Ledell Lee was said to have murdered Debra Reese in Jacksonville, Arkansas in 1993. But Lee maintained his innocence ‘til the day he died, when the state callously executed him in 2017.
Now, new and damning evidence has emerged that he likely was telling the truth - and the state may have killed him anyway!
The case was a mess from the jump. Not only was there no physical evidence connecting Lee to Reese’s murder, but the state also REFUSED to conduct any thorough investigations. It didn’t help that Lee’s post-conviction lawyer “admits to having struggled with substance abuse and addiction” while representing him!
His family is suing the state now that evidence suggests Lee was not guilty. The ACLU and the Innocence Project, working on the family’s behalf, believe forensic examination could unquestionably prove he was innocent ... and was murdered nonetheless.
This happens far too often. Time and again, evidence finds people to be innocent AFTER their execution - a fate too common among Black men on death row.
If the U.S. wants to live up to being a democracy, it must join the countless nations that have already ended the death penalty, an antiquated and racist practice that has NOTHING to do with justice! From Troy Davis to Ledell Lee, many cases of Black executions make this fact plain.