DEATH ROW’S LONGEST RESIDENT IS INNOCENT.
UPDATE
This website newly opened in October
2009. We will keep you informed of
developments.
I am Douglas Roy Stankewitz, better
known as “Chief,” and in 2009 I am the longest resident on
California’s Death row. I am
a 51-year-old Mono Indian who has been on Death Row now for 32 years for a
murder I did not commit but was convicted by false testimony and fabrication of
evidence.
SHORT
BIO
I was born in 1958 into the Mono tribe
near Mono Lake in California. As a
baby I was wrapped in an Indian carrying basket. I grew up in a notorious large family
that had a reputation for rebellion.
They sabotaged and fought the pipelines draining of Mono Lake to provide
the great amount of water needed for Los Angeles’ green lawns and
pools. I was early called
“Chief” among my family of 11 siblings.
When I was 11 my older brother badly
wounded a policeman with a shotgun blast in his face and I was in the car with
my brother. Although my brother
admitted to the crime, I was considered equally guilty, and subsequently
institutionalized for a few years.
I think this may by why I was framed for
a murder once I was old enough to be sent to Death Row. My childhood was very difficult but I
was a fighter and very good at survival.
I was taken away from my family after a severe attack at age five sent
me to the hospital. In one foster
home I fought off an attempt to smother me. Another time when I was quite young some
rival Indians actually buried me alive, being angry at my brothers; but they
relented and dug me out again
before I suffocated.
When I was 18, I was seized for a murder
I didn’t commit, and despite two gun tests that proved I hadn’t
fired a gun, I was convicted. The
police finally had the satisfaction of getting a death sentence for one of my
notorious family; it hardly mattered which one. I went to Death Row in 1978. More details about the trial are below.
I have been on Death row 32 years and never
had a lawyer who would submit an appeal that questioned evidence of my guilt or
serious errors in my trial process.
My court appointed lawyers are paid by the court and therefore obviously
do not want to go against that court’s decision, so I am unable to contest
that trial. Someone unable to
afford high lawyer’s fees is not and cannot be adequately represented in
court. As an Indian, I can only
conclude that those in power conspire to repress and harm minorities, and this
country’s history bears that out.
DEATH
ROW
When I arrived on California’s
Death Row, I refused to join a gang and be under their control; I stood
alone. I let it be known that
I’d never lose a fight and they’d never break my spirit, and 32
years later it’s still intact.
Others who also don’t want join
the gangs have gravitated to me. They all are extremely strong physically and
inwardly. I estimate that about ten
percent of the inmates on San Quentin’s Death Row are innocent of their
conviction, and I am one of them.
ISOLATION
There are three levels of solitary
confinement, the lightest is being restricted to your own cell and denied
access to visitors, the telephone, and going out in the Yard with the
others. The worst level is the
Hole, down below the prison. In the Hole you are kept in the dark; there is no
light except from a single bulb down the hall, not in your cell. There is hardly anything you can
do. There is nothing to sit on, no
mattress, only your blanket between you and the concrete floor. It’s cold in winter and stifling
hot in summer. You are fed a patty
twice a day totaling 1500 calories, with one meal once a week, to keep you
alive. Weight loss is constant. 95% of the prisoners who stay in the
hole, called Adjustment Center (AC) for 60 days or longer lose major weight, at
least 25 pounds in six months.
People have lost as much as 120 pounds. By law this extreme isolation is
supposed to be limited to two weeks, but with all the possible petty
infractions, they manage to keep it going on and on. Anything at all is used as an excuse to
throw someone in solitary when they want that person there.
I was there for several years straight
on the pretext that I refused to cut my hair. Many Indians believe in having long hair
and in my tribe they only cut their long hair for spiritual and religious
beliefs. However, there are other
inmates who have long hair and are not in solitary. I have now cut my hair to keep out of
solitary confinement, but they can easily use other reasons also. I have been in isolation a total of
about 23 years out of my 32 years on Death Row, largely because the authorities
fear my “inside” influence, and because I have refused to be molded
or treated disrespectfully by the Administration.
The Hole is for the purpose of breaking
your spirit and it works.
It’s well known in prison that you come out of the Hole either
stronger or you are broken. Some
men go mad. The first tier on Death
Row is lined with those that came into prison in a normal state of mind but
have totally lost their mind from the isolation. They scream and throw feces at whoever
goes by. It takes great strength of
mind to endure such isolation for long periods. To be confined in darkness and isolation
is inhuman and barbaric, and belongs to a bygone era when people were very
primitive.
There was a Stanford Prison Experiment
that showed that normal students and their principal investigator rapidly lost
sight of reality and went to abusive extremes when they were in an artificial
inmate-guard situation for only a few days. The experiment had to be halted earlier
than intended. But in actual
prisons there are set rules to follow, so excessive extremism is controlled. Stanford’s mistake was to not have
set any guidelines. But it did show
the very dangerous emotional effect of the dominance/punishment situation, and
the Hole is just that.
THE
TRIAL
Being poor I was given court appointed
counsel who only dumped my case and appeal. Inside prison we call these lawyers
dumpsters or dump trucks. They
don’t bother to get your appeal to the court by the due date. Over the last 2 years I have had
counsels forced upon me who have always against all my wishes and desires
presented a distorted mental incapacity defense, never bothering to seek the
truth or point out the facts of the case.
In 32 years no court appointed counsel has ever asked questions or
really investigated my case at all (click on Ineffective Counsel). After reading this, you could answer the
question yourself--do you think that I received a fair trial, or a real appeal,
in view of the following:
My trial lawyer Hugh Goodwin when asked
by the Judge, “Is defense ready?” stated, “Yes, your Honor,
defense rests.” Goodwin did
not call any witness, he filed only five motions, and he never hired nor had an
investigator in my case even though the court had a fund for me to pay for an
investigator. Goodwin had my 1st
degree capital murder trial for 1-1/2 years and he billed the courts only
$15,900—yes, that little for a 1st degree capital case.
Trial lawyer Goodwin signed a
declaration (2 of them) claiming that he dumped defendant Stankewitz. To see his declarations click on Trial
Lawyer’s Confession.
Codefendant Billy Brown signed a
declaration that he falsely testified against me and he was promised something
for his false testimony (he received full immunity as you can read if you click
on Witness Billy Brown). Billy Brown was allowed to testify that
he was not given or promised anything for his testimony, whereas he received
immunity. The US Supreme Court has
just overturned a conviction on the basis of one of the accused having been
given incentive to testify and become a witness against another defendant (Troy
Davis, August 17, 2009).
Witness Jesus Marez testified falsely
beginning with his name as it is not his birth name—he paid for the name
at a swap meet. He also was
subsequently given U.S. citizenship upon the request of the Fresno, Calif.
District Attorney’s office.
(The trial was in Fresno.)
Jesus Marez was allowed to testify he received nothing for his
testimony, whereas he actually received U.S. citizenship.
Three jurors withheld facts and
lied during the jury selection process, which also violated my civil rights
(click on Biased Jurors).
Jury panel was not told that my Gun test
was negative, which proved I had not shot a gun within 24 hours of the
crime. I was given two gun tests,
neither admitted into the evidence.
I am Indian. The person I am accused of killing was
white. On the first day of the
trial right in front of the courthouse steps there was a Ku Klux Klan rally
which influences jurors.
The very first day of Jurors placed into
the Jury Assembly room I was taken fully wearing ankle leg cuffs and waist chains
into the Jury Assembly Room standing in clear view in front of and watched by every
prospective juror, as the clerk read out their names as they were all facing
me. Trial Judge Krum stated this
never happened because the bailiffs had no reason to take me into the Jury
Assembly room. However,
Jurors’ questionnaires prove I was there.
During my whole trial I was forced by
Judge Krum to wear leg irons and waist chains and at times a plastic fully
around my leg, so I was unable to bend my leg at all. This creates a very negative impression
on the jury. Officers taking the
stand falsely testified that I was causing a lot of trouble in jail custody and
was violent. The judge ordered
these officers to prove what they testified to, but the officers were unable
to prove or produce any evidence to Judge Krum. I myself produced my only negative
discipline report while in jail custody.
This report was because I had two bed sheets on my bed and the rules
said that I was only allowed one sheet.
I asked Judge Krum how many sheets he had on his bed, and he said
four. But even with this, Judge
Krum ordered that my leg irons and waist chains be kept on me for the whole
trial. Every time I moved sitting
in the chair the leg irons or chains would make noise.
In view of this, do you feel that I
received a fair trial? Now you know
why I need your help to pay for a good lawyer.
There’s so much more proof,
also. I mean, as of today, not one
court or judge has ever held a hearing on any of the above facts. None of these three jurors have ever
been called in front of a court or judge to question them about her/his lying
at the jury selection process, and no court appointed counsel has ever pointed
out this issue.
Sure, anyone could look or sound guilty
if only one side of a story is being told in court. In my case in 32 years NO one has ever
told my side, and more importantly, no court appointed counsel has ever
challenged the prosecution’s false story, and that’s all I’ve
asked.
Isn’t it a crime for a District
Attorney to put a witness on the stand to testify knowing beforehand that such
witness will be testifying falsely?
Well, in my trial not only did the District Attorney put on such
witnesses but once the witnesses testified falsely the District Attorney did
not correct their false testimony.
As an example, the District Attorney’s office gave co-defendant
Billy Brown full immunity for him to testify against me and such Court Order
was sitting right in front of Judge Krum, court-appointed Hugh Goodwin, and
District Attorney Robertson, stating Billy Brown was given full immunity. In so doing the District Attorney not
only violated my civil rights but he never corrected the witness’s
perjured testimony that he clearly knew was incorrect. Appointed counsel never did either. And when I tried to verbally correct the
witness’s false testimony, Judge Krum had me removed from the courtroom,
which happened many times because no one would speak up in my defense, so I
really had no choice but to try to speak up for myself.
For 32 years on Death Row I have never
managed to receive my trial transcripts.
Why? Because they know that
I’d make copies of their wrongs and mail them to people like you, so you
could see I’m speaking the truth.
Doesn’t the law read that if
during the jury selection process a prospective juror withholds a
relevant fact, then a reversal must be granted? Well, in my case not only were facts
withheld but also the prospective juror lied about it. Yes, if I had known about these facts I
would have kicked the juror(s) off plus I believe that if these jurors did not
withhold these facts that the trial judge would have excused the juror
also. Thus, this proves that that I
should have had and still should be granted a full reversal.
You can read the decision and opinion by
California Chief Justice George, about Lawyer Hugh Goodwin in the Jones v.
California decision 1997.
Troy Jones had Goodwin as his appointed lawyer at the same time as I
did. After the Jones decision came
down, why didn’t any of my appointed appeal lawyers ever file an
emergency motion right back in front of Chief Justice George’s court
based on his decision in the Jones case?
Another example of a court appointed
lawyer forced upon me by Judge Ishii of Fresno: Lawyer Kathleen L. Hart had my appeal 12
years and did nothing. She
had a due date to file to the U.S. Supreme Court, but instead of filing it she
took a vacation and gave my appeal to her secretary to do and file, so it was
not done at all, the due date missed, and because the due date was missed the
U.S. Supreme Court rejected hearing my appeal.
So now with only what I’ve shared
with you and these attached papers, do you feel that I received a fair
trial? There’s so much
more proof, but I only wanted to share this with you in hopes that somehow
directly or indirectly you will help.
I need your help.
As I have stated for 32 years, my side
has never been told. I’ve
always said that I’m innocent and only by and with the District
Attorney’s fabrication and witnesses giving false testimony could I have
been convicted for a murder that not only did I not commit but I was not even
present at the murder.
International
Indian Treaty Council
I need a lawyer who is outside the
Fresno Court’s control. This
can be an opportunity for a lawyer to gain recognition for success in freeing a
death row inmate who’s been on death row for all of 34 years.
If you wish to write, I would be happy
to hear from you. If you wish to
make a contribution for my legal defense, please do so through Pay Pal at the
top of this message, or send a check to the address noted below. Anything at all will be appreciated more
than you can imagine.
I close by saying I truly do thank you for
your time reading this and may life always watch over you and keep you safe and
blessed.
In
a forever struggle,
Douglas
Stankewitz, B97879
San
Quentin State Prison
San
Quentin, California 94974, USA
Checks
can be sent to:
Stankewitz
Legal Defense Fund
P.O.
Box 334
Rio
Dell, CA 95562
You
can also email a question to:
Marilyn
Parish, Chairperson,
Committee
for the Legal Defense of Douglas Roy Stankewitz
Donate
via PayPal