Last week, CDPL experienced the joy of knowing that one of its clients will never be executed. Frank Chambers, who was sentenced to death in 1994, in a deeply racist and unjust trial, was resentenced August 11 to life in prison.
While the evidence of misconduct in Mr. Chambers trial was glaring, it took decades of advocacy to achieve this result. One of his jurors discussed the case with her pastor and used that advice to persuade other jurors to vote for death. It took far too many years for the state to finally admit that this tainted death sentence could not stand.
Mr. Chambers was tried with his co-defendant, William Barnes, who was also sentenced to death. He was resentenced to life in 2021, because of the same jury misconduct.
Mr. Chambers and his legal team — which includes former CDPL Executive Director Gretchen Engel, CDPL Board Member Julian Wright, Assistant Capital Defender Christine Malumphy, and CDPL Staff Attorney Kailey Morgan — were thrilled by a result that ensures he will never face the horror of execution. But they also made clear that this is not the end of their fight for Mr. Chambers.
As Julian Wright told the judge, “It is a hallmark of our American system of criminal justice that defendants like Mr. Chambers have rights to a fair trial and sentencing.” Yet, Frank Chambers is still waiting for a fair trial.
In 1992, Mr. Chambers and two other Black men were accused of breaking into the home of an elderly white couple, B.P. and Ruby Tutterow, and shooting them to death. The crime ignited a firestorm in the small community and Mr. Chambers’ first two attorneys withdrew from his case because they knew the victims.
At the trial, prosecutors disproportionately removed Black members of the jury pool. Their notes show that they clearly noted the race of only the Black jurors. They subjected prospective Black jurors to racist questions, such as whether they would be criticized by their “Black friends” if they voted to convict a person of their own race. The result was an overwhelmingly white jury.
The prosecution also suppressed evidence of inconsistent witness statements and used junk science, including misleading DNA, fingerprint and shoeprint evidence that would not hold up in court today. For all these reasons, Mr. Chambers’ attorneys will continue asking the courts for a new trial.
Attorney Gretchen Engel said the protracted litigation in this case has been painful for all involved, and has clearly brought more suffering to the Tutterow family. “These claims could have been resolved years ago had the state not fought tooth and nail to defend an obviously unconstitutional death penalty,” she said. “And they could have been avoided entirely if our client had received a fair sentencing hearing the first time.”
To support CDPL’s tireless work on behalf of its clients, join us at our annual Osborn Event on Sept. 23. Learn more here.