Death Row Questions and Answers

Questions and Answers from Death Row (continued)
Melvin Troy - Graterford

Melvin Troy

I am writing to thank you for your response to my question on how it feels to be a "Dead Man Walking" so to speak. I am majoring in criminal psychology, and hope to someday attain a career at a college as a professor, I know that the road ahead of me will be hard and long, but it appears to be worth the effort involved in attaining what I wish. I asked you this question in June of 1998, and through your response and several others, I am well on my way to finishing my first thesis on inmates and their emotional, physical, and mental stress. As a child I spent almost 2 years in a juvenile home, and I consider it one of the more beneficial experiences in my life. It taught me the value of hard work, and the negative effects of criminal behavior. I would like to thank you again for your response, and wish you the best of luck in whatever you seek in life. May God be with you on your journey, and may you find the peace you deserve. Scott
Thank you for your email. I appreciate your appreciation and I hope that you are successful in your majoring in Criminal Psychology and in your quest to become a college professor. Being as though you have spent two years of your youth in a juvenile facility, you can understand how such an experience can effect one live as one gets older. I believe that a person has to do the best they can to turn a bad situation into a better one. Time is one of the important element because whatever time is spent it cannot be retrieved again. Therefore it is of the utmost importance that a person use that time wisely. Anytime that a person takes a bad or negative situation in life and uses it to positively shape their future and/or somebody else's future I respect that very much. So my thoughts and prayers are with you and the work that you do. I would like to keep in touch with you to know how you are doing. My address is located on this page. Drop me a line. Take care Scott and may God Bless all your efforts in life.

Melvin,
I am currently taking an English class in which we are writing papers on issues concerning the death penalty. I have chosen the topic of the mentally ill when it comes to the death penalty. I know you are not in that situation, but I was wondering if maybe you knew someone that is on death row with you now, or maybe heard of someone who plead insanity and still received the death penalty. I know this is probably a long shot, but I thought I would try anyway, I'm sure you like receiving mail no matter what the content, at least to some degree. If you could help me out that would be awesome. If not that's okay too. good luck with everything Hang in there. -Heather
Thank you for your question. I am sorry it took me so long to get back to you, should you ever contact me again I will try to get back to you sooner. I have heard of some people who have tried to plead insanity but were found guilty of the death penalty anyway, however I can't think of any names per say. There is a guy named Ronald Logan who killed a person on a bus with a hatchet back in 1979 who has just been ruled to be insane last year. This guy really is insane and should have never been sentenced to death. His reason for killing the person on the bus was that the devil made him do it. Also a year before he did that he had been hospitalized because someone slipped a Mickey in his drink which is what made him crazy. I have been doing time with this guy for 7 years and believe me this guy is crazy. He has been back and forth from mental institutions ever since he has been in jail. It has taken the courts 16 years to accurately rule this man as insane when they knew he was insane before and after the trial because Ron Logan told the courts that they had better give him the death penalty or else he was going to kill the judge and jurors. The courts really don't care that a person is mentally impaired because they will do their best to prove a person is not insane even though they know they are. So the only person that I know for sure that pleaded insanity and got the Death Penalty is Ronald Logan. I hope that this bit of information has proven helpful to you Heather.

What crime did you commit and are you remorseful for what you did? How are you showing the families you hurt that you are sorry?
I have committed various crimes in my life. However this is not one of them. This is what I have been trying to prove to the courts for the last ten years. It has become just a little bit easier for me to make my argument since revealing the police corruption involved in my case in 1994. However there is one thing that people must understand and that is that it is easy to get into the system but hard as hell to get out. Even if the clear suspicion of innocence arrives and that is because of the great number of over zealous and strictly career oriented district attorneys who would rather see an innocent man/woman stay in jail then admit that they were wrong in their prosecuting of that individual. This is part of the problem that I am dealing with right now. However in regards to your second question, yes I do feel sad for the family of the victim in this case because I realize that they are just as much a victim as I am. This is because they were directed to believe that I am the person that killed their son, when in reality I did not kill their son nor do I know anything about who killed their son. The system tells these families that, "this/these are the people who killed your loved one(s)", then when it is proven that the wrong person(s) were charged with the crime then it is either a, "Oh what the heck", attitude or the system still tries to convince the families that they were right and that the system failed them. And even when it is perfectly clear that the wrong person(s) were convicted and the right people are caught, the prosecutors don't apologize for the hurt and loss of time from your life that they caused you. Nor does the victims family apologize for the years of hate that they directed at you, now realizing that you were just as much a victim as they were. The justice system is callous. The picture that most people probably such as yourself see from the outside looking in is not the entire picture by any means. Once you have actually been inside the system and especially wrongfully convicted of a crime you get to see the true realm that the system functions under. And for the most part it's all politics and career moves. Justice, real justice rarely has anything to do with it. May peace be with you.

Mr.Troy, in my sociology class we are studying subcultures and learning more about how they develop, why they exist and how they survive. I chose to do research on the adult male prison subculture in America today, with a special focus on prisoner rape and the sexual behavior of prison inmates. As you know, we in the public hear alot of dirty jokes and foul comments regarding these issues, and I wanted to find out how much truth there is to it all. And after reading through the "Prisoner Rape" WebPages on the internet, which contain graphic accounts from inmates across the country, I learned just how prevalent and horribly out of control the rape crisis is behind bars, specifically in maximum-security institutions. I would like to ask you for your insight on this matter, and your perspective as to how accurate my findings are. I have two main questions. First, how prevalent is rape/sexual behavior in low and medium-security institutions? And second, how prevalent is rape/sexual behavior in maximum-security institutions? The pages didn't talk much about low or medium-security prisons, but they clearly stated that such forms of behavior are extremely prevalent and nearly constant in most maximum-security prisons, so much so that anyone, regardless of size and strength, can be overwhelmed by numbers and fall prey to fellow inmates. So please write back and let me know your opinion on these issues. I am happy to be asking someone who is knowledgeable in this area, and is not afraid to tell me like it is! Thank you, Tony.(Mr.Beagan)
Dear Tony, thank you for your questions regarding "Prison Rape". Yes it's true that there is a lot of rape that takes place in the prison system and that is more prevalent in the maximum security prisons then it is in any other institutions. It's true that size very rarely matters in some of the more vicious prisons where there exist "Rape gangs", which are groups of inmates that rape guys. In Pennsylvania where I am, there is not really a lot of the prison rapes going on, whether it be in a maximum security prison or the medium facilities. It does happen, but not often. However in other states such as California it is much more prevalent, so to in New York state. The last case of rape that I recall here was in 1996. The guy was already doing time for sexual molestation and sexual assaults that he received while in jail, prior to getting the case of rape in 1996. Any way he was convicted and received 171/2 years in prison and the jail settled the rape victims lawsuit for $80,000.00 as well as transfer him to another institution. Homosexual behavior flourishes in prison these days on the more consensual basis more than it used to, so that is also reason why prison rapes are not as common as it used to be in the past.

I am writing with regards to Melvin Troy. I feel that Melvin was wrongly accused due to the planted evidence and the false testimonies of police officers. All to often, this happens, especially in Canada. Judges and Lawyers are often more favored towards crooked politicians and police officers, any normal citizen would be treated differently, however, here are a few questions of my own: Do you think that when you are freed because of your innocence, that the State should compensate you for your time spent on Death Row?? Do you think that most black citizens are discriminated within the American system and that there should be more done to make sure that most people do get a fair trial and appeals? All the best to you
Thank you for your questions and comments inserting my feelings about the system. I would like to be compensated financially for the time that I have spent on death row but actually there is not anything about the system could give me that could compensate me for the time that I have spent on death row. My family as well as myself have filed a lawsuit against the system and others that were involved in the prosecuting of me. The courts are giving me a hard time about it but I will not give up. The system is a gang just like any other gang. The police, district attorneys, politicians, are all a gang. And gangs stick together and try to win at any cost. Whoever they are up against are the enemies. District attorneys and police are up against whoever is charged with a crime, the idea of innocence is not an option nor is it the authorities concern. Their concern is a conviction. Because a conviction is a win, which is also the reason why evidence that can be helpful to the defendant always end up misplaced by the prosecution. As far as race and the system, I believe that there is obviously racism constantly flowing through the system. But more than the issue of race is involved here, more so the issue of justice for the poor and justice for the rich is a greater issue. Most blacks are not well off and therefore fall under the ill treatment as given to the poor. In my opinion racism will always exist in this country and therefore it will always play a part in the justice system. The justice system is politically motivated and therefore real justice which is equal justice is very rarely administered. Certain states however have a well constructed judicial system that they use than insures a more impartial form of justice in their courts. For example, New Jersey doesn't have to worry about their supreme court justices making political decisions rather than decisions that are based on facts because their judges are appointed for life to their position and therefore do not fall under the political pressures that come from making decisions that will favor the public and/or those who would be in a position to help them get re-elected to their position. Then in Nebraska they have a law which ensures that anyone knowingly testifies falsely in order to get them on convicted of the death penalty or a life sentence and its proven that they did so, then they themselves become subject to that which they have subjected another to. This cuts down on the planting of evidence falsely by the police and/or the over zealous prosecuting of the people who are innocent. One of the main problems in the judicial system today is that when police or prosecutors withhold evidence that cause people to get convicted of crimes that are innocent and it comes to light, the prosecutors and/or police are not subject to criminal charges themselves. Therefore they have no problem doing this whenever they may feel the need to in order to get a conviction. It has happened over and over and over again, and it continues to happen and will continue to happen until it is made clear that any prosecutors and police who do this will be criminally charged. So the direct answer is yes I do feel the blacks do catch an unfair break in the justice system, but not all the time because of their being black but alot has to do with the fact the most blacks do not have been needed finances that are necessary to get a good lawyer or of good defense. However many other people fall under this ratio also including white people. Thank you again for your questions and make peace go with you.

So Melvin, you say you were wrongfully convicted of a murder you did not commit? Well you poor baby you! I bet you're this sweet innocent boy who never hurt another soul in this world. Bullshit! You're a sick and violent killer who would take a human life without blinking an eye. You may put on a nice act, but I can see you for the stupid and arrogant street thug you know you are! That's right Melvin. You are nothing but a gang-banging, drug-using, girl-raping thug. A "bigshot" who thinks he can have his way with anyone. Well punk, doesn't look like you had your way this time does it? You may think you're all that, but I say you're just a sissy little punk boy, who's scared in jail without his mama to protect him. From seeing your pathetic picture I can tell you're lucky to not be living in general population, where a sissy girl wannabe like you would have to face real men in combat. But no. You just sit in your cell and color your finger nails, like the sissy girl you are. I bet you used to enjoy bullying innocent people and thought you had power and control. Well stupid, how does it feel now to be helpless as your victims were and to have NO CONTROL over your life? I hope you spend your days thinking about all the different people you've victimized and I hope you realize that they are the ones who are laughing now. And they're laughing at you Melvin, the little girly sissy punk who used to thumb his nose at society. Well punk, now you can thumb your nose all day long in your little steel cell. Just be sure to stick it up your butt first! YOU ARE A SISSY GIRL MELVIN!!!
You're obviously a frustrated and disgruntled homosexual. We are not a bias web site, so your opinion is welcome just as in any other. Try to have a good day.

I would like to know how you would feel about a mandatory death penalty for anyone in law enforcement convicted of falsifying evidence. If there are severe penalties for crimes against cops, shouldn't cops who commit crimes suffer twice as much?
Andy, yes I do believe that there should be a death penalty for authority figures who intentionally testify falsely against people in murder trials in order to get them convicted of the death penalty. Especially if the person is actually convicted on the testimony of such individuals and receive the death penalty. This is necessary because it would stop the continuing of false testimony by police and other officials who have no problem lying and bending the law and order to get a conviction. Nebraska is the only state that has a law that will give police or anybody that testifies falsely against someone in order to get them to death penalty, the death penalty in return if it's found out that they did so. I do believe that other states need to adopt that law also. Thank you for your comments and questions Andy. Take care and have a nice day.

This isn't hate mail Melvin but I just have something to say. You are truly an example for kids of what can happen to someone who is arrogant, violent and feels he's above the law. I know about your background here in Philly, and about the "crowd" you so proudly ran with for all those years. Whether it was beating some guy up for his money, dealing drugs to kids, burglarizing homes or forcing some girl to have sex, you've been there and done it. So to me it doesn't matter one bit whether or not you are guilty of this murder. Not one bit. You were a cruel, vicious and arrogant bully here on the streets of Philly. A cowardly bully with a rap sheet the length of my arm. You tried to make up for your low self esteem by trying to impress everyone around you, and you got what was coming to you as a result. I only hope that your WebPages does its job and deters at least one kid from wanting to become another Melvin Troy. Just think for a minute about all you've lost through your irresponsible and impulsive actions. Hopefully other people will.
Dave, First of all let set the record straight as far as you knowing me and or my background, you don't know either. First of all prior to being charged with this crime and I had only had one conviction and that was as a juvenile for robbery. I had no adult convictions at all. So all that about me having a long rap sheet the length of your arm says that the length of your arm must be relatively short. Next, all this about me forcing myself on girls to have sex, and selling drugs to little kids, you can drop in dude. You don't know anything about me what so ever. I have never forced myself on a woman nor would I ever do such a cowardly detestable thing. One thing that is a known fact with anybody that knows me is that I have always had plenty of female friends, more than my share. Not one will ever tell you that I brutalized, beat, or even attempted to force myself on them. Anybody that really knows of me knows that the thought of that is ridiculous. You obviously got your people mixed up. I don't know who you're trying to convince with all this B.S. that you are expelling dude but it won't be me or anybody that really knows me. I'm not known for running with any crowd either, so all that about me having low self-esteem and trying to impress everyone around me to make up for this.... is also B.S. You say that I ran with a crowd proudly proudly for all these year's? What years? What crowd? The one thing that I am known for its simply me. I don't like nor hang with crowds. So I don't know where you get all this weird back alley propaganda from but apparently you and your sources are fraudulent. The last time than I beat somebody up for their money and/or even thought of burglarizing something was when I was a juvenile. At the least that with eighteen years ago, B.S.

I'm not trying to convince anybody that I am an angel nor that I have never did bad things. And I wouldn't want a child or anybody to do some things I have done, or end up in the same situation that I am in. But your ignorance is what is appalling Dave and and it's also why 76 people have been proven innocent and released from death row since the death penalty has been reinstated. 38 of these people have been proven innocent through DNA testing alone which was not available when they were convicted We are not talking about some loop in the system than got them out, these people were innocent and yet they were convicted and sentenced to death. You just don't convict somebody of a murder they didn't do just because they may have done other crimes Dave, so you really sound like a fool. Do you think that the victims family want just anybody to be tried and convicted for killing their loved ones? Would you want anybody to be tried and convicted of killing your loved ones just so you could get some peace of mind so to speak? Or would you actually want the perpetrator? You want to the mad at crime, criminals and society in general Dave? Then go right ahead. But don't use your own ignorance of justice as an excuse to pervert justice. The death penalty can not be for the purpose of protecting the innocent of society if you're willing to convict people who are innocent of murders that they did not do. People like yourself never really understand how easy it is to get arrested or have your own rights violated until it actually happens to you. Than you were off to the media and the lawyers trying to figure out how you got your head busted in for traffic stop or how you got arrested for something that you never did just because you may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. The justice system in the United States is perverted by politics and that is a fact, especially when it comes to the death penalty. Its people like yourself that are busy making it worse with your own sense of justice because you will get on a jury and hear about a guy doing wrong things in his past and use that as an excuse to convict him or her of a far more serious charge, murder, even though the evidence doesn't really show that to be so, and even though the law says that such thinking and actions are a violation of a person's constitutional rights and is wrong. People like yourself never understand such violation until it actually happens to you, which you actually believe that it won't until it does. So take care of yourself Dave and the next time get your facts as well as your understanding on the legal system and the laws that govern it right. What your talking in your comments is considered hearsay and not admissible. Is also incorrect. So see Dave, I have thought long and hard about the things I have done in my life, good and bad and not once have I blamed anybody else for my mistakes, or the wrongs the I have actually done. By the same token I am not going to just except someone else's crimes or the lies that you mentioned in your message.
Dear Melvin, I said this before and I'm telling you again that I am not trying to upset you or send you hate mail for that matter. I admit that I'm using the name "Dave" to protect my identity, because I know you and your history here in Philly. Look, it doesn't really matter what you say because I know the truth of the matter. And your vigorous denial of what I said only proves my point all the more. The fact is that you were an arrogant bully on these very streets which(thanks to God) you will never be able to walk along ever again. And don't try to act smug and brag about how you had more than your "fair share" of female friends. I know you did back in your day, but how many females are in your everyday life today? Zero! And being caged up here in Pennsylvania where there are no conjugal visits, you'll never have a woman ever again! It all goes back to the impulsive and thoughtless acts you committed which in turn resulted (thank God) in your losing your freedom for the rest of your lifetime. I was just making that point with the sincere hope that others would read it and learn from your mistakes instead of throwing away their lives as well. No Melvin, I am not a fool. I am a successful and happily married man to the most beautiful and wonderful young woman God put on this earth, and we're moving ahead together with our lives and with plans of some little ones coming along in the not so distant future. So I am set in life, and will pray that someday you are able to confront your past and find whatever peace you can inside that tiny cell on death row. God forgives everyone Melvin, even those like you who need and deserve to be locked up for their whole lifetime. Hopefully you'll take responsibility for your mistakes and eventually find the peace that could be yours. Sincerely, Dave.
Listen up Dude,
I tried to be polite as I could towards you, knowing that you are a fraud and a liar. But since you want to continue to play the phantom in the shadows then I am going to give to you straight up. You didn't’t answer my questions because you can’t you liar. You sir are a fraud, a phony, as well as a coward and a liar!!! It has become perfectly clear that this whole thing is not really about me at all, but in fact it is about YOU! It’s not about me being a bully at all. It’s about you being a coward! So just drop the phony bull crap about you hiding your identity because of your knowing my reputation in Philly. You’re a liar and a professional coward! Stop making excuses for your lies and coward heartedness. :you jumped out there like the lying sanctimonious coward that you are acting like you actually know me when you don’t. You proved how much of a liar you are by (1) Blowing my past record out of proportion by lying stating that, "I had a record as long as your arm", when the reality is that I only had one conviction prior to being arrested in this instance which was for conspiracy to commit robbery 18 years ago. (2) You lied perfusiously in stating, and I quote,…"you have done everything from forcing yourself on a woman to selling kids drugs". That statement within it self jammed you as the lying fraud coward that you are. Real men do not abuse or would never harm women or children. I love and respect women and I love and adore children and I would never even think of doing something as cowardly and brutally low as your lying mentioned. I can see why you hide like the coward that you are, because you are obviously the type of person that will take something and blow it out of proportion by adding a lot of other stuff to it to make things look like more then they are. Your that behind the scenes coward that makes mountains of molehills and blows things out of proportion, you enhance the things you hear and speak as if they are facts. You’re a professional coward and it has nothing to do with me. And you talk about accepting responsibilities you cowardly fraud! And you can stop all that bragging about you having the most beautiful woman in the world as a wife, and you life being set", because I am not impressed, not one bit. And the only reason that you started mentioning that is because in your insecure ignorance you focused on the part of my sentence that really din’t matter at all. The focal point of the sentence was the latter part of that sentence. But in your insecure cowardly impulsive nature you felt the need to start bragging ridiculously about your woman and life as if that’s of some significance to me. How immature and ignorant can you be to actually associate my having female friends, with sex (conjugal visits). I have plenty of female friends, and always have, because I love and respect women. And I don’t ignorantly think that having a female friend means having sex with her, as you stupidly do. So in actuality you are the only one bragging and being impulsive which is due to your own insecurities.. So move on you sanctimonious lying coward and stop exposing yourself for the phony liar that you are by fabricating things about me which you have no real knowledge of, and become more concerned about that which you do, namely your own lying cowardly self. MOVE ON!!!!!
Dear Melvin, This is the last time I will waste my time writing you because you're obviously too angry and incapable of understanding what I'm trying to say. I'm afraid the sad truth Melvin is that you, sir, are the coward here. In fact, you're the king of all cowards because you brutally murdered an innocent man(James McKnight) and are not man enough to stop denying what the courts have already proven. It's cowardly enough to take an innocent man's life in order to meet your own selfish needs, but to go on refusing to accept responsibility for that awful crime is a true mark of personal weakness and failure. It saddens me deeply to try to imagine how you're able to live with yourself after all the cruel things you've done to others in all your years here on earth. I can only wonder what judgement God will place upon you when you come face to face with him. But until then, you will continue to spend every day and night of your life locked up in a small cage far away from the rest of us here in civilized society. You will sit in that cage doing nothing as the rest of us go on experiencing and enjoying all the wonders that life has to offer. Wonders that will forever remain mere fantasy for you as you spend your life in that cell. Once again, I make this point to tell the children that it is NOT worth it to commit violent crime and go to prison like you did! I commend this website for making that point and hope children will take heed and learn from your mistakes. And about my wife, I simply meant that to me, she is the most wonderful and beautiful woman and person that I ever met, and I look foreword to spending the rest of my life by her side. So goodbye now Melvin and I hope you take something with you from our conversations that you never had in your life before.
And that something is desire, the desire to become a respectable person so that when you die in prison, you won't have to go on to another prison in the afterlife. I'll be praying for your soul. Goodbye and good luck Melvin! Sincerely always, "Dave."
Dear Dave, Thank you for being one of the few people who realize why this web site is here. The sole purpose is to keep kids out of prison by showing them the real deal in prison and that oh yes it can happen to you kids...you better believe you could go to prison.
Liz - Webmaster
Hi Melvin, it's Dave again. I said I wouldn't write you anymore but I wanted to clear up any misconceptions you or others on this forum might have and prove to you that I am not a coward and a liar. You're the one who's been lying all along Melvin about the nature of your crimes and convictions. Until now I didn't want to mention specifically what you were lying about, but my wife suggested that I confront you with what I know so you stop lying to me and to others. For example, I KNOW all about your being a drug boss here in Philly in the 1980s. I KNOW that you were in prison for robbery and stabbing a fellow inmate between 1982 and 1988. And yes Melvin, I KNOW about how on Tuesday May 14 1991 you admitted and pleaded GUILTY to the first-degree murders of Thomas J. Dinan(The SEPTA worker), Michael Richards(The Jamaican) and Melvin "Daddyo" Williams, who was your very own associate in crime. I know that you also pleaded GUILTY that day to the unrelated shooting on Dec.22 1988 in which you shot one victim in the back and paralyzed him and shot the other in the leg. So Melvin, even assuming for a moment that you didn't kill James McKnight, you're still a coward and a triple-murderer by your own admission! You even bragged to cops that you had 60 members in your gang in the neighborhood around 25th Street and Allegheny Avenue in North Philly. So now who's the liar, the fraud, the bully, the "professional coward" and the cold-blooded thrill killer? It's YOU Melvin, and you can no longer deny that to me, to anyone else, to God or even to yourself! I hope the webmaster posts this message because I want everyone to know that I was not making things up and trying to drag your name through the mud. I was simply trying to tell you that I hope others will take a good, long look at your crimes and make the decision you never made; which is the decision to stay the hell away from guns, drugs and violence period! If this prevents even one child from becoming another Melvin Troy, then it was well worth mentioning. Thank you, "Dave."
You know its really ashame that you are so cowardistic that you will try anything just to try to hide the fact that you are a coward and a liar. Worst of all the more you try to escape the sad truth about yourself, the more you prove yourself a liar and a professional coward. Exactly where did I lie about my convictions? Nowhere in this format will you see that I lied about my convictions. So you continue to lie. The only thing that I mentioned to you was that before I got this conviction I only had one conviction. So stop making yourself look so stupid. You yourself mentioned that in 1991 I took the plea in those cases. I was convicted of this crime in 1990. Why don't you pay attention to what you say and what is being said to you, instead of desperately trying to prove that you are not a liar and a coward when in fact you know that you are both. I mean really, you actually had to get permission from your wife to mention something that is public knowledge? Something that the persons who runs this forum already knew? This is a death penalty forum Einstein. That is the reason that the only case mentioned is the death penalty case is mentioned. That is the way the webmaster wants it. Now since you so desperately want to try to prove that you aren't a liar and yet you have continuously failed miserably, I am going to give you the chance myself. So if you really know so much then you won't have a problem with none of the information that I am about to state. First up I took the plea to everything that they threw my way for one reason only and that is because of the fact that the police from the 39th district went to my mothers house where I did not live and planted evidence in order to convict me, as well as planted evidence in order to arrest my mother which was to get me to plead guilty to everything. This is the same thing they did to three other guys mother a few years earlier namely Mrs. Patterson. These same police did this to get those three guys to plead guilty to murders as well as some other charges. However these three brothers didn't plead guilty and they ended up going to court and were acquitted, but the sad part was that the police made sure that their mother their mother was convicted under that phony evidence that they planted and she ended up doing three years up Muncy for something she never had anything to do with. My mother just like Mrs. Patterson is a very straight religious woman and has never been arrested for anything. As a matter of fact she has been a Jehovah Witness for over 35 years. Mrs. Patterson was merely a church going lady who never harmed anyone either. There is no option when it came to those police trying to send my mother to jail, I knew that without a doubt. Now what the 39th district police did to my mother, and why, is a public fact is it not? Come on cowboy redeem yourself. The police are currently doing time for this as well as other acts of corruption are they not? Now try o punch a hole in any of that liar. Next, the facts were very clear that the deceased Melvin 'Daddy o' Williams killed the Jamaican not me. I never tried to act like I didn't do anything wrong. But unlike you when I am wrong I just admit that I was wrong I don't squirm like a coward and try to make things up. Now, was not one person charged with Mr. Dinan and robbing him? And was not this person charged with this crime due to the fact that his fingerprints were found all over whatever belongings that were missing from Mr. Dinan? And was this person the same person that the police originally arrested for the Jamaican and Daddy o murder, who in fact each time he was arrested for anything said it was me and a combination of five other defendants? And did this person not take the stand at the trial of my codefendants and surprise the police and district attorney by telling the judge and jury that he was lying and that he was beat and intimidated by the police into saying what he said? Did he not say that the police officer that he pointed out as the one who told him what to say turn out to be the very same police officer that Herbert Haak and Wise testified beat them into confessing, and was not this police officer at that very time going to federal court for beating two other guys into confessing to something? I hope that you are keeping up with your cowardly self because not one thing that is mentioned is missing from the public since its all been in the papers and on court record. Mr. Dinan was robbed and killed for nothing just like this kid James McKnight. The faultiness of the polices theory was clear from the drive, you can't convince everybody that I am a drug gang boss, and that I robbed two people who obviously wouldn't have more than a few dollars on them. The police that were involved knew this which is why they did what they did. Even in this case they held back the statement of the deceased who said that the person who killed him (he was obviously just shot at the time) was 5'8 or 5'9 and about 150 or 160 pounds. The victim himself was the exact same height and weight as the perpetrator. The records show that I walked through the door 6 feet 190lbs. See unlike you I am not a coward, no matter what. I never tried to act like I never did anything to anybody because I know that I have done my fair share of crimes and when I was arrested I was willing to accept my responsibility for my actions, but the police wanted me to accept the responsibility for everything because they knew that the guy that they were using was lying because even when the guy testified at the preliminary hearing he lied so much that the only thing that could have happened according to his testimony was that it would have proven that he was lying, which is why when it was time for me and my lawyers to get the notes of the testimony from the preliminary hearing, they said that they lost them. The whole stenographers role. Something like never happened in city hall history. There was no point in trying to convince anybody of what the police had done since there was no way I could prove it at the time. However since the opening and admittance by the police of what they have done in my cases I no longer have to worry about that. So see its not me saying that the police planted evidence etc. in my case, its them I don't have to. You started out as a liar and coward and you ended up as a bigger liar and a professional coward. Your so desperate to prove that you are not a liar and a coward, but each time you stick your foot deeper in your mouth. You said that you could prove that I lied about my convictions, when in fact I didn't. Also you were screaming about accepting responsibility for my actions and yet the way you seek to do that is by mentioning that I plead guilty???? Duhhhh in pleading guilty I not only accepted responsibility, but other's also. So your whole argument is mute bonehead. You can mix all the names up you want when you send email but its only a further sign of the real coward you are in a professional level. You are also very weak psychologically. As much as I would really like to bring out other matters, I am forbid from doing so by my lawyers because of the pending lawsuits, P.C.R.A's and appeals. So see there's an old saying as a matter of fact its a scripture in the bible that says "There is nothing you can do against the truth, only for it". So see I had no problem accepting my responsibility from the door when I was arrested. It was the police who felt just my responsibility wasn't enough. My only interest since the discovery of what the police did is getting the cases and charges up off me that I didn't do. The police corruption in the 39th district broke loose in 1995 of March and the investigation continued on for 2 1/2 years. (The articles where the police admitted planting evidence in my case are in the Philadelphia Inquirer just in case this coward tries to lie his way out - again.)
Dave: Oh man Melvin, you're UNBELIEVABLE! My wife and I almost fell out of our chairs laughing when we checked back and saw how you're STILL continuing to stupidly deny all the things that you've previously ADMITTED and pleaded GUILTY to having done! Unbelievable! I'm gonna make this short and sweet because I don't want to piss off the webmaster and pull the focus away from what this website is all about. But I would like to just tell you Melvin that in the end you've shown us clearly as can be what an EXTREMELY WEAK, UNHAPPY AND INSECURE COWARD you are and will always be till the day you're buried in the prison graveyard with the number AY-2874 written on your grave! We both send you our love and best wishes Melvin, and will continue to pray for your wounded soul. May God bless you and give you the best possible existence one can have just sitting in a cage! We would also like to really thank the webmaster for creating this site and exposing children to the realities of crime and it's consequences. God bless you Liz and keep up the good work. Take care now and good luck!

How does it feel to know that your going to be executed?
I don't know that I am going to be executed, and therefore I don't feel that I am going to be executed.

Melvin, First of all you are not going to be executed this is in reply to the idiot that asked what it is like to wait to be executed if he could read it said it was over turned !!!! Thanks to Ah! what kind of help do you need let me know some how and I will see what I can come up with, because it is just not fair you need to appeal for a full pardon! and sue the hell out of the state of Pennsylvania......I am sending you well wishes and keep your chin up and DO NOT give up!!!!Never surrender to the bloody system and rules that don't make sense!!!!LOVE YA you will get out free.
Thanks for the inspiration and words of support. I appreciate it very much and I will keep in mind your support and desire to help me.

I want to know if there is anyone on death row who wishes that they had a second chance to start all over again and do the right thing i.e. stay out of trouble. I am writing a 15 page research paper on the death penalty and cannot seem to find sources that fit into my ideal perspective of the death penalty. I would greatly appreciate it if information about people on death row and their convictions were e-mailed to me.
You've got to be kidding buddy. A better question would be, Is there anybody on Death Row who doesn't wish they had a second chance. Now I could see you having a problem finding someone to fit that criteria. Since I don't know what your ideal perspective of the death penalty is, there is really not much I can do to help you find somebody or sources to fit it.

Well Melvin, it seems like you need to do a better job of trying to hide the fact that you're a hypocrite. You first say that the death penalty is, and I quote, "not the way to go." Yet you say that authority figures who frame innocent people should be sentenced to death. Hmmm, can you see what doesn't look right in this picture? Sounds like your interests are pretty self- serving now doesn't it? What happened to all that big talk about how the death penalty is simply wrong and is a tool used by these bloodthirsty politicians and prosecutors and by those who want revenge? Isn't your desire to see crooked authority figures put to death based solely on your bitterness and your burning primitive need for revenge? I wonder if you'll even answer this question Melvin, or will this be one you conveniently forget to address???
Jim, The problem is not me being a hypocrite, because that I am not. The problem is your mixing your words with my words in order to form your opinion of what I said. I never said, "the death penalty is simply wrong." So don’t add your own words to my words. I have never addressed the death penalty as a whole in this forum. When I speak in regards to the death penalty I make it clear that I am referring to this country. My words were, and I quote, "The death penalty is not the way to go. Here in the states it is more of a political agenda then anything else. Over zealous prosecutors are not concerned with justice, but with political gain and making a name for themselves…via sentencing people to death." That is why in this country the death penalty is not the way to go. Those are my words.

The simple fact is that the death penalty in this country is applied through bias and disproportionately. The UN’s study of the death penalty in this country was revealed last year and their conclusion was, I quote, "The application of the death penalty in the United States is tainted by racism, economic discrimination, politics, and excessive deference to victims’ rights." After the UN made this finding last year they asked for a moratorium on capital punishment in the United States. This was public knowledge in all the papers and on news programs.

Seventy-eight people alone have been proven innocent through DNA testing that were sentenced to death. Does then name Anthony Porter ring any bells Jim? Well if it doesn’t let me tell you whom he is. He is a man that was just released from death row after serving 17 years there. He came within two days of being executed last September. The only reason that they judge gave him a stay of execution is because he has an IQ of less than 51. So the judge wanted to have him examined to see if he was mentally retarded before being executed. When Anthony was granted the stay of execution some law students and a law professor decided to look into his case. What they found was that the key witness that testified against Anthony Porter was the actual killer. The real killer and his wife admitted on video tape that he had killed the two people. The police had the real killer all the time right in their hands but they were so busy pressuring him to testify falsely against an innocent man that their vision was blurry as to the truth. The real killer admitted that the police pressured him into testifying against Anthony Porter. For reasons such as this, this country should not use the death penalty. However as long the death penalty is being used in this country something needs to be done in order to keep innocent people from being sentenced to death and executed by corrupt authority figures who plant false evidence and withhold evidence that can prove a person’s innocent, as well as lying in order to get a conviction of murder. And that is why when I was asked, "How would I feel about a mandatory death sentence for anyone in law enforcement convicted of falsifying evidence?", I replied, and I quote my words were, "Yes I do believe that there should be a death penalty for authority figures who INTENTIONALLY testify falsely against people in murder trials in order to get them convicted of a capital case and sentenced to death," which according to the law is a capital offense in the state of Nebraska. I never said that I want to see crooked authority figures put to death, because I don’t. What I want is for them to realize that they can receive the same sentence that they are abusing their power and authority to convict innocent people, and murder them. With such a law as this, (like Nebraska has) such crooked authority figures would think twice before lying and falsifying evidence, etc to get a conviction. So see Jim my words have nothing to do with some burning desire for revenge or bitterness. I don’t even want the people who testified falsely against me to be put to death, whether they be authority figures or not. You saw what you wanted to see in my words because you wanted to see it Jim. This time take a look, and read my words without your "burning primitive need" to find oxymoron’s in my words.

Tell me this, how can the death penalty to be to deter crime and protect the innocent when convicting an innocent person of the death penalty is a crime? A capital crime. Not one time has a district attorney or mayor or Governor apologized to one of the people who were falsely convicted of the death penalty. If these officials who really for justice as they claim that they are, they would be appalled at the fact that they almost executed an innocent person. But instead they are just concerned with not admitting that they did any wrong. It’s all political.

1. How do you survive mentally?
2. How do you survive physically?
3. How do you survive emotionally?
Rock, Greetings! The way I handle my situation emotionally and mentally is by, "being real about everything. That’s the first and far most thing. Secondly I do a lot of researching and studying. Whether it be law, history, religion or something else. And through this I am able to help others. The time that a person spends incarcerated cannot be returned to them, therefore it is of extreme importance that a person use the time that they have to do in these places to educate themselves and to develop some wisdom and understanding. Having knowledge of something and not knowing how to use it is futile. To keep myself in some sort of physical shape I do jumping jacks, push-ups and pull-ups four times a week.

Questions Continued

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