Sept. 24
NORTH CAROLINA:
NC prosecutors guilty in Gell case; No punishment given
A disciplinary committee of the North Carolina State Bar found 2 former
state prosecutors guilty this afternoon of three counts of misconduct in
the Alan Gell trial, including withholding evidence, but failed to give
them a meaningful punishment.
The panel gave David Hoke and Debra Graves each a reprimand which will
remain in their files, the slightest punishment possible. There were no
other consequences their actions. Gell spent nearly a decade in prison and
on death row for a murder he did not commit.
Hoke and Graves were charged with withholding evidence and making false
statements to a judge at Gell's 1998 murder trial. They were found guilty
of withholding evidence, failure to supervise a state investigator, and of
conduct "prejudicial to the administration of justice."
Gell was acquitted in February during a 2nd trial.
So much for justice. So much for accountability for the state's
prosecutors.
This is shameful.
PFADP encourages its members and supporters to write the State Bar and
express their views on the farce of this "disciplinary" hearing.
Write to: Tom Lunsford, Executive Director North Carolina State Bar, PO
Box 25908, Raleigh, NC 27611-5908
Or e-mail [email protected]. The phone number for the State Bar is (919)
828-4620.
(source: People of Faith Against the Death Penalty )
