Government & Politics
Wrongfully-convicted Kansas men warn about the dangers of jailhouse witness testimony
Two men imprisoned for a total of nearly 40 years for crimes they didn’t commit warned Kansas lawmakers Thursday that jailhouse witnesses eager to strike deals with prosecutors for favorable treatment can lead to wrongful convictions.
Lamonte McIntyre, who spent 23 years in prison, and Floyd Bledsoe, who served nearly 16 years, said the Legislature must require more transparency from prosecutors who call incarcerated witnesses to testify against fellow inmates.
“I know people are sitting in prison right now based on lies told by jailhouse witnesses who they never met,” said McIntyre, 43, just two days after the Kansas Attorney General agreed to allow his request for compensation for wrongful conviction to proceed. He could ultimately receive more than $1.5 million.
Bledsoe, also 43 and out of prison since 2015, said he had “learned how easy it is for jailhouse witnesses to game the system. People will say anything to avoid incarceration.”
They spoke to a House committee considering a bill that would require the state to provide defense attorneys with the criminal history of imprisoned witnesses, details of cooperation agreements and disclosure of any instances in which the witnesses recanted testimony.
The bill would bring Kansas in line with states such as Oklahoma, Nebraska and Texas that also have enhanced disclosure rules, according to the Midwest Innocence Project, a proponent of the bill.
Prosecutors labeled the proposal unnecessary and burdensome.
In written testimony, the Kansas County & District Attorneys Association said the bill “fixes a problem that does not exist,” since jailhouse witnesses are used only in a small number of cases.
And only the jury should determine whether a witness is valuable to a case, the association said in a statement.
“Without evidence that jailhouse witness testimony is a problem in Kansas,” the association said, the Legislature shouldn’t require prosecutors and law enforcement to expend “significant resources” to build a database on jailhouse informants.
Advocates for the wrongfully convicted said the measure would make the system more just.
“We know that Kansans want and deserve fair trial with reliable evidence. That is what this bill does,” said Tricia Bushnell, the director of the Midwest Innocence Project.
The group also maintains that public safety would improve because some jailhouse witnesses who earn more lenient sentences commit violent crimes upon release.
McIntyre and Bledsoe said wariness of jailhouse witnesses is one reason inmates generally don’t talk about their crimes.
“Everyone who’s incarcerated knows that what you say about your case to others can be used against you, McIntyre said. “It’s the last thing a person wants to do in that situation,” he said.
The presence of McIntyre and Bledsoe at the hearing on Thursday illustrated the consequences of wrongful conviction.
McIntyre received two life sentences for a 1994 double murder.
His attorneys eventually discovered that police ignored eyewitnesses who said he was not the shooter and family members who said he was home all that day. McIntyre’s mother has accused the detective on the case of framing her son because she refused to have sex with him.
He was freed in October 2017 after Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark A. Dupree Sr. said the county was no longer contesting the facts of his innocence.
Bledsoe was wrongfully convicted of murder, kidnapping and indecent liberties in connection with the 1999 killing of Carmille Arfmann. Later, DNA evidence proved his brother committed the crimes.
“We need this law in Kansas,” Bledsoe told lawmakers. “The day of change is here and it all starts with you guys.”
State Rep. John Carmichel thanked the two for their appearance.
“You’re innocent Kansas citizens,” he said, “and you could have gone on with your lives. I appreciate you taking the time.”
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