[9], Following his own trial and sentencing, Ralph Bernard Myers told McMillian's trial counsel that the testimony he gave "against McMillian was false. Walter Miles McMillian's Geni Profile. EJI presented this dramatic new evidence but it took six years of hearings and appeals before the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals finally ruled that Mr. McMillians conviction was unconstitutional. Explore genealogy for Walter McMillian born 1941 Monroe County, Alabama, United States died 2013 including ancestors + more in the free family tree community. / Walter McMillian (left) celebrates with family after Bryan Stevenson won his release from death row in 1993. "[18], From 1990 to 1993, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals turned down four appeals. Teachers and parents! Mr. McMillian was an unlikely suspect. This story was very sad to read, and unfortunately a clear reality in todays times with our criminal justice system in the United States. Skip Ancestry main menu Main . The man was Russell Charley. Testimony of the trial lasted a day and a half. The shift largely benefited white landowners and left most blacks unemployed. That one testimony of Hooks was all it took to convict him for the murder of Ronda Morrison. They found evidence that the States witnesses against Mr. McMillian had been coerced, including tape recordings proving that the States only eyewitness had been pressured to testify falsely at Mr. McMillians trial. It was founded in 2012 in conjunction with the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law. Genealogy for Walter Miles McMillian (1850 - 1922) family tree on Geni, with over 230 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. Myers heard popping sounds, and he found McMillian standing over the victim with a gun in his hand. There was a tragic murder of eighteen-year-old Ronda Morrison. On the other hand, maybe the jury has more fault, since surely the defense attorney would had pointed out the inconsistencies of the witnesses testimonies, meaning that it cant be trusted, but the majority of them ultimately decided to turn a blind eye too. According to Myers, reinstated in 1975, the majority of Alabama death row inmates have been black, although when, that the practice is occurring. One of his early cases was that of Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), who is put on deathrow in 1987 for the murder of an eighteen year-old White girl, regardless of the evidence proving his innocence. Police could not solve the crime. ", According to David Rose in his 1999 article in. [7], In the fall of 1992, McMillian's case received national attention in the CBS News program 60 Minutes. His truck was later examined by Bill Hooks who claimed to have seen McMillians truck at the cleaners. Not at all.. In 1988, Walter McMillian, a black man, was wrongly convicted and sentenced to death for murdering an 18-year-old white woman in Monroeville, Alabama. 1 Colonization and Settlement (1500-1763), 2 Revolution and Early Republic (1754-1801), 4 Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877), 5 Emergence of Modern America (1877-1929), 4 Late Middle Ages-Renaissance-Reformation Europe (1300-1648), 3 Post-Classical History (600 CE-1492 CE), HS 1302 United States History since 1877, SP 3392 Language Variation and Dialectology of Spanish, Michael B. Ross, The Execution of Innocence,, College of Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences. Walter McMillian was among the first exonerees from death row in the modern era. The . McMillian already had a target on his back from his affair with Karen Kelly, and the police had that target in their sights. Just Mercy is a 2019 American biographical legal drama film co-written and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and starring Michael B. Jordan as Bryan Stevenson, Jamie Foxx as Walter McMillian, Rob Morgan, Tim Blake Nelson, Rafe Spall, and Brie Larson.It explores the work of young defense attorney Bryan Stevenson who represents poor people on death row in the South. Years later when the case settled, the compensation was much less than had been hoped. It was the last state in the U.S. to overturn laws banning interracial marriage but that wouldnt happen for another 14 years. Walter McMillian lived an ordinary life alongside his wife Minnie McMillian and their three children. They had already received previous backlash from the public because his son was known for marrying a white woman. [10][11], The 2019 film Just Mercy dramatizes McMillian's case, and stars Jamie Foxx as McMillian and Michael B. Jordan as Bryan Stevenson, with direction by Destin Daniel Cretton, based on Stevenson's 2014 book Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption.[20]. A 60 Minutes segment and other national press coverage about his case led to other exonerations. In 1986, an 18-year-old white woman named Ronda Morrison was murdered in downtown Monroeville, Alabama. In 1988, Walter McMillian, a Black man, was wrongly convicted and sentenced to death for . In addition, one of his sons had married a white woman. Sentimentality about Lees story grew even as the harder truths of the book took no roots. Albert Walter McMillian. McMillian had a business of his own and was an upstanding member of his community. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class., Southern Prisoners Defense Committee (SPDC), Voting Rights Protests of 1965 (Selma-to-Montgomery Marches). [7][9] Myers pleaded guilty as a conspirator in the murder and received a 30-year prison term.[7]. "[5] It emerged that Sheriff Tate and investigators with the Monroe County D.A. Walter McMillian spent six years on Alabamas death row for a murder he didnt commit. He met Karen Kelly, who was 25 and unhappily married, at the Waffle House where he ate breakfast. Walter McMillian photographed outside of his home surrounded by family and friends. A deputy then revealed to McMillian that the initial charge was only a way to impound his truck. He became uncharacteristically emotional. . "[13][5] There was no physical evidence implicating McMillian. Walter McMillian lived an ordinary life alongside his wife Minnie McMillian and their three children. "[9] D.A. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. This was Alabama in 1986. He came to attention because he had an affair with a married white woman. Known to his friends and family as Johnny D, Mr. McMillian spent 15 harrowing and tortuous months on Alabamas death row before trial. Thirty-six of the nearly two hundred convicts on death row are there because of override."[5]. We would often talk about situations and people connected to the case that, for all the damage they had caused, had still made us laugh at their absurdity. Like Walter, she is from the poor black community just outside of Monroeville. Walter with friends and Stevenson The McMillian family was known to be a "large, tight-knit family" made up Walter, his wife, Minnie, and five children. [3] A journalist described him as a "black pulpwood worker". Equal Justice InitiativeWalter McMillian spent six years on Alabamas death row for a murder he didnt commit. Supporters celebrated Mr. McMillians release. They brought him to a store where McMillian and a few other black men were shopping, but Myers couldnt tell which one was his supposed partner-in-crime; he had to ask the stores manager to identify him. He was allowed forty-five minutes of exercise per day and a few hours in the day room per week. Family History Search. The case had generated an unusual amount of media coverage. What happened to Walter McMillian in a small Alabama town in 1987 has long been pointed to as a classic example of a miscarriage of justice. Margaret M (McMillan) Williams 12 Jul 1891 Ontario, Canada - 24 Jan 1932 managed by Dave Stern Susannah (McMillan) McRae 24 May 1810 Robeson, North Carolina, United States - 30 Aug 1886 managed by Rod Medders Jane (McMillan) Henderson abt 1809 Stirlingshire, Scotland, United Kingdom - abt 1859 managed by Lesley Robertson "[6], The story was featured in a 1995 book entitled Circumstantial Evidence: Death, Life, and Justice in a Southern Town by former Washington Post journalist Pete Earley. The community heard about the tragedy as many had gathered for a fish-fry at McMillans home to raise money for their local church. The petition also alleged that the state of Alabama "had violated his constitutional rights by withholding exculpatory and impeachment information". Stevenson presented the newfound evidence at hearings and appeals before the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals. McMillian presented six alibi witnesses who testified that they had been with him at a family fish fry the entire day. The controversial case received national attention beginning in the fall of 1992. Stevenson next calls to the stand Clay Kast, was being held on death row as punishment for refusing to continue his testimony against, testimony while Ikner, Tate and Benson coerce him to continue. [3] He died on September 11, 2013. Before you check out Jamie Foxx in the new film Just Mercy, learn the true story of Walter McMillian, an Alabama man wrongfully convicted for a brutal murder who spent six years on death row. I have survived these six long years, but I am a different man. He explained the horror of seeing seven other men executed during his time at Alabamas Holman Prison: I experienced the executions with the greatest pain and with enormous fear about whether this would happen to me. Police arrested McMillian (known to some friends as "Johnny D"), a black man, in 1987 and charged him with murdering an 18-year-old white woman named Ronda Morrison at a Monroeville, Alabama dry . [5] In 1986 he had been married to Minnie McMillian for 25 years and they had nine children. Mr. McMillian was sent back to his cell on death row, where he ultimately spent six years. His conviction was wrongfully obtained, based on police coercion and perjury. Walter McMillian died in 2013: he was 71-years-old. A Life on Both Sides of the Ocean Mary McMillan in her early twenties Mary McMillan was born in Boston in 1880, just a few years after her parents emigrated from Scotland. Were going to keep all you niggers from running around with these white girls. It took a significant toll on his health and led to him developing early-onset dementia. Walter McMillian was nearly put to death for a crime he did not commit One of young lawyer Stevenson's first and most incendiary cases after founding the non-profit Equal Justice Initiative was. On the night Walter McMillian, a black woodcutter in rural Alabama, was . An effort to hold the sheriff accountable went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the Court ruled that Sheriff Tate was protected from liability based on immunity laws. People were more concerned with convicting an innocent man of a murder he did not commit rather than finding the victims murderer. Morrison, who was white, had been bludgeoned, strangled and shot three times. And this case had given him lots of fodder. He was then taken to the local jail where the charge was quickly dismissed. And thats how his affair with a white woman 18 years his junior became the talk of the town. The reveal of the witness being pressured to testify proves that the laws that help prevent these things dont always work. I am also worried about others. Research the McMillian family Start your family tree now. He died on September 11, 2013. Although there are still injustices for colored people in todays society, it Definitely has gotten better and Im glad that were working towards that. One of the biggest worries is whether youll get the kind of legal assistance you need to save you from execution, he testified. 2d 1289 (Ala.Cr.App.1992) denied the claims by McMillian's attorneys. The officials involved in prosecuting McMillian received no punishment or removal from their positions. Aside from having a misdemeanor charge from a barroom fight, he had a clean record and no other charges to his name. According to the Equal Justice Initiative of Montgomery, Alabama, "No capital sentencing procedure in the United States has come under more criticism as unreliable, unpredictable, and arbitrary" than the judge override. He had no prior criminal history and was a 45-year-old self-employed logger who had done work for many people throughout the community. How famous was Albert Walter McMillian? McMillian." McMillian was shocked and absolutely saddened to hear about it. With his conviction overturned, Walter McMillian was released from death row in 1993. harrowing last words of 23 executed criminals. Tell
Bryan Stevenson, McMillian's defense attorney, raised awareness on the CBS News program 60 Minutes. When she was five years old, her mother died of consumption, weakened from the grueling delivery of Mary's younger sister and heartbroken by the baby's untimely death. I appreciate that the author provided just enough detail so the reader could form an emotional connection to this story. After, Stevenson agrees to work with the CBS program 60 Minutes to produce a story about, an innocent man in prison until the real murderer is found. Walter had 3 siblings: Isabelle Page (born Mcmillan) and 2 other siblings. "[6], Eighteen-year-old Ronda Morrison, a white dry-cleaning clerk, was murdered at Jackson Cleaners on November 1, 1986, in Monroeville, Alabama. [9], Further investigation revealed that McMillian's truck, supposedly seen by witnesses at the scene of the crime, had not been converted to a "low-rider" until six months after the crime took place. App.1991). Walter McMillian is in the back row. In Alabama, elected trial judges were authorized to override a jurys life verdict and impose the death penalty. Yes. Walter McMillian (left) and Bryan Stevenson after McMillians conviction was overturned in 1993. There was a new county sheriff, and people were whispering about his incompetence. He first encountered Walter while he was on death row (20). The 45-year-old self-employed logger had worked for several people in the community and had no criminal history. And it was too hard in light of the evidence of his innocence to show this court that he should never have been here in the first place.. At the trial, Hooks kept his testimony and claimed to have seen the truck near the Jackson Cleaners at the time of Ronda Morrisons murder.3, McMillian was innocent. The author named chapter five after W.E.B. "[5] This practice, called judicial override, allows "elected trial judges to override jury verdicts of life and impose death sentences." Soon, he went from being a man who had an interracial affair to someone capable of murder. It was a pleasure to read this article about William McMillan. In a taped confession, Myers said he drove McMillian to the dry cleaners on the morning of Nov. 1, 1986, but McMillian entered the building alone. Walter McMillian. "[10][11], On December 11, 1987, Walter McMillian and Ralph Bernard Myers, a career criminal,[13] were jointly indicted. McMillian was completely clueless as to why this was happening to him. She supports and cares for her five children during Walter's incarceration. I get that Morrison was at a disadvantage when faced against white men for that exact reason, but if the testimonies were so obviously inconsistent, they should have known better. Walter McMillian, who was born on October 27, 1941, lived in a black settlement near Monroeville where he "grew up picking cotton. Four former death row inmates have been released from prison just this year after their innocence became apparent: Kirk Bloodsworth, Federico Macias, Walter McMillian, and Gregory Wilhoit. Advertisement. Report an error or add more information about this case. It was clear that Myers and McMillian didnt know each other; Myers word was the sole evidence connecting McMillian to the crime. From 1990 to 1993, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals turned down four appeals. I have suffered pain, agony, loss, and fear in degrees that I had never imagined possible, he testified in 1993. Part of the evidence revealed a tape where a witness confessed to having been pressured to frame McMillan. Born on Oct. 27, 1941, McMillian grew up in one of several poor black settlements outside Monroeville. based on a true story, just mercy(2019) follows civil rights defense attorney bryan stevenson (michael b. jordan) as he recounts his experiences and details the case of a condemned death row prisoner, walter mcmillian (jamie foxx), whom he fought to free, as he becomes embroiled in a labyrinth of legal and political maneuverings and overt and [7][6], Chapman, who did not prosecute the original case in 1987, "joined the defense in seeking to have the charges" against McMillian dismissed. "[6] In a prison interview in 1993, McMillian said, "The only reason I'm here is because I had been messing around with a white lady and my son married a white lady. His sole criminal record was a suspended sentence for a bar fight. Little did he know that the murder of Ronda Morrison would impact his life in a major way later on.2, On June 7, 1987 at around 11:00 a.m, McMillian was peacefully driving down Route 84. "My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." From my cell you could smell the stench of burning flesh. Stevenson tries to hasten, rushes to the courthouse to pick up the 35-page ruling in which the judge nullifies, Before a new trial can be scheduled, Stevenson files a motion to have all of, The morning of the hearing, Stevenson tells, A camera crew came to the U.S. to interview EJI and people theyd represented, including. But the jury 11 white members and one black member took the prosecutions word. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000. This article is informative and well written! They had met as teenagers. Mr. McMillian was arrested, and in an extraordinary move, was immediately . - celebrated for convicting Walter McMillian - refused to release Walter McMillian despite family members, church members, black pastors, and others pleading with him and offering their testimonies - brought Walter McMillian to death row (Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama) from the county jail on August 1st, 1987 I don't give a damn what your people say either. $23.95. When McMillian reached adulthood, he noticed this trend and borrowed money to buy his own equipment; by the 1980s, he owned a modestly profitable pulpwood business. No fingerprints, no fibers not a single piece of physical evidence connecting McMillian to the crime scene. You know theyll try to kill you if you actually get to the bottom of everything. Stevenson obtained the recording where Myers confessed to the Morrison murder, but when they flipped the tape they heard the same man complaining about confessing to a crime he and McMillian did not commit. [emailprotected], Mr. McMillians testimony specifically addressed the failure to provide adequate legal help to people in prison and on death row. The Alabama Bureau of Investigation ultimately confirmed the evidence uncovered by EJI and determined that Mr. McMillian was innocent, but prosecutors still wavered on whether they would join the motion filed by EJI to dismiss all charges against Mr. McMillian. October 10, 1995. The upcoming film, Just Mercy, focuses on a petition for a new trial led by Walter McMillians lawyer, Bryan Stevenson of the Equal Justice Initiative. The author did a great job about explaining the life of Mr. McMillians and the troubles he experienced due to the fact of being wrongly convicted for a crime he didnt commit. The suspect, who was from a prominent family then fled town. Born to a poor black family outside of Monroeville, Alabama, Walter became a successful small businessman as an adult. His time spent in prison was torture not only to McMillian but to his family and friends as well. Today, more than 160 people who were on death row have been proved innocent and released. [14] Key remarked that "McMillian deserved to be executed for the brutal killing of a young lady in the first full flower of adulthood. He knew it, his family knew it, and his friends knew it. When he visited McMillian in prison,[10][16][Notes 4][17] McMillian maintained his innocence. When asked whether his change of fortune restored his faith in the justice system, McMillian simply replied, No. He suffered mentally and physically to the point where he developed early on-set dementia. His conviction was wrongfully obtained, based on police coercion and perjury. All he could do was sit there and listen as three witnesses for the prosecution lied in their testimonies. [3] The second best result is Walter McMillian age 70s in Orlando, FL in the Holden Heights neighborhood. On August 17, 1988, the jury of eleven whites and one African American found McMillian "guilty of the capital offense charged in the indictment"[9] and recommended a life sentence, based on the testimony of four state's informants found by the prosecution: Ralph Myers,[9] a career criminal; Bill Hooks, Jr.; Joe Hightower;[9] and one other. 2. While McMillian did receive an undisclosed amount of compensation, it was less than he had hoped for. For the most accurate data, please search on the Detailed View page. His days were spent twenty-three hours a day in a dark cell. "[6] He was held there, pre-trial, for 15 months. Aside from having a misdemeanor charge from a barroom fight, he had a clean record and no other charges to his name. LitCharts Teacher Editions. She flirted with him, and at first he didnt think much of it, but then he succumbed. With no leads for six months, the police focused their attention on Walter McMilllian. Grandfather. Just Mercy tells the story of EJI's clients, from Walter McMillian and Anthony Ray Hinton who were exonerated from Alabama's death row to Joe Sullivan and Ian Manuel who won release after being sentenced to die in prison for nonhomicide crimes in Florida when they were just 13 years old. The . His story was a counter narrative to the rhetoric of fairness and reliability offered by politicians and law enforcement officials who wanted more and faster executions. They threatened me for six years. This left McMillian even more clueless as they didnt provide him with an explanation for how or why he was being charged with such a crime. This was adapted as an eponymous feature film, released in 2019. 416 pp. "[Notes 3][4], On September 19, 1988, Judge Robert E. Lee Key, Jr., overruled the jury's recommendation of a life sentence and imposed the death penalty. The crime took place at the Jackson Cleaners in Monroeville. It was pointed out that Monroeville, Alabama, was "best known as the home of Harper Lee, whose To Kill a Mockingbird told a painful story of race and justice in the small-town Jim Crow South. A white man accused of crimes in another county was pressured by police and ultimately made false statements accusing Mr. McMillian of murdering Ms. Morrison. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. Maggie was born on October 8 1888, in Sunnyside, Belledune, Restigouche, New Brunswick, Canada. (including. A week later, prosecutors dismissed the charges. He was a family friend, and the rumor was that hed been lynched for dating a white woman. He then slipped him a note, supposedly written by Karen Kelly, but McMillian looked confused and threw the note away. Less than two years later, he was convicted of murder a murder he didnt commit. Amazon Removes Christmas Products Featuring Images Of Auschwitz After Online Blowback, Toxic Foam Washes Up On Indian Beach And People Keep Taking Selfies In It, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. Simplified. Walters sense of humor hadnt failed him despite his six years on death row. We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to their family trees to create each person's profile. Walter McMillian was sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit. In November 1988, 28-year-old attorney Bryan Stevenson, a Harvard Law School and Harvard School of Government graduate, who was the director of the newly formed Alabama Capital Representation Resource Center in Montgomery, took on the task of appealing the case. But then police arrested Ralph Myers, a white man with a drug problem and a lengthy criminal record who was also a new friend of Karen Kellys, McMillians ex. McMillian had a business of his own and was an upstanding member of his community. After an investigation revealed that McMillians truck was converted to a low-rider six months after the crime took place, the eye-witnesses recanted their testimony and admitted to lying. Every important quote on LitCharts from his affair with Karen Kelly, was... Among the first exonerees from death row, where he ultimately spent years. The suspect, who was white, had been married to Minnie for! Mr. McMillians testimony specifically addressed the failure to provide adequate legal help people! Fall of 1992, McMillian 's defense attorney, raised awareness on the night walter McMillian, black. Prominent family then fled town soon, he was on death row pressured to frame McMillan the prosecution in... 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