Texas justice system fails 'Ethics 101' in death penalty case, advocate says - Reuters

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A Texas man who has been on death row since 2003 had his conviction overturned on Wednesday because of newly uncovered evidence that the county attorney who prosecuted him was also working for the judge, effectively serving as both accuser and decider in a capital murder case.

Former prosecutor Ralph Petty even wrote decisions for the court in some instances.

The conflict of interest played out in Midland County, Texas, for more than 16 years, in hundreds of cases and was exposed to the defense bar only by happenstance.

Wednesday's decision involved the case of Clinton Young, who was accused of taking part in two shootings in 2001 when he was 18. He maintains that he was framed.

In 2019, Midland County District Attorney Nodolf, who was elected in 2016, inadvertently found records showing Petty’s dual roles and informed Young's lawyers. Two preceding DAs knew about the arrangement, as did judges, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals wrote. It continued even after the county was audited by the Internal Revenue Service in 2008 in relation to the arrangement.

A USA Today analysis in February found that Petty worked for nine judges in 355 cases involving defendants he prosecuted.

Nodolf told me she condemned Petty's actions, while adding that he was unbiased in applying the law to any case. There would have been a flood of reversals on appeal by now if Petty systematically favored state prosecutors, Nodolf said.

Petty, who was ordered to surrender his law license in April, couldn’t be reached through his lawyer. An official of the District Court of Midland County declined to comment.

Young, who remains in custody, will be taken off death row. He could still be re-tried, although the Midland DA's office has recused itself from the case.

Merel Pontier, a lawyer from the Netherlands, was inspired to begin working on U.S. death penalty cases by Young's trials. She's now legal director of the Clinton Young Foundation, established in 2014 to advocate for incarcerated people with long-term or death sentences. (Pontier is not one of Young’s lawyers on the appeal.)

I talked with her about the implications of the revelations in Young's case and America’s longstanding death penalty.

The following answers have been edited for length and clarity.

REUTERS: How did you first become involved in the case?

PONTIER: I was a law student in the Netherlands in 2014. I always had an interest in the American justice system because it's so different, so I interned in New York doing white-collar fraud work. I saw a Dutch documentary about the death penalty in Texas when I got back, and I thought "Wow that's such a different group, and if something goes wrong, people lose their lives and it can't be undone." That got my interest, so I wrote to Clinton and we developed a friendship.

I eventually realized that's the work I want to be doing – ensuring everyone has the right to a fair trial and good defense, especially where life is at risk. So in 2019 I moved to Texas and became a barred attorney here, and have been working on other death penalty and capital cases.

REUTERS: What did you think when you heard the court vacated the conviction?

PONTIER: It’s the only right decision. No one’s ever seen anything like this from what I’ve heard. There’s no real way to remedy this other than vacating entirely and at least trying to give him a fair trial.

REUTERS: What was so striking to you about our system of capital punishment that you moved to Texas?

PONTIER: Well, of course, we don’t have the death penalty, and we don’t have some of these outrageous sentences or the number of wrongful convictions you see in the U.S.

REUTERS: What stood out for you about Young’s case?

PONTIER: His case is so unique, but at the same time it’s not, because in every death penalty case I’ve seen, something went wrong – whether it’s prosecutorial misconduct or ineffective assistant of counsel.

I had a law professor who told me "Merel, it’s not about whether something went wrong; it’s about what went wrong – you just have to find it." So many cases are either wrongful convictions or they over-charged people. My professor was right about that.

REUTERS: This all happened out in the open. What do you think about it happening elsewhere?

PONTIER: I’m sure it’s happened somewhere else because it was just a coincidence that this was discovered, which is insane. I’ve been shocked by how little coverage and public reaction we’ve seen. How can people not find this interesting? Obviously people care more when someone’s proven innocent, but we should care about the process itself because we will continue convicting the innocent if it's unfair.

REUTERS: What do you think all this means for Midland. How should the broader situation be addressed?

PONTIER: It’s scary because this is like Ethics 101, and we don’t even have checks and balances because we thought everyone knows not to do this.

I’m not in favor of harsh punishments, so I’d be a hypocrite to say let’s punish them as hard as possible. What will (deter unethical prosecutors) is to take away their victories and overturn all their convictions. Showing that you will have that conviction overturned is a really good first step.

REUTERS: U.S. courts often say that the kind of massive remedial work implicated by systemic or pervasive misconduct is too burdensome for the judicial system to take on. What are your thoughts there?

PONTIER: I wonder when we will get to that point where prosecutorial misconduct is so egregious that we say "OK we can’t retry these cases, or (we have to review all these cases)," but sometimes it feels like they never get to that point in this country.

REUTERS: What’s next for the foundation and Young?

PONTIER: We’re just going to help Clinton get a trial that’s fair this time. If he does get released, it would be great if he joins the foundation and helps educate the public about prosecutorial misconduct, solitary confinement, wrongful convictions and all those issues. There are many people in the system unjustly who need help.

Opinions expressed here by the author are those of the author. Reuters News, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence and freedom from bias.

(UPDATE: This story has been updated with comment from the Midland County District Attorney.)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Hassan Kanu

Hassan Kanu writes about access to justice, race, and equality under law. Kanu, who was born in Sierra Leone and grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, worked in public interest law after graduating from Duke University School of Law. After that, he spent five years reporting on mostly employment law. He lives in Washington, D.C. Reach Kanu at hassan.kanu@thomsonreuters.com

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