DNA ‘Exoneration’


 

I have been here for 24 years for something I didn’t do. Thanks to DNA they know I didn’t do. The thing about DNA is that it cannot lie. You cannot fake DNA. One thing I know, my blood type is O type blood, and nothing from me was found there. Yet there was a different blood type found and it damn sure isn’t mine, or is it Mrs. Franklin’s grandsons Lee and Eric. If not ours then whose? Also I had none of her DNA on me. No defensive wounds. How could I in a drunken sty pot of a violent assault, have zero wounds or dank on myself or DNA on her? So that is it in a nutshell.

I am really writing all this stuff down for one person, my daughter. I am truly sorry for all the pain Mrs. Franklin’s family has had to endure throughout these years. But I am not the one who killed her. I believe throughout the entire DNA testing and all the new facts that have come to light, I have proven this.

I do not know who did kill Mrs. Franklin. I can only say that my confession is false and was made due to threats of locking Merry up and taking away the baby, and the promise that she would go home if I confessed. Blood collected from Mrs. Franklin’s fingernails is not mine. And therefore it proves my innocence. If not mine, or Lee Rose’s and Eric Benge’s, then whose?

My jury never got to hear the true story about how Sgt. Waymon Allen got me to falsely confess. Nor have they heard about any of the new DNA testing that proves it isn’t my DNA that was found underneath Mrs. Franklin’s fingernails. Or about how Joseph Chu lied to them when he stated that the DNA results he did were inconclusive… He misleads them by falsely stating the results were inconclusive. There were not as his test clearly show, as well as the latest test show, there was nothing ‘inconclusive’ about his finding. They don’t know how Chu has been become to ‘doctor’ results and flat out lied to help obtain convictions throughout his whole career at HPD.

Nor were they aware that my district attorney who convicted me withheld the lab report Chu did. And he knew it wasn’t inconclusive and failed to do his duty and correct Chu’s known false testimony. To me it shows they were working together.

It is written in their code of ethics that conviction district attorneys have a duty to not only seek out justice for the victims, but also have a professional and moral duty to protect the rights of the accused. He failed in doing so by allowing Chu’s false testimony, to the facts to go uncorrected. By allowing Chu to falsely state the DNA results were inconclusive. My DA knew full well it wasn’t inconclusive and he sponsored knowingly false testimony that is a clear violation of the law. (See Napa v. Illinois 360 U.S. 264 (1954), Giglio v. U.S 150 (1972, Estrada v. State 313 S.W. 3d (TX 2010).

To me this speaks values about his character. He’d do anything to win, such as withhold important evidence and allow false testimony.

My trial attorney Felix Cantu whom I have the world respect for, although I think he could had done a far better job, wrote an affidavit for me. And stated that ‘had he been aware of this lab report, his whole outlook on the trial would had been different’. And that he never saw the lab report, until my current attorney’s brought it to his attention. That is because my DA at trial Roberto Gutierrez intentionally withheld it from us. These are all facts, not something I am just making up to make people believe me. I have the paper work to back everything I am saying up, with facts.

What do they have? A false confession and blood found underneath Mrs. Franklin’s nails that is not mine. That’s it. If it doesn’t make sense then it can’t be true.

What I would really like to know is how many times has Roberto Gutierrez has been accused of withholding evidence. I know of one other, but I cannot remember the of the case. I know it was a case involving a car seat, I want to say it was a DP case as well. But I am not real sure. But more importantly I would really like to find out just how many times he actually worked with Joseph Chu. I just want to see if he properly questioned Chu about the lab reports found in any other cases. I wouldn’t even know how to begin to do that. Yet it can be done. I’m sure they have a history together.

Here is something that no one seems to take notice of, and that is, on October 15, 1992 the across the Street neighbor Mrs. Donna Espadas whom came home at 6: pm, noticed a white male standing at the south east bedroom window taking off the screen which Eric Benge the oldest grandson had just nailed down that day. It sure wasn’t Eric, he was at work that day. It wasn’t Lee, this lady knew both Lee and Eric by sight, they are hard to miss, both standing over 6’2″ and over 200 pounds. She said in the police report that the person she saw was not Eric, and when pressed for a better physical description, she said she thought it was a white male light to medium build wearing a t-shirt and jeans. (police report at pg. 2.01? and 2.021 (TCCA opinion no. AP -74,930 at pg. 5)

Now a few things about this.

  1. Everyone that saw me that day is in agreement on one thing. The type of clothing I was wearing. I was wearing a black jacket, dark jeans, dark shoes, and a black concert t-shirt. Now I think Mrs. Espadas would have been able to identify that, yet she gave no description of the items I was wearing.
  2. And here is why she couldn’t. Shirley Gunn in the police report and at my trial testified that I was at her house at 6: pm on the dot. Which is almost 3-4 miles away from Mrs. Franklin’s house. In fact, Shirley Gunn states in the police report that I left her house shortly after 6: pm. (police report shows distance from Mrs. Gunn’s to Mrs. Franklins)

So who was this person at that window taking off the screen to the window that everyone is in agreement with, that someone entered and murdered Mrs. Franklin that the across the street neighbor Donna Espades saw? Someone forcibly took that screen off by prying it open with a screw driver. That was found on the window seal ledge… And it sure wasn’t me, I cannot be in two places at once.

Who is this mystery man? Is that his DNA which was found under Mrs. Franklin’s nails? I don’t know but I would love to find out. All I can say it is not mine. Not one drop of Mrs. Franklin’s DNA is on any of neither my clothing nor mine anywhere on the house on the many items tested. This was a bloody crime scene. How could I not leave with even the smallest amount of her DNA on me? It is flat out impossible.

Yet everything has been tested and retested and it has all came back with none of my DNA on anything, nor any of her DNA on my things. You can’t just wash blood out, blood will always leave a trace. You may not be able to tell whose blood it is but the presents of blood will remain. That is something else. This DNA detected was from blood. Blood and blood only, they have ways of determining what part of the body DNA Is from, dead skin, hair, snot, seaman, spit, and blood. And they have all come to agreement that this DNA is from actual blood. Someone bleed and left blood. But not me!

One thing about that screw driver that they feel someone used to pry open that window, my post-conviction DA falsely stated to the TX Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA) that everything that could be tested was tested…. this is not true. That screw driver has never been tested; it was tested for fingerprints, but not DNA. I never touched that screw driver in my life. I wish it to be tested. It will be just one more thing my DNA is not on. These, the very item they say I used to pry open the window to go into the house. What more must I do to prove I didn’t kill Mrs. Franklin? Test the screwdriver and let the test prove once and for all I never used that screw driver and didn’t kill that poor woman. I don’t think I am asking too much here to have it tested, more so since the AD falsely told the TCCA that it was tested. I don’t think I am asking for anything that they wouldn’t be asking for if the roles were reversed, right? Any reasonable thinking man would want this screwdriver tested and an innocent man would push to have it tested. I know I didn’t go through that window. I know I didn’t murder Mrs. Franklin. I know I never touched that screwdriver; I cannot go through a locked door. And one thing I know about Lee and Eric, they always locked that door. It was a habit. (Also see Eric’s testimony at XXXVII at 69-70, 77,130-1.) Test the screwdriver before it too comes up ‘missing’ as other important evidence has.

I also don’t feel I am asking for anything that they, all of them, from the lawyers to the DA’s, to the judges and police and any reasonable thinking person would want, and that is this,

Since my DA Lynn Hardaway has convinced the courts that this DNA ‘could’ had come from one of the victim’s grandsons, and let’s not forget that this DNA is from actual blood. Let’s test them. There were some names listed in the police report that Lee Rose and Eric Benge provided to the detectives that I never knew or heard of before. But that is all they are, names, no address or phone numbers. (See Police Report at 19 2.017, 1002, 1003)

Eric Benge has since passed away, but Lee Rose is still alive. He could provide the names and address or last know addresses of these people. And let’s test them. I am not asking for anything everyone in the district attorney’s office would not want if they were me, or the judges for that matter. All I want is to have the screwdriver tested, and the grandson’s friends. This is life and death, I think this new blood DNA should be enough to warrant these test. Look, it Is not my DNA, it is not Lee Rose or Eric Benge DNA. I would think that Lee and Linda would like to know whose blood was found underneath their loved one’s fingernails. Wouldn’t you? Of course you would. (Police report at 2.013)

I think I have shown that these test should be conducted. More so since the AD Lynn Hardaway has convinced the courts that it ‘could’ be from one of the friends, relying on sheer speculation. I don’t believe speculation would be allowed in an actual trial…but it seems they can do it during appeals. And that is just what the DA has presented to the courts ‘sheer speculation’. Let’s rely on facts that science can prove through state of the art DNA testing.

Here is a list of the names that Lee Rose and Eric Binge provided to the detectives the night of the murder.

1) 1.002 talks of some guy named ‘Curtis’ (never heard of him, I don’t know him)

2) 1.002 Eric is asked to provide a list of names of people recently in the house.

The list:

  • John Phillips (whose DNA is on file due to criminal history, I know John)
  • Anthony Charles (I do not know whom this guy is)
  • Gary Smith (I do not know whom this guy is)
  • Mondo (I do not know whom this guy is)
  • Jeff Hattenback (I do not know whom this guy is)

3) 1.003 – Lee added one more name to that list of names Eric gave.

  • Warren Flanner (I do not know whom this guy Is)

All of these names I have never heard of, with the exception of John Phillips or Jeff Hattanback. I might know him if it is the same Jeff I met a few times before and I don’t ‘know‘ him. Maybe talked to him 2 or 3 times. All of these guys are guys that Eric and Lee met in the 3.5 years that I was out of that neighborhood while I was living and working in Deer Park TX. And while I was in the Harris County jail for 6 months on a year county time, and while I was in prison of a 10-year aggravated robbery charge and did 2.5 years flat. The last time I saw Linda Mc. Claim was in 1988 Thanksgiving Day when again Lee Edward Rose is the man to talk to since he is the one that provided these names to the detectives.

Again Lee Edward Rose is the man to talk to since he is the one that provided these names to the detectives.

I will go a step further and add the names of guys I knew 3,5 years prior to the murder of Mrs. Franklin that Lee, Eric and I used to run around with. But it should be noted that Lee and Eric did not mention these following names. I don’t know why, other than they likely drifted apart in the 4 years I was out of that neighborhood.

  • James Jordan (my old best friend whom I loved as a brother)
  • Kenneth Caddis (old friend)
  • James Parks (old friend)
  • Blaine Earl Wright Jr. (my daughter’s uncle)
  • Shawn Wright (my daughter’s uncle)

It should be noted that Lee and John mention in the police report that they were riding around with Shawn Wright, shortly before 5: pm. (see police report 1.001)

There is one other name and this guy is and was no friend of mine. I knew and met him through my best friend James Jorden. I didn’t like this guy because every time he came around he would get James to shoot dope with him, I did not like that. This guy did not hang around the group of guys I hung with 4 years prior to the murder of Mrs. Franklin. However, once I got out and went to visit Lee, I was told by him that Edward bangs lives there or lived there. That would have been unheard of back when I was hanging with them. He was into the harder Stuff. And didn’t hang with us (See Police report at 1007). Edward Bangs has a criminal record so I am sure his DNA Is on file. Many of these guys could have been locked up by now, and if so, there is a Strong chance their DNA Is already on file.

I don’t know if any of these guys will read this, but if so, I have a request. And that request is fairly simple; may I have access to your DNA? I already know my old friends didn’t murder Mrs. Franklin, they were not the type, but people change in years. But I believe they were all accounted for. But that isn’t the question, the point of all this is, I want to know if it is one of their DNA. If the DA can speculate that this DNA ‘could ‘ had came from ‘innocent’ contact from one of the grandson’s friends, then okay, lets answer that question now by means of a simple DNA test, a simple little cotton ball swab on the tip of a Stick. It will do one of two things

  1. it will be one of theirs and the DA’s theory might be right, but that does not mean the inquiry stops there.
  2. it will not be any of these guy’s DNA.

And If not any of these guys…then whose?

I would like for these guys to come forward on their own and submit dank for testing, I don’t think I am asking too much of innocent men right? To at the very least answer the million-dollar question ‘who’s DNA Is It that was found under Mrs. Franklin’s nails?’ So if they are innocent of this crime, then submitting DNA to show they are innocent shouldn’t be a problem. It wouldn’t cost them any out of pocket money whatsoever. It would however rule them out. I have submitted my DNA many times, and I can honestly say, I am 100% excluded from the blood that was scraped from underneath Mrs. Franklin’s fingernails. (see police report, officers observed blood underneath fight nails at 2.013 position of bobby ‘ riled caked underneath fingernails, also see 1.011 detective Jim Norris ‘he observed blood underneath fingernails’

So I humbly beg any one of these guys to submit to DNA testing, and have Lee Edward Rose and or his mother Linda McClain provide my attorneys or me with the full names and or last know addresses.

There is blood underneath Mrs. Franklin’s nails because she fought back. As noted by detectives (see police report 1.012-b Jim Norris ‘defensive wounds’, 1.004 defensive wounds, 2.014 defensive wounds, 2 signs of struggle and 1029 defensive wounds.

I would say Mrs. Franklin as old as she may have been went out with a fight. She scratched someone good enough to draw just a little blood. That is a fact. And that is all it takes. Just a micro amount of DNA, to tell whose DNA it is.

So yes, I am begging these guys to come forward and please submit to a DNA testing. It is the district attorney who said the blood DNA ‘could’ be from ‘Innocent contact’ from one of the friends.