On eighteenth, nineteen ninety eight, a woman named Rachel claims to have seen her neighbors Julius Graves and Charlie Winbush talking. Charleik was telling her fiance Graves about how a man named Lee run Chen, who worked at the Chinese restaurant up the block Mister Hinks, had touched her inappropriately. Graves replied that he would scare him. Later that day, Julius Graves, his fiance's cousin, and another younger friend had a few drinks with Graves's friend, Anthony Simms as they listened to
music by Anthony's car. As the evening wrapped up, Graves asked Anthony to drive him down the block to mister Hinks. Oblivious to any issue with Chen, Anthony agreed. They went into the restaurant, when it is believed that Graves shot and killed Lee run Chen. In shock, Anthony fled alone while Graves and the two younger guys returned to Graves's apartment, wiped the gun clean, figured out where to stash it, and began to conjure up a story to deflect blame
from Graves and on Anthony Simms. With Graves at a number of his friends and family supporting this phony narrative, investigators set their sights on Anthony. Only one witness came forward independently who was neither coerced nor friends and family of Julius Graves, Graves's neighbor Rachel, who was on the phone outside of mister Hins during the shooting and saw Graves running from the restaurant with a soft off shotgun
in his hand. Yet her statement was ignored by investigators and hidden from the defense, and as a result, Anthony Simms continues to serve twenty five years to life. This is wrongful conviction with Jason Flamm. Welcome back to wrongful conviction with Jason Flamm. That's me and today if you
hear my voice, sounds sort of down. I mean, this is one of the most troubling wrongful conviction cases that I've ever seen in twenty eight years of doing this work, which is almost as long as Anthony Simms has been locked up for a crime he obviously didn't commit. First of all, I want to introduce the two attorneys who are so devoted to this case and to this man, Jonathan Hiles and Thomas Hoffman. Thank you both for being here.
Thank you.
Thank you for doing.
This Jason, and now of course saving the best for last. And I'm just so sorry that you're here under these circumstances. But I'm honestly honored that you're here with us today on the podcast. So Anthony Simms, welcome to Rawful Conviction. And Anthony, of course, is now a forty five year old man, twenty four years into a twenty five to life sentence for a murder he didn't commit. Now, this began back in nineteen ninety eight, but I want to go back even further than that. Anthony, where did you
grow up and what was your childhood like? Was it a happy childhood?
Yes? I grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and I grow with a mother, father and my two older brothers, and we had was a very happy, loving family. We would do a lot of fun activity together, go on vacations. I remember every Sunday with family Day. Whatever thing we needed to do we had to do together as a family.
And leading up to when this awful crime occurred, you had kids a Beyonce at that time. What was life like for you?
I lived with that thought was a normal life. I worked for Bell Atlantic Telephone Company, and I was a field technician. I instill a phone lines and provided doubts on the customers. I live with my fiance Keisha and my two sons at the town and we would do a lot of family things together as a told of every family oriented, so we would go out to movies, parks, breakfast, ride everything. We would just do as much as we can possibly.
So this brings us to May eighteenth, nineteen eighty, when you, Anthony, witnessed a terrible crime. There was a Chinese restaurant, Mister Hings, which was down the block from where your former friend Julius Grace lived, and around ten o'clock that night, a man named Lee Runschen, who worked at Mister Hings, was
shot and killed. But earlier that day, before any of that happened, you thought you were just going to swing by Graves's apartment to show him this new car you bought your fiance Keisha.
So this day I decided to Baja Kong. And Julius Graves was at that time my best friend, and of course because I bought the car, was happy. I wanted to show him the car, and I bought my wife to a process. So I drove to his house at that time. So during that time, he asked me to drive him to the liquor store. I drove him to the liquor store. I went to the regular store and
bought some beer. We was talking. I was letting the music play from my car radio, and then his two friends came over, his fiance's cousin Derek and then later on his friend Louis, and they was listening to music with us. And I want to say, like around ten o'clock, it was getting late. I wanted to go home show my wife the cause and I wanted to be home with my sons. So during that time, Julius asked me
to drive him to the Chinese restaurant. So I thought this is a weird request because he lived down around a corner from the restaurant, and I thought he could have just walked to the restaurant. So I said, I listen, I was drinking a couple of beers. Let me go to the door to buy some breastmans, because I don't like driving around like that. I remember, right before I decided to go to the store that did the rest means whatever? I remember Julius saying, listen, and I'm going
to the house. I'm going to go check with Charlie, which is his girlfriend at the time, to see if she wanted anything from the store as well. So I said, all right, so I can only assume him that's the time that he got the weapon. And when I got back to my car, Julius was sitting in my passenger seat and his two little friends were sitting in the back. They know that I didn't expect him to be in a car because they looked at me with this look like, all right, but we're just going to go to this
restaurant with you. So I didn't think nothing. I very I got in the car and I drove to the Chinese restaurant. When I got out the car, I looked back and I noticed they were still sitting in the car. So I was like, all right, come on, because I'm not driving your home from here. I'm going straight home because it was getting late, so I decided to proceed
to the Chinese restaurant. When I got inside of the restaurant, I started looking around for the menus and stuff to see what I was going to purchase for my wife. The next thing I know, I saw Julius come in the store. With like a weird expression on his face, and almost immediately he reached him his fans and pulled out a soda sod gun and I remember thinking, like, what the hell was going on? And where did he even get that gun from? I asked, hm, I said,
what the hell are you doing? Are you crazy, Julius sex He said no, approached the counter, pointed the gun at one of the workers and pulled the trigger. And I couldn't believe it. I fell to blood rush for my body. I was like shocked, and all I remember at that time just running out the store getting in my car. Julius jumped in in too it, and I said get out. I kicked everybody. I said, everybody get out of my car. And I drove home and told Keisha I happened. That was the worst night of my life.
Yeah, it would be the worst night of almost anyone's life to witness something like that.
That night when I when I went home, I said, I can't believe it. I mean, I got home, I got on the phone and I called them and I said, what the hell is wrong with you? Probably cursed him, I said some other things to him that Basically, I want to know why did he put me in that situation? Why did he allow me to walk into that? Why didn't he tell me what was going on? Maybe he thought I would talk him out of it. I don't know,
but he just kept apologizing. And that's when he told me that you know the person that he signed out. I can't believe it. And I said, Julius, don't ever call me again. I don't want to hear from you no more. I just wanted to try to separate my cellphone.
So it turns out that Julius Graves had a motive, and that is that Graves was upset that mister Chen, who worked at the Chinese restaurant, had reportedly touched the hand of Graves's fiance Sharleek earlier in the day of the murder, that he had touched her hand inappropriately. She was upset about this, she told Graves, and Graves said that he would go to the restaurant and scare the victim. We know he did a lot more than that, but that appears to have been the motive that we didn't
find out until many years later. Now, what was known at the time is that after the murder, after Anthony got Graves and his two friends, Derek Dollop and Louis Cologne, to leave the car. It is undisputed that Graves took the shotgun used in the murder, went back to the apartment where he was staying, feverishly wiped off the shotgun to get his fingerprints off of it, and then gave the gun to his friend Louis Cologne to hide from police. And Louis, by the way, was only fourteen years old
at the time. Graves's excuse for doing this is that he wasn't thinking. That was his only justification for the fact that he took the murder weapon, wiped it off
his fingerprints, and tried to hide it from police. Now, Furthermore, this murder weapon, the sawed off shotgun, had previously been kept in a lock box in the apartment where Graves was staying, and Graves and his friend Derek Dollop, who was also his fiance's cousin, admitted even that they knew the shotgun was kept there and had seen it there before. So all the evidence suggested that the shotgun belonged to Graves, and it is undisputed he had handled it right after the murder.
Occurred, right and the physical evidence was seen later proved that this sawed off shotgun from Graves' apartment was used in the murder. So this is where we start seeing a narrative being formed from the Graves camp to try to deflect responsibility for this murder away from Graves and toward Anthony. And initially it will seem like a lot of witnesses came forward to support what was really just coming straight from Graves's imagination and what later became the
prosecution's narrative. But it will become clear as we move along here that none of these witnesses were to be believed. They should have been believed for two reasons. One, it's discovered later that these eyewitness accounts are initially riddled with glaring inconsistencies and contradictions that were then changed to fit a cohesive narrative in time for trial, which is just not typical what a group of people are telling the truths obviously right. And two, most of the witnesses are
friends and family of Graves. There are only two witnesses, two who are not Graves's friends or family, one of whom was coerced by police into an ambiguous statement that nonetheless helped the prosecution's case at the time of trial, and the other is the only independent witness who bravely came forward to tell the truth about Graves's motive and having seen him running from the restaurant with a gun. However, none of this info about these two witnesses was known
to the defensive trial, but we'll get to that later. Now, Right now, let's focus on the dubious narrative coming from the Graves camp. So, the day after the murder, Sharleek's brother, William Robertson told police a second hand story from Sharleek that Sharleek had said that Anthony had come by earlier the day of the murder and taken the shotgun out of the apartment. Then comes the narrative from Graves about
the night of the murder. Okay, ready, So, according to Graves, Anthony dropped by the apartment around six pm and they had a few drinks. Anthony allegedly showed Graves a shotgun that he had in his trunk, a shotgun that Graves should have recognized as the one from his apartment, as Jonathan just said that Graves had admitted. Now, at some point Anthony and Graves are joined by Sharleek's cousin Derek
Dallup and another younger friend, Luis Cologne. According to Graves, Anthony had a previous altercation with the victim, Lee run Chen, who worked at the Chinese restaurant down the block, Mister Hings. The reason behind this disagreement and the timing changed between initial interviews and trial. In this farcical version of events, Anthony allegedly had refused to pay for something at Mister Hings because it was either something he hadn't ordered, or
some chicken was undercooked, or it didn't look right. You know, lying is tricky that way, right, It gets hard to keep track of your own bullshit. Anyway, At the time of this alleged problem and refusal of payment, Lee run Chen allegedly pulled a gun on Anthony, to which Anthony allegedly responded that he would get Chen for this. So this patently ridiculous and poorly written story is what established
Anthony's alleged motive to murder Lee run Chen. According to Graves, that night in the lead up to the murder, Anthony brought up this two to three week old and then later four to five month old several times and was getting heated up about it before they headed to mister Hings, where Anthony was the one who allegedly shot Lee run Chen, not Graves, whose fiance had complained to him about Chen's
inappropriate touching earlier that day. So this just super believable narrative is what became the prosecution's theory.
I don't even know what to say at this point, but it just feels liberated to hear you retell that story because it sounded crazy to me, and from you saying how craze it sounds to you, that means a lot because I've always believed down the line that the truth was going to come out and the truth was going to set me free. I didn't know that it would be in prison twenty three years before this truth came.
Out, and it's going to be out there now finally for everyone to hear, to shine a much needed light on this terrible and tragic injustice. There are a lot of good people working on your behalf right now, not least of which, of course, are your lawyers and Jonathan. There's even more than about Graves's ridiculous narrative.
Yeah, I think the chronology of how the investigation unfolded, which Jason, you've sort of given that it was Graves trying to divert attention from himself, his friends, and his family, and that's why the murder got pinned on Anthony, because the case against Graves was so overwhelming that there had to be a scapegoat, and the story against Anthony was not only ridiculous, but as he alluded to, it was
so inconsistent. Graves first actually told police Anthony and Graves's other two friends had gone to the Chinese restaurant earlier on that evening and then come back and Anthony was heated about an argument with the victim. But Graves's two friends never said they went to the Chinese restaurant. It
was just made up. So Graves had to change his story and say that he had witnessed an argument between Anthony and the victim months earlier over a food order, and that Anthony was still fuming about this months later on the night of the murder. Again, Graves's friends right, who were trying to back him up. They never said that Anthony had any beef with a victim or was fuming about it in the car that evening. So the story never really made sense, But what was important to
police and prosecutors, unfortunately, was clearing the case. And once they had Graves and his two friends who were willing to point the finger at Anthony as a scapegoat, the train had left the station.
Okay, so they've got their site set on you, Anthony. And initially they show up at your job, but you were out that day. This tipped you off though that they were at least looking to talk to you, and eventually you went involuntarily. I mean, you were an innocent man. So did you think, well, I'll just go in there, clear this up and head on home.
I did, And a big key as we left out was there was a camera inside of that restaurant, so I thought, regardless that somebody would at one point in Tom reviewed it, and then I had nothing to worry about the tape with clear everything up for me. So yes, I drove myself to the precinct. And that's why it's been ever since knocked away.
You never walked out of there again, never walked out. Now what happened with the videotape from the Chinese restaurant?
They said that the tape wasn't recording.
Do you believe that?
To be honest, I don't know what to believe anymore. I used to have a lot of faith in the condicial system, but from being a cross rated myself and listening to some of the other Harves stories from people in here with me, I don't know what to believe now.
They had their man, and any other evidence that existed then were emerged later that suggested Anthony was innocent or that Graves was guilty was just an inconvenience to the prosecution's case, and so it was not disclosed to the defense.
And of course listeners of this show will know that when the authorities withhold exculpatory evidence, it's called a Brady violation.
Brady violations are illegal, but as our listeners also know, Brady violations rarely seemed to bring any actual ramifications for the people who commit them, so it just keeps fucking happening in case after case, And in this case, I believe the worst Brady violation, the worst one among so many, is the sole independent witness who came forward in this case that I alluded to earlier, whose statement was hidden from the defense. Will refer to her only as Rachel.
So Rachel was right outside the Chinese restaurant where the murder occurred, talking on a pay phone. This was an undisputed fact, and police spoke to her, and initially she said that she had heard the shot and seen people running from the Chinese restaurant, but she didn't have her contacts in and so she couldn't identify who those people were.
That was what she said.
Now, this was not a neighborhood where it was easy to report to police who you had seen involved in a murder, much less if that person was your neighbor. And actually Rachel, who was seventeen at the time, she was neighbors with Julius Graves. Now, a couple of weeks went by and Rachel had kept this information to herself,
but her conscience was gnawing away at her. She learned that Anthony had been wrongfully arrested for the crime, and she actually received a call from Anthony's wife at the time, Keisha, who said to Rachel, I hear you were present at the scene and that you may have seen something. Please just talk to police, tell them what you saw, whatever you saw, Please just tell them the truth. Now, at around the same time, Rachel actually had an exchange with
Graves and his fiance outside of their brownstone. During that exchange, there was an argument and Rachel said, you know, I know what you did. I saw what you did, and what had she seen? In truth, she had seen Julius Graves, her neighbor, running from the Chinese restaurant with a shotgun right after the shot was fired, so she knew that he had run off with a weapon and was likely the killer. And she said, I know what you did,
and you're trying to put it on somebody else. And Graves said, you talk too much, and if you keep talking, I'm going to shut you up. And Rachel was terrified, but she was also angry at what was happening and at the injustice and also at the way Graves was talking to her, and so she called police. Spoke to a detective and she said, I saw Julius Graves running from the Chinese restaurant with a big, long gun. I know it was him. He's my neighbor. And the detective said,
we already have another guy. It was the taller guy. Anthony is six', Three graves is five to. Nine rachel, said, NO i, know they look completely. DIFFERENT i know that it Was graves who was running with a, shotgun and the detective basically, said, well thank you for your time and hung up the. Phone they had already Arrested anthony and decided he was the guy they were going to pin the murder.
On Shaw leek had anticipated That rachel could go to the. Police so Shaw leek reports That rachel said That graves had committed the murder and she spun that as. Harassment that was a written. Report they had that. Report but IF i can complete that, incredibly even Though rachel lived next door To, charlie they did not Question rachel at all about that police. Report they didn't go up knock on the door and say is this?
True have to go across the country to interview, somebody or across the, state right to go across the, street across the street somebody who actually had begged to be, interviewed right, who even though she had been threatened by a really dangerous, guy was, like, No i'm going to do the right thing as someone we could be proud, of you know that comes forward in a situation like.
This but instead she just got shut down by those who are supposed to protect, us which Left graves out on the streets to potentially commit more violent, crimes While anthony was stripped of his freedom and civil. Rights so back to this. Investigation if you want to call it, that the grandmother Of graves's, children you, know Char leak's
mom signs on to parrot some of the. Narrative this Is Dorothy, bolding whose story changed from her initial interview when she didn't Mention Anthony graves or even having been at Mister hings at. All this interview critical information here hidden from the, defense and by the time the grand jury and the trial roll, around she's changed her, story now claiming to be able to Implicate anthony in the. Murder but still the investigators needed to get someone outside
Of graves's inner circle in order to strengthen the. Case and AS i alluded to, earlier this is the only other witness Besides rachel who was not directly related To. Graves she was a single mom who certainly appears to have been coerced into giving an ambiguous statement that helped the prosecution's case a, trial and will refer to this witness As.
Shalima Now, shalima as we have since, learned she initially told police that, she when visiting her friend's apartment across the street from the, murder had heard this loud, bang had looked out the window across the street from a second floor on a dark, night and had seen a couple of men ran out of The chinese, restaurant but she couldn't describe them at. All it seemed that one of them appeared to be holding a long, gun but she couldn't make any sort of description because it was
dark and it was a very fleeting. Observation and they, said, well let's take you in and see if we can
refresh your. Memory they took her, in they separated her from her young, child and they interrogated her for hours and intimidated her and wouldn't tell her where her child, was which she kept, Asking and then eventually they emerged with a report saying that she identified the taller man as being the one holding the, gun which was something that was clearly fed to her because she told police that she couldn't describe the men she had, seen including
the person who was running with the. Gun we first learned that in the past. Year shalima, SAID i don't know HOW i could have testified THAT i saw the taller man running with the. SHOTGUN i couldn't have made a, description and that's WHAT i told, Detectives and their response was to take me in for basically a full day of, interrogation separated from my, child until they had pressured her
to give them what they. Wanted and so the prosecution really leaned on her with this made up story that they sort of force fed her because she was the only witness who wasn't totally biased in favor Of.
Graves, right so now they finally had someone as shaky as this idea was to corroborate what The graves camp was. Saying So july, second nineteen ninety, eight they charged, You, anthony with two counts of murder in the second degree intentional and depraved, indifference and one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth, degree a weapon that you had never even held in your, Hand and before trial even began In april nineteen ninety, Nine graves attempted to.
Disappear graves didn't want to. Testify he wanted to get himself off of the, hook but even he perhaps had some pangs of conscience about falsely implicating someone who had formerly been his, friend and so he went underground before the trials, started and he was on probation at the, time actually on a weapons possession, charge and he hadn't been reporting to his probation officer for three, years and so The District attorney's office actually initiated proceedings to Revoke
graves's probation so that he would be remanded to prison, Potentially and in the, Meantime graves went into hiding because he didn't want to participate in the prosecution's, case which, was as you, Said, jason a made up case that was based On graves's own.
Lives this one's really. MYSTIFYING i, mean you have a guy who has a propensity to, violence who knows his way around with, weapons who was a possession of the, gun who had a previous weapons, violation and it's, like, yeah now we're just going to ignore.
That julius was asked, directly have you reported to your probation officer often and? Regularly he answered yes when he hadn't reported for three, years and that why was not, Corrected and clearly the credibility Of graves was. Critical we did not know that he had not reported till last.
Year So at, trial the state Presented shalima along With graves's cadre of liars Right graves, himself of, course and this fiance's Cousin Derek, dallap his Friend Louis, cologne and the grandmother Of graves's two, Children Dorothy. Bolding Now bolding's
story changed. Twice in her initial, interview she didn't mention Seeing, Graves anthony or even having been At Mister, Hings and then at the grand jury she testified that while drinking outside Of Mister hings she Saw anthony enter with a long gun and heard a shot fired Before graves entered the. Restaurant then at, TRIAL i don't, know maybe she had some pangs of conscience either, way, though she testified that Shew anthony go, in followed By, graves then heard a gunshot but never saw a.
Gun Miss bolding for initial report would have really discredit her as a prosecution witness was not. Disclosed also not disclosed or bias given her relation To Julius.
Graves, okay so now There's. Shalima she also testified against, You. Anthony she said that on the night of the, shooting she was visiting a friend who lived on the second floor in an apartment across the street from Mister. Hings she said that she heard a gunshot and looked out the window to see two black men running from the, restaurant and that, quote the taller guy had a.
Gun this was helpful for the prosecution Because anthony was taller Than. Graves, Now salima did not Identify. Anthony the prosecutor tried to get her to Identify. Anthony you, know look around the. Courtroom is the person you saw running with the gun? Here she, SAID i don't, KNOW i can't. Say and also she testified that of the two men she saw, running it was the person who was running,
second who was behind who was running with the. Shotgun graves testified that he was running, second that he was Behind. Anthony so actually her testimony was very, ambiguous but it was really the only thing the prosecution had that came outside Of graves's inner. Circle and as a, result the failure to disclose What shalima had told detectives from the beginning that she couldn't describe anything was a very Damaging brady violation For anthony's.
Defense was there any real defense mounted in your, Case? Anthony, On, no.
We didn't even call any witnesses on, behalf although as my lawyer cannot, Testify and he, said, no what rightful person would just sit there and listen to people say certain things about him and not defend, Himself like he was really confident that there was no need for them because the case was a weak case and they eventually be able to, say you, Know julia did or, whatever and that was. That SO i didn't really have a.
Defense so after hearing From graves's network of liars And shalema's ambiguous, testimony and then importantly the absence Of, rachel did you still hold out any hope at all that you'd be?
VINDICATED i did only because it was a time during the deliberations or the jury came back into the court room and they passed to note the sitting with, deadline and the jet, said, well, Listen i'm going to give you a brief allent. Charge it was almost like a kangaroo court because he was basically, saying, WELL i don't know what the problem. Is it's not like he's facing the death. Money go give me a. Verdict and they needed some, rebacks some courts and, stuff AND i looked
at my lawyer at that, point AND i was. MAD i, said, well maybe IF i, testified maybe it would have been, Different maybe you wouldn't be at this, point but to answer a, question AND i was still, hopeful although hope was slipping away at that.
Point but they came back and found you. Guilty what was that moment was that if you can just take us inside that courtroom and inside your mind and your. Soul at that, MOMENT.
I was, shocked, CONFUSED i was, hurt, devastated. NAUSEOUS i, MEAN i was. ANGRY i remember trying to stand, up BUT i didn't have any feeling in my lady because it's so. Weak, ironically what was going through my mind at that point was my son's because they were so, young and every NIGHT i would tell them crazy bedtime, stories either one THAT i read from a book OR i used to make up some. Stories and he looked forward to going to sleep just ABOUT i could come
in the room and telling them. Stories AND i said to, Myself i'm not going to be able to do that for a.
While as you can.
Imagine for the first couple of, YEARS i was very. BETTER i WAS i was, MAD i was, angry AND i was almost like a Walking, tommie so to. SPEAK i, MEAN i was always trying to do programs and stuff and trying to help myself and help other people as, well but INSIDE i was really messed. Up AND i remember going on the visit one day and my, son Little Anthony, junior WHICH i loved to die of both my,
sons he was. Crying he just broke out one day crying on a visit and he, Said, daddy don't, Worry i'm Gonna i'm gonna Get julius to doing this to, you because he had known at that Point julias as his uncle because we were so. Close AND i looked at him AND i, said, No, anthony don't don't ever say that. AGAIN i, SAID i don't ever say. That, No AND i was basically letting them know that the law will mentally prevail and there to work it self.
Out and in the same tids he looked at me and he, says, well And, dad and you got to promise me that you would never do anything to him Linger AND i, SAID i. WON'T i promise you. That and it was that point THAT i forgave you is AND i continue to live my life as a life giver for, them but also trying to help any and everybody out because in a sense helping me as. Well but that was my turning. Point that's WHEN i forgave him for doing what he.
Did, wow sounds like you did a hell of a, job even in the brief time you have with your, sons raising them and teaching them.
Right, unfortunately prison has a way to divis, families as you can only. Imagine so my son's, mother which is my wife at the, town her name is Also, keisher this PRISON vi became too much for her for, us and it felt LIKE i was holding her back from living her. Life so we both came to the agreement that we should just divorce and sipara so that she can live the life of the speak And god always has a way of making things. Happen but my wife, today which is also Named, keisha it is my junior
high school. Girlfriend she was my cheerleader WHEN i was the captain of the basketball. Team So jesus started to write me and one thing turned into. Another all of the old films came back and we decided to try one more time and get. Married and that was probably the best decision of my.
Life my name Is Keisha, simms AND i Am Anthony simms's, wife and it is it's the best decision that we've ever made That i've ever. Made anthony AND i, were you, know junior high school. Sweethearts you, know people in the situation always think that the people in, prison you, know they should be grateful that someone they's just type to commitment to them under these. Circumstances but for, Me anthony has brought just so much to my. Life he hasn't riched my life so. Much i've grown so much as
a person because of. Him this situation in particular has made me, stronger and So i'm just grateful that he chose me to go on this journey with him and to fight for his.
Innocence one, DAY i was reading the newspaper from a friend of mine Named Kevin. Jenkins he asked me to read this article because the articles involved the person that we both knew From greenhaviors AND Vnue. Cooper kevin suggested THAT i try to get in touch With Tom, hoffman the lawyer got this guy. Out SO i talked to my wife and she said that night it was all for her to sleep because she worked around a lot of. Lawyers she knew that she only had one shot at
this and she was making a little bullet. Points she was rehearsing what she would saying because she knew that it was really important to Obtain Thomas. Houseman she. Said the first Thing tom wanted to know was was he, anything because he would not represent anybody who was not. Innocent and, keithas, oh yes he, is But i'm going to change some information so that you can see it for.
Yourself at that, POINT i had all Of anthony's legal work because his son had kept all of his, documentation and he, said, well send me everything that you. Have So i'm working from. Home ALL i have is An adobe scanned app on my phone which can only scan one page at a. Time one Of anthony's transcripts is four hundred and some are. Pages that's just only one. Transcript AND i did that for, days you, know trying
to get all the information to. Him and he saw all of the, discrepancies you, know and all the violations and things that we had always. Seen tom knew That anthony was, innocent and it was just astounding evidence.
To support that in the rest of.
HISTORY i Got Tom hofford and hand can have doing my case For, bono And i've never had lawyer's work as hard as they.
Were it's an amazing, STORY i, mean a tale Of tukeisha's which eventually resulted in these two, attorneys which of course brings us to the post conviction. Litigation and it looks like before you both got, involved there were some filing surrounding an inappropriate remark by the, prosecutor ineffective assistant, claims trial court, errors discriminatory jury, challenges all of which were serious points but ultimately. Failed there was some new,
evidence a recantation of trial testimony From. Graves we know he was feeling remorseful for Throwing anthony under the, bus but he didn't want to come. Clean so THIS Affi david really is reflective of, that meaning he doesn't tell the whole. Truths he basically says That anthony went inside Mister hings and, He Julius, graves did. Not he continued that he didn't see who Shot chen and was coerced
to testify that he had Seen anthony do. It so it takes the onus off Of, anthony but it's definitely not the exonerating evidence that one would hope for as or the other filings in.
This, case everything that sort of happened in those initial post trial proceedings was sort of skirmishes around secondary, issues which unfortunately is often the best you can do for a convicted person until you get A Tom hoffman to fully reinvestigate the case like a.
Detective right Without, tom we wouldn't know the context Around shalima's, testimony which is what passed for a corroborating witness For graves and his whole network of. LIARS i, mean it wasn't corroborating testimony at, all but misleading or even pointing To graves's. Guilt and then the Major brady violation in
Hiding rachel for all of these. Years remember she Witnessed charlick And graves talking about the inappropriate touching which established the motive she Saw graves running from Mister hinges with the. Gun then when she Confronted charleick And, graves she was, threatened you talk too, much you Keep i'm gonna shut you, up was the, quote not to even mention of the
previously unknown or ignored holes and shifts And graves's. Narrative and, finally we haven't even talked about this, yet but there was a cook at Mister hings who had a view of the shooter and described his complexion as quote not. Black this is consistent With graves's light brown, skin While anthony importantly has a dark. Complexion, So, tom what is being done with all of the e sculpatory evidence that you've.
Compiled the four point forty was initially filed In, december and we Attached rachel's AffA David shalima's. Statement both of those statements were recorded from beginning to, end all all to. Goodbye we also found this documentation That graves had lied
about reporting to his probation officer often and. Regularly we also found Additional brady, violations and as the case was, proceeding we then get even more documents From, foil including That graves on the day of his, testimony received, money received housing together with his, girlfriend his girlfriend's, brother and the brother's, girlfriend and then he eventually gets twenty five thousand dollars in. Benefits all this comes, out so we
then amend our. Petition we also found out That cologne had told one of his friends that it was his friend who committed the. Shooting, well his friend Was Julius graves that was only recently, ascertained as with, others AND i should say look the current four forty eighty as in their, response they did not address any of our. Allegations Did Julius graves lie or did he not?
Lie not?
Addressed they said you could have a. Hearing, well the hearing's gonna take quite a, while And anthony should be home. Now his children are now twenty seven and twenty, eight his father recently suffered a. Stroke his eighty eight year old grandmother wants to see her grandson before she. Dies the evidence is. Overwhelming anthony should not have to wait any. Longer the resistance on undoing a wrongful conviction is.
Youth, yeah, absolutely it is even under normal. Circumstances but here In brooklyn there's been an even more obstinate than usual obstacle in this. Case anthony brought his case to The Brooklyn Conviction Review unit in twenty, seventeen and one would think that the good folks there would take one look At graves's bullshit and do something about. It but the man tasked with running THE CiU In brooklyn since twenty fourteen Was Mark, hale who just so happens to
be the man who Prosecuted anthony's. Case Hum but and this is a big, Butt Mark hale just retired at the beginning Of july twenty twenty. One so while this is good news For, anthony there's still plenty of ways that this might not work.
Out so while we know that our case is, overwhelming there is no assurance that we're going to, prevail and that's why we need all of the help that we.
Can we appreciate all of the listeners to the, podcasts and of Course, jason all of your, advocacy what you're doing and just giving us a. Platform we have a Website Free Anthony sims dot com and you can sign your name to the petition which calls On Brooklyn District Attorney Eric gonzalez to join our motion to Vacate anthony's wrongful conviction and to let him go home to his
family where he. Belongs there's also a link where you can email The District attorney's, Office so please Visit Free Anthony sims dot com and we greatly appreciate all of your, help.
And i'm going to be signing and joining and you, KNOW i do believe In Eric. Gonzalez, eric if you're listening right, now we're counting on. You that's ALL i can.
Say we believe That Da, gonzales once he understands this, case he's going to do the right.
There amen to, that And i'll have the website linked in our episode. Bio, okay so now we come to the part of the show called closing, arguments WHERE i offer my sincere thanks to you, Guys Jonathan holes And Thomas hoffman for your passionate devotion to this case and just for being good. Humans and of course you, Know, anthony you're a hero to me and so many other, people just for your, spirit courage and your. Grace you, know it's really an honor to have you here. Today
and so here's how this. Works i'm going to turn my microphone, off kick back in my, chair close my, eyes and each of you guys get the opportunity to share any final parting thoughts you. Have we call it closing. Arguments we'll start With Jonathan hiles that you could pass the mic To Thomas, hoffman and then we'll save the best for, last And, anthony you'll be with all due respect to, you, Guys, anthony he's going to be bad
and clean, up so to. Speak, so without further Ado Jonathan hile's closing, Arguments.
Thank, You.
JASON i think it's important to look at the broader picture and how this injustice. Occurred and it's because the system did not value the life Of Anthony, simms and it also did not value the life Of lee Run.
Chun and what we're fighting to do is to make sure that justice is served For anthony and also for the, victim for the truth to, emerge and every ounce of help we can get to ensure that happens is deeply appreciated because the truth has been clear from the, start and that truth is That Julius graves was the perpetrator
of this awful, crime Not Anthony. Simms and it's time For anthony to go home and to be reunited with his family so that he can be with them and serve the community to which he has so much to. Contribute so thank you, Again, Jason.
Thank you again for doing. THIS i believe you have had one hundred and forty five podcasts of people who were wontfully. CONVICTED i have listened to. Many while the facts, vary the stories are all the. SAME a horrific crime is, committed drawing wide media and public. Attention perpetrators need to be taken off the street and held to. Account, however the concern of the police and the prosecutors is not to find the actual, perpetrator but to give the public
the perception that the case was. Solved it did not matter whether the right person was brought to justice as long as the conviction was secured and the public fear. Allayed As jonathan, said neither the victim nor the defendant's life is valued as long as the cases were so to the public is not, valued as the police did not care whether the actual perpetrator remained loose and posed
the danger to the. Public also, common in order to win these, cases evidence pointing away from the defendant's culpability is ignored and not, investigated as such investigation could potentially exculpate the, accused and of Course rachel is an example of. That in this, case favorable evidence pointing away from defendant's guilt is disregarded, and in contravention of the prosecutor's constitutional,
duty is hidden from the. Defender, meanwhile husband's, wives, mothers, fathers, sisters brothers and, sons and daughters are, destroyed all in the interest of winning at all. Courts people ask me why DO i do. THIS i Now i'm giving it. Away am A holocaust. SURVIVOR i was born in nineteen forty. Four basically my, family extensive family was wiped, out and That holocaust was caused by people remaining. Silent and that is WHY i call on our audience not to be.
Silent go to that website to undo this horrific.
Injustice, ANTHONY i want to say thank, You, Tom, Jonathan jason And, connor AND i really thank you for.
This this has probably been one of the highlights of many. Years and now THAT i know That gonzalez is going to be looking at, THIS i want to talk directly to, you Mister, gonzales AND i want to ask that you please review this. Evidence if don't just discard my case like the rest of, them view it with an open, mind understand what's would. Happened and Although i'll never be able to get back over the year That i've been in here, unjust you can make this right by doing
the right. Thing allow me to be the father and out there society THAT i KNOW i need to be with my sons and let me dismiss some time with my mother and father who got. Old you, know my father had a. Show my mother's walking around with kine as an about eleventh, Victim my grandmother who's eighty six years, old who lives for, me my, wife, family my family just in, general allow me to get some of my life, back.
Do the right. Thing thank you for listening To Wrongful conviction With jason Flamm please support your local innocence projects and go to the link in our bio to see how you can. Help i'd like to thank our production Team Connor, Hall Jeff clyburn And Kevin. Warnis the music on the, show as, always is by three TIME oscar nominated Composer Jay. Ralph be sure to follow us On instagram At Wrongful conviction and On facebook at Wrong Conviction.
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