District Attorney Mitch Morrissey, do “NOT retry this innocent man!”
That’s the message that the Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance plans to send at a rally today about the case of Clarence Moses-EL, a man who spent 28 years in prison for a crime he has maintained he did not commit and that another man has confessed to.
Earlier this week, Denver District Judge Kandace Gerdes lifted Moses-EL’s rape and assault convictions after another man, L.C. Jackson, confessed in court to the sex assault. Now, Moses-EL and his family are left wondering whether Morrissey will attempt to re-prosecute the case.
“No decision has been made yet on re-trying this case as the District Attorney needs to review the Court’s decision and meet with the victim,” said Lynn Kimbrough, spokesperson for the DA’s office.
In a statement, the Ministerial Alliance said, “This is perhaps one of the most egregious cases of prosecutorial misconduct in the history of this state.”
“Clarence has spent the last 28 years in the Colorado penal system, tried and convicted of rape and assault solely on the victim’s testimony that she had a dream that he was her assailant.”
The ministers go on to blast Morrissey for repeatedly refusing to prosecute law enforcement officials in on-duty, excessive force cases, particularly when there is video evidence indicating officers are at fault. In contrast, they point out, Moses-EL was prosecuted and could be re-prosecuted based solely on the only evidence linking him to the attack — the victim’s statement that Moses-EL’s identity as her attacker came to her in a dream, despite the fact that she first, and repeatedly, named three other men in her outcry.
In recent months, voters launched an unsuccessful attempt to recall Morrissey, and his home has been the site of several demonstrations by civil rights activists. The ministers pledge to escalate actions against the DA if he chooses to re-prosecute Moses-EL despite a stack of evidence pointing to his innocence.
“We are prepared to create problems for Mr. Morrissey and his administration, the likes of which he has never seen before. If he decides to retry Clarence Moses-EL on this ‘dream’ evidence, expect peaceful non-violent social action never witnessed before here in Denver. Enough is enough, Mitch!”
Morrissey’s term as district attorney ends this year.
As of this writing, Moses-EL is en route from a state prison to Denver’s jail so he can be bonded out. Morrissey’s office requested a bond hearing to ensure the victim’s right to attend the hearing, even though it has said it doesn’t expect her to do so. That hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday morning, adding at least four more days to the 28 years and four months Moses-EL has spent behind bars on this case.
Photo: Susan Greene
