Alan Gell of North Carolina became the nation’s 113th exon­er­at­ed death row inmate today, February 18, 2004. Gell, who has main­tained his inno­cence since his 1998 con­vic­tion, was acquit­ted of all charges by a jury that delib­er­at­ed for only two and a half hours at his retri­al. In December 2002, a North Carolina judge vacat­ed Gell’s mur­der con­vic­tion and ordered a new tri­al after rul­ing that pros­e­cu­tors with­held impor­tant evi­dence that might have helped exon­er­ate Gell at his first tri­al. Among the evi­dence not revealed was a secret­ly taped 1995 tele­phone con­ver­sa­tion in which the pros­e­cu­tion’s star wit­ness said she ​“had to make up a sto­ry” about the mur­der. The state also with­held numer­ous wit­ness state­ments that said they saw the vic­tim alive after the only time Gell could have com­mit­ted the mur­der, and foren­sic experts have cor­rob­o­rat­ed the time of death with these state­ments. Assistant Attorney General Steven Bryant admit­ted that the state should have turned over the excul­pa­to­ry evi­dence, and the state decid­ed not to seek the death penal­ty in Gell’s sec­ond tri­al. Gell is the first death row exoneree freed in 2004, and the fourth exoneree from North Carolina. Gell’s exon­er­a­tion comes just weeks before the North Carolina House of Representatives is sched­uled to take an his­toric vote that could halt exe­cu­tions in this close­ly-watched Southern state. Read DPIC’s Press Release. See Innocence.
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