year after his exoneration. he is now dying in hospice care of cancer. have you, marty stroud come a had a chance to talk to him? have you been able to apologize to him? >> well, i have apologized

publicly and i'm in the process of meeting with him, if it is ok with his attorneys. and if he wishes to see me, and i believe he does, to apologize to him personally. as i said in my apology, i offer -- i really have no excuses for my conduct other than i was grossly immature at the age of 33, and certainly i believe not qualified to try capital case. at that young age, i was not aware or concerned with the implications of the death penalty. i would like to think now that 30 years later, i'm somewhat wiser. i also know it doesn't really help mr. ford any.

amy: as we wrap up, what about the compensation issue? the fact he was just denied compensation for these 30 years, wrongly, behind bars on death row? >> the problem here is not so much the judge as it is the legislature. the legislature passed a statute that said, basically, if you had prior convictions and had served -- had had a record, that under the statute, you might not be entitled if you have certain types of offenses, to qualify for any type of compensation. the problem i have with that statute is, regardless of your prior criminal record, if you have been convicted and sent to jail on a crime that you did not

commit, and yet to spend -- i have been saying that if you was in a 12 by 12, the german i heard before said he was in a five by seven does the german i heard before said he was in a five by seven cell, i may have actually overstated the area glenn ford had. nevertheless, the statute would prevent you from receiving any compensation and that is insane. amy: how has glenn ford's case changed your view of the death penalty? >> i am 100% against the death penalty. it is barbaric. the reason it is barbaric, it is administered by human beings and we make mistakes. we are not infallible. in the book "dead man walking" she says we cannot fix the government to fix potholes, how the world's name can we expect them to impose a fair and

impartial procedure for the death penalty? we as human beings of the cannot do that. we're not god. amy: i want to thank you for being with us, marty stroud lead prosecutor in the 1984 trial in which glenn ford was sentenced to death for the murder of a shreveport louisiana man. after 30 years in prison, ford was released from death row last year after the state admitted new evidence proves he was not the killer. he now lays dying in hospice care. we will link to your three-page letter to "the shreveport times" calling the state to compensate ford. when we come back, we are going to speak with a representative of the american pharmacist association on a new policy against supplying lethal injection drugs in death penalty cases. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: about the case of gary tyler louisiana. it is been called one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in the modern history of the united states. this is democracy now! democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. a leading association for u.s. pharmacists has instructed its members to stop providing drugs

for use in lethal injections -- a change that could make carrying out executions even more difficult for death penalty states. late last month, the american pharmacists association's delegates approved a declaration saying it "discourages pharmacist participation in executions on the basis that such activities are fundamentally contrary to the role of pharmacists as providers of health care." pharmacists now join physicians and anesthesiologists in having national organizations with ethical codes that discourage their members from partaking in executions. well, for more, we go now to richmond, virginia where we're joined by dr. leonard edloe. he co-wrote the american pharmacist association's new policy against supplying lethal injection drugs. dr. edloe, welcome. explain this to position and what it will mean for the death penalty in the united states. >> as pharmacists, we take an

oath that we will uphold the health of individuals. what happened in several european countries, no longer supply the drugs necessary to make it what we might call inefficient process, so they have turned a compounding pharmacies. in fact, the class of drugs used really don't produce the sedation. so what happens now, the states will not -- will encourage them not to go to these pharmacies to have these drugs compounded, and the process just won't take place. you probably remember the case in oklahoma with the patient was not sedated. the patient asked lee died of a heart attack. it is not the right drug. it doesn't work. so we just don't want our pharmacist being involved either in the dispensing of the drugs or the use because the prescriptions are illegal. they're not prescriptions, their purchase orders. it just doesn't work. after hearing her conversation, it just makes me feel so much better about my part i played last week again -- and getting

this resolution passed. amy: how difficult was it to get past? >> once a got going it wasn't hard. it was difficult from the beginning because so many people i talk to didn't want to be involved, did not want to sign. and then it was just like at the last minute, everything just came together. the compact pharmacist took the position and no one spoke against the resolution. there's a lot of discussion because we go through a long process. this process has been about a year. people have come up with all kind of crazy question so we would not support the resolution. we had to make some changes to adopt, but what you read, basically what we adopted. even though we don't have the power that the resolution of the anesthesiologists have, in other words, if they are involved, they can lose certification, so they can go to the hospital. this is just calling on the

ethics. i think 99% of the pharmacist will go along with that. anything at society, that is the latest. amy: dr. leonard edloe, thank you for being with us. we will link to the new policy. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]