Criminal law

[Debbie C]

I have a friend in Texas who was convicted of Capital Murder with LWOP. He has filed an appeal. Most of his evidence was circumstantial. He is also a changed man and deserves a second chance. What can I do as his friend to help with appeal. Do character letters help ? I am also looking through every day of his trial. He had incompetent attorneys, one of which couldn’t hear and fell asleep during an important witness. Also, is there any law books I could read on the topic ? Thank you in advance.

 

[quincy]

You can help your friend by contributing to the cost of an attorney for him.

If you want to learn more about the law, you can visit your local public library. The librarian can direct you to the appropriate section.

 

[Eekamouse]

I have a friend in Texas who was convicted of Capital Murder with LWOP. He has filed an appeal. Most of his evidence was circumstantial. He is also a changed man and deserves a second chance. What can I do as his friend to help with appeal. Do character letters help ? I am also looking through every day of his trial. He had incompetent attorneys, one of which couldn’t hear and fell asleep during an important witness. Also, is there any law books I could read on the topic ? Thank you in advance.

Of course, he's a changed man. He's in prison and can devote all his love, devotion, and attention to you. And that would last right up to his third day out of prison. He's been LWOP. Unless you were there at the time of the murder he committed and know first hand exactly what went down, you have no way of knowing if the story he's feeding you is even partially true or just a creative pack of lies to gain your sympathy. Did you even read all the transcripts from his trial before deciding he deserves a second chance? Who told you his lawyer couldn't hear and fell asleep during an important witness? Let me guess. Your convict buddy did. Am I right? And his credibility is just beyond reproach - NOT.

 

[Taxing Matters]

I have a friend in Texas who was convicted of Capital Murder with LWOP. He has filed an appeal. Most of his evidence was circumstantial. He is also a changed man and deserves a second chance. What can I do as his friend to help with appeal. Do character letters help ? I am also looking through every day of his trial. He had incompetent attorneys, one of which couldn’t hear and fell asleep during an important witness. Also, is there any law books I could read on the topic ? Thank you in advance.

While reading some books that discuss the criminal prosecution process will help you learn about it, that learning would be more for your personal edification than anything else. Only an attorney may represent him in any legal attack of his conviction. Moreover, it'll take a good appellate attorney to spot the potential errors in the case that might at least get him a new trial. Appeals and collateral attacks of a murder conviction are complex matters for experienced appellate attorneys. The prosecutors will have their best lawyers working to keep him in prison. If he has any real chance of getting the conviction set aside, it'll take a good defense lawyer to go up against the prosecutor.

In a capital murder case the defendant an indigent client (which is nearly all murder defendants as few people could afford to pay for what a murder defense would cost) is initially respresented by an attorney of the public defender's office. But in an appeal of the conviction he'll likely have a different set of lawyers for that, especially If there was any indication that his trial team as a whole provided incompetent representation. If he got a different lawyer for the appeals that lawyer would have looked at the possibility of a challenge to the conviction based on incompetant representation at trial. If there was something to pursue on that score, the appellate counsel would pursue it. It may have already been done and rejected by the courts. If that's the case, then what you are trying to do will be a dead end. If he has lawyers still working on appeals or other legal maneuvers he should not be discussing his case with you at all. Doing that destroys the attorney-client privilege and makes you a possible witness against him in future hearings or in a future trial.

If he had at least one competent lawyer on his team and that lawyer directed his defense then another attorney on his team falling asleep is very unlikely to make a difference. He'd have to prove the defense team as a whole provided incompetent representation and my guess is that it will be very difficult for him to prove that. Convicts sitting in prison on a capital murder conviction with a possible death sentence looming over them are going to grab onto anything at all that sounds like it might help them get out of prison and hold on to that hope very hard even if, objectively, what they have isn't all that much use to them in challenging the conviction. They need that hope to help manage the depression they tend to suffer in prison with the prospect of never leaving that place alive.

Also, prisoners have been known to spin tales of woe for people on the outside to get things from them. In other words, they scam people by playing on their sympathy.

So be careful. You don't want to be a scam victim. And if he's telling you the truth, you don't want to be the reason the attack on his conviction fails. If his lawyers don't know you've been communicating with him, they need to know that to cut off any future problems that might arise and to do damage control for anything already done that might hurt him.

I don't mean to sound harsh. Your heart is in the right place by wanting to help others. But its important for you to know there is little that you can do for him in attacking his conviction or sentence. His lawyers have to do that. There is, however, the chance you might unintentionally make things even harder for him. Before communicating further with him, my suggestion is that you talk to his lawyers to make sure you understand the things you should not discuss with him. Bear in mind that all prison communications by inmates are screened by prison officials and recorded, with the exception of protected conversations with his lawyers.

 

[Litigator22]

While reading some books that discuss the criminal prosecution process will help you learn about it, that learning would be more for your personal edification than anything else. Only an attorney may represent him in any legal attack of his conviction. Moreover, it'll take a good appellate attorney to spot the potential errors in the case that might at least get him a new trial. Appeals and collateral attacks of a murder conviction are complex matters for experienced appellate attorneys. The prosecutors will have their best lawyers working to keep him in prison. If he has any real chance of getting the conviction set aside, it'll take a good defense lawyer to go up against the prosecutor.

In a capital murder case the defendant an indigent client (which is nearly all murder defendants as few people could afford to pay for what a murder defense would cost) is initially respresented by an attorney of the public defender's office. But in an appeal of the conviction he'll likely have a different set of lawyers for that, especially If there was any indication that his trial team as a whole provided incompetent representation. If he got a different lawyer for the appeals that lawyer would have looked at the possibility of a challenge to the conviction based on incompetant representation at trial. If there was something to pursue on that score, the appellate counsel would pursue it. It may have already been done and rejected by the courts. If that's the case, then what you are trying to do will be a dead end. If he has lawyers still working on appeals or other legal maneuvers he should not be discussing his case with you at all. Doing that destroys the attorney-client privilege and makes you a possible witness against him in future hearings or in a future trial.

If he had at least one competent lawyer on his team and that lawyer directed his defense then another attorney on his team falling asleep is very unlikely to make a difference. He'd have to prove the defense team as a whole provided incompetent representation and my guess is that it will be very difficult for him to prove that. Convicts sitting in prison on a capital murder conviction with a possible death sentence looming over them are going to grab onto anything at all that sounds like it might help them get out of prison and hold on to that hope very hard even if, objectively, what they have isn't all that much use to them in challenging the conviction. They need that hope to help manage the depression they tend to suffer in prison with the prospect of never leaving that place alive.

Also, prisoners have been known to spin tales of woe for people on the outside to get things from them. In other words, they scam people by playing on their sympathy.

So be careful. You don't want to be a scam victim. And if he's telling you the truth, you don't want to be the reason the attack on his conviction fails. If his lawyers don't know you've been communicating with him, they need to know that to cut off any future problems that might arise and to do damage control for anything already done that might hurt him.

I don't mean to sound harsh. Your heart is in the right place by wanting to help others. But its important for you to know there is little that you can do for him in attacking his conviction or sentence. His lawyers have to do that. There is, however, the chance you might unintentionally make things even harder for him. Before communicating further with him, my suggestion is that you talk to his lawyers to make sure you understand the things you should not discuss with him. Bear in mind that all prison communications by inmates are screened by prison officials and recorded, with the exception of protected conversations with his lawyers.

 

[Debbie C]

Of course, he's a changed man. He's in prison and can devote all his love, devotion, and attention to you. And that would last right up to his third day out of prison. He's been LWOP. Unless you were there at the time of the murder he committed and know first hand exactly what went down, you have no way of knowing if the story he's feeding you is even partially true or just a creative pack of lies to gain your sympathy. Did you even read all the transcripts from his trial before deciding he deserves a second chance? Who told you his lawyer couldn't hear and fell asleep during an important witness? Let me guess. Your convict buddy did. Am I right? And his credibility is just beyond reproach - NOT.

I’ve looked at the whole trial, from beginning to end. I saw the lawyer fall asleep.

 

[Debbie C]

While reading some books that discuss the criminal prosecution process will help you learn about it, that learning would be more for your personal edification than anything else. Only an attorney may represent him in any legal attack of his conviction. Moreover, it'll take a good appellate attorney to spot the potential errors in the case that might at least get him a new trial. Appeals and collateral attacks of a murder conviction are complex matters for experienced appellate attorneys. The prosecutors will have their best lawyers working to keep him in prison. If he has any real chance of getting the conviction set aside, it'll take a good defense lawyer to go up against the prosecutor.

In a capital murder case the defendant an indigent client (which is nearly all murder defendants as few people could afford to pay for what a murder defense would cost) is initially respresented by an attorney of the public defender's office. But in an appeal of the conviction he'll likely have a different set of lawyers for that, especially If there was any indication that his trial team as a whole provided incompetent representation. If he got a different lawyer for the appeals that lawyer would have looked at the possibility of a challenge to the conviction based on incompetant representation at trial. If there was something to pursue on that score, the appellate counsel would pursue it. It may have already been done and rejected by the courts. If that's the case, then what you are trying to do will be a dead end. If he has lawyers still working on appeals or other legal maneuvers he should not be discussing his case with you at all. Doing that destroys the attorney-client privilege and makes you a possible witness against him in future hearings or in a future trial.

If he had at least one competent lawyer on his team and that lawyer directed his defense then another attorney on his team falling asleep is very unlikely to make a difference. He'd have to prove the defense team as a whole provided incompetent representation and my guess is that it will be very difficult for him to prove that. Convicts sitting in prison on a capital murder conviction with a possible death sentence looming over them are going to grab onto anything at all that sounds like it might help them get out of prison and hold on to that hope very hard even if, objectively, what they have isn't all that much use to them in challenging the conviction. They need that hope to help manage the depression they tend to suffer in prison with the prospect of never leaving that place alive.

Also, prisoners have been known to spin tales of woe for people on the outside to get things from them. In other words, they scam people by playing on their sympathy.

So be careful. You don't want to be a scam victim. And if he's telling you the truth, you don't want to be the reason the attack on his conviction fails. If his lawyers don't know you've been communicating with him, they need to know that to cut off any future problems that might arise and to do damage control for anything already done that might hurt him.

I don't mean to sound harsh. Your heart is in the right place by wanting to help others. But its important for you to know there is little that you can do for him in attacking his conviction or sentence. His lawyers have to do that. There is, however, the chance you might unintentionally make things even harder for him. Before communicating further with him, my suggestion is that you talk to his lawyers to make sure you understand the things you should not discuss with him. Bear in mind that all prison communications by inmates are screened by prison officials and recorded, with the exception of protected conversations with his lawyers.

Thank you for all the advice. First, he has never asked me for anything in almost a year. We only discuss what is public knowledge from the trial on social media, and know what not to discuss. And he has helped me get closer to God. It’s not an act, he knows the Bible and lives it, in books, podcasts and has helped his family too. But thank you and I will be careful.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Glad I could help you out with getting some sleep just as a few of your posts have done for me.

 

[stealth2]

Glad I could help you out with getting some sleep just as a few of yours have done for me.

It's okay, TM... Some of us enjoy your posts. Your writing style alone makes them interesting.

 

[zddoodah]

Most of his evidence was circumstantial.

That's true in most cases.

He is also a changed man and deserves a second chance.

Respectfully, your opinion on the subject might have been relevant during the sentencing phase of trial but is otherwise meaningless.

What can I do as his friend to help with appeal.

You can make it known to his lawyer that you're willing to help with any required legwork. Otherwise, nothing.

Do character letters help ?

"Character" is not relevant in a criminal prosecution (except in some RARE cases where the defendant makes it relevant). "Character" might be relevant in the sentencing phase. However, appeals concern themselves with legal errors made during the trial and pretrial phase of the case and do not involve submission of new evidence.

is there any law books I could read on the topic ?

Sure. Tons of them. Feel free to visit a law library and ask a librarian to direct you to some.

 

[Eekamouse]

How were you able to look at the whole trial?

 

[Litigator22]

Glad I could help you out with getting some sleep just as a few of your posts have done for me.

Oops! How crass of me! I must have pressed the wrong button. Is this better?

"I will now read from Matthew, Mark, Luke and DUCK!"

 

[Zigner]

He is also a changed man and deserves a second chance.

I'm sure his victim would feel the same way about their own life...if they could.

 

[AlmostThere]

You could try reaching out to the Innocence Project.

 

[Zigner]

You could try reaching out to the Innocence Project.

While true, it's interesting to note that the OP never mentioned anything about the guy being innocent. In fact, the OP states he's a "changed man" and that he "deserves a second chance." If he were innocent, then why does he need a "second chance?"