Exonerated Prisoners Walk Free

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by Thomas MacMillan | Apr 1, 2010 2:53 pm

(7) Comments | Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author

Posted to: Legal Writes

ROCKVILLE—(Updated) After 16 years in prison, Ron Taylor stepped into the sunshine a free man Thursday, in time to celebrate his wedding anniversary with a spaghetti dinner.

Taylor and George Gould, who have served over 16 years of 80-year sentences on murder convictions, were released from state custody during an emotional hearing Thursday morning in Rockville Superior Court. A judge found that the two New Haven men had been imprisoned for a murder they didn’t commit.

“I believed in him,” said Taylor’s wife Mary, after a judge ordered her husband freed on their 15th wedding anniversary. “I believed in his innocence.”

Newly freed, standing on the courthouse steps amid a scrum of reporters with lawyers in the background, Taylor had a message for the criminal justice system.

“I think some of them prosecutors need to be accountable for their actions,” he said. “They put people behind bars knowing they was innocent.”

Gould spoke next. He said he’d been “waiting for this for a long while. I always knew it would come to this day.”

Taylor said knowing that he was innocent allowed him to keep his peace of mind in prison. “OK, I got convicted. Now it’s time to go to work to get out,” he told himself.

Taylor has cancer; he underwent chemotherapy treatments Wednesday. “Thanks to the nurses at UConn Ward 5, I’m doing great,” he said, when asked about his health.

What are his plans? “Live,” Taylor said. “Just live.”

Then he added, “Live outside them walls.”

Gould said he has no plans. He’ll take it “day by day.”

Superior Court Judge Stanley Fuger ordered the two men released from prison shortly after 10 a.m., Thursday after determining the men were actually innocent and overturning their convictions two weeks ago. The state is appealing Fuger’s decision, but did not object to their release on a $100,000 non-surety bond.

Taylor (center in photo) and Gould (at right in photo) appeared at the courthouse Thursday morning wearing orange prison jumpsuits and handcuffs. Family members gathered for a brief, 3-minute hearing.

When Judge Fuger ordered them freed, the courtroom burst into applause. The judge quieted down the crowd. “This is a court of law,” he said.

Taylor and Gould were convicted in 1995 of killing a Fair Haven bodega owner in 1993. Years later, a star witness for the state recanted her story. Private investigator Gerry O’Donnell re-researched the case. Taylor, who’s 51, and Gould, who’s 48, filed a habeas corpus claim of actual innocence before Judge Fuger. It a ruling two weeks ago, Fuger declared the men were innocent and had suffered “manifest injustice.”

O’Donnell got choked up after court Thursday. It’s hard to fathom the magnitude of “giving someone their life back,” he said.

After the hearing, Taylor and Gould’s supporters waited for them to change out of their jumpsuits, get GPS monitoring equipment, and officially check out.

Mary Taylor brought a red bag and a dark green shirt and a khaki jacket on hangers for her husband. She bought the clothes on Wednesday in New Haven with her 21-year-old daughter, she said. She handed the clothes to Taylor’s lawyer, Peter Tsimbidaros (at left in photo).

“I can’t wait to see him walk out the door and be a free man,” said Tsimbidaros. “This is why I went to law school and became a lawyer, for moments like this.”

“All Ron wants to do is see his daughter,” who was 5 when he got locked up, Mary Taylor said.

She said he had one request for their anniversary night: A spaghetti dinner.

Outside on the court steps after his release, Taylor confirmed it. “Some marinara sauce and some garlic bread and I’m good.”

Both Gould and Taylor, holding fresh cups of coffee, said they were not angry after their experience. Gould said he had some “bitterness” about the slowness of the process.

“But as far as life and happiness, and the pursuit of happiness, I’m going to take this day and run,” he said.

Not literally, he added. Gould and Taylor are subject to GPS monitoring and are not allowed to leave the state.

When the men were asked about potential legal action against the detectives involved in their arrest and conviction, Tsimbidaros interjected. He said they wouldn’t be answering questions about that. “What this moment belongs to, it belongs to Mr. Gould and Mr. Taylor and their release.”

The attorneys will speak about further legal action at another time, he said.

Thomas MacMillan Photo Private investigator Gerry O’Donnell stepped in to stand between Taylor and Gould, who put his arm around the P.I.‘s shoulders. “The system worked,” O’Donnell said, as his eyes filled with tears. “God bless them.”

Gould’s daughter, April Henderson, and granddaughter, Skylet, stood by his side.

A short distance away, Gould’s mother, Martha Gould, sat in a wheelchair looking on. As the interview with her son ended, she found herself surrounded by reporters.

“Well I feel great to see my son walking on the street,” she said. Her son didn’t belong in jail, Martha said. “He’s the most politest person that you could meet. And I love my son.”

Martha said she never lost faith that her son would be freed.

Past stories on the Taylor/Gould case:

• State Won’t Block Prisoners’ Release
• Judge Orders Prisoners Freed
• Prosecutor Sticks To Guns
• Judge Delays Release In Wrongful Conviction Case
• Outraged Judge Reverses Murder Convictions

Comments

posted by: newhaven on April 1, 2010 1:49pm

It is so disturbing that someone would lie and put two men away for 16 Yrs. And away from their family for a shrimp dinner I hope these two men well and have a Happy Easter with their families God is Good. God Bless

posted by: Sally Joughin on April 1, 2010 2:02pm

Hurrah!! I have been hoping for these men’s freedom for over 12 years, ever since I met George’s mother and George himself. I felt George was telling me the truth from the start, so I carefully studied his case—the trial transcript, news articles at the time of the murder, and later many other details turned up by an earlier investigator. This is what the prosecutors didn’t do. They didn’t find out about the person or look at whether the crime was really likely to have been done by him; they just took what the police gave them without considering whether a thorough investigation had taken place to turn up suspects more likely than these two or whether the witness was reliable.
I am very happy for George, who is a talented artist, who worked on his art in prison and will now be able to pursue his career in the outside world. I pray for Ron Taylor’s return to good health. I talked with George many times and really admired his patience; he didn’t give up hope that justice would finally prevail. I cannot understand why CT prosecutors still want to appeal Judge Fuger’s decision. Why is it so hard to admit that a terrible mistake happened?

posted by: Clarence on April 1, 2010 3:35pm

There’s Flavor Flav ! So what are the names of the Detectives who wrote the tall tale that had these two imprisoned wrongfully? You know, the ones that bought mucho dope for the one witness

posted by: downtown on April 1, 2010 6:29pm

Speaking as a young black man, cases like this fill me with conflicting feelings. On one hand, I am glad that the system eventually found its way to justice and freed them. However on the other hand, it is terrifying to think that your life and freedom can rest in the hands of a drug addict and a couple of overworked/lazy cops.

No amount of money can ever compensate for the time these men have lost…

posted by: Hood Rebel on April 1, 2010 7:47pm

Sad and frightening. But the right thing was done by this judge. Not just in freeing 2 innocent men, but in calling-out the prosecutors and the cops who made up a completely false case against 2 guys who had nothing to do with that murder. Shameful!

posted by: beefair on April 2, 2010 2:04pm

Amerikkkan Justice…. “Lynch ‘em in the courtroom.” police corruption, prosecutors obsessed with convictions, laid back, underpaid, overworked, spineless defense attorneys and judges, racist and uncaring society, prison industrial complex, They all led to this injustice and so many more. Unfortunately DNA can’t prove everyone’s innocence and more importantly the systemic patterns will remain unchallenged/unchanged despite the revelation of so many injustices. In the end more stolen lives, more fatherless children, more broken families, and more destructive communities. And unfortunately, the beat goes on and on and on.

posted by: Wicked Lester on April 6, 2010 8:08am

BFair:

America spelled with KKK? I guess that makes Obama the Grand Wizard.

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