South Carolina executes first man in 13 years despite new evidence of innocence [View all]
Source: The Guardian
South Carolina executed a man on death row on Friday, days after the key witness for the prosecution came forward to say he lied at trial and the state was putting to death an innocent man.
[....]
Prosecutors had no forensic evidence connecting Allah to the shooting. Surveillance footage at the store showed two masked men with guns, but they were not identifiable.
The states case rested on testimony from Allahs friend and co-defendant, Steven Golden, who was also charged in the robbery and murder. As their joint trial was beginning, Golden pleaded guilty to murder, armed robbery and criminal conspiracy and agreed to testify against Allah. Golden, who was 18 at the time of the robbery, said Allah shot Graves.
But on Wednesday, two days before the scheduled execution, Golden signed a bombshell affidavit recanting his testimony, saying Allah is not the person who shot Irene Graves and was not present during the robbery. Goldens declaration said he was high when police questioned him days after the robbery, and that he was pressured into writing a statement blaming Allah.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/sep/20/south-carolina-death-row-prisoner-execution