Kansas Man Wrongfully Imprisoned for Twenty Years
Seeks Justice
Inmate, James Griffin remains behind bars for over twenty years for a crime he did not commit. Over the years, Griffin has sought remedies hoping to exonerate himself of a crime that occurred when phone records show he was over three hours away from the scene of the incident.
On the date of January 24, 2002 a horrific shooting occurred at a dine-in restaurant in Topeka Kansas. Police conclude it was a potential robbery gone wrong. The restaurant manager was shot and he was left paralyzed. A terrible tragedy indeed.
As the two year limit was drawing near to find a suspect and charge someone for this crime, the pressure was on the Topeka Police Department to get the culprit. The shooting victim’s only description of the shooter was “he sounded black”. So, the pursuit was on for any individual that fit that description.
The suspect fled out of the backdoor of the establishment and entered the passenger side of a waiting vehicle. Eyewitness testimonies differed greatly, from a “black or dark vehicle” to one witness saying a “white” vehicle. The make and model never identified for certain either.
An individual that was scheduled to testify at the time of the trial backed out from taking the stand and took a contempt of court charge rather than commit perjury, making a statement that would convict an innocent man. Since the trial of 2004, two individuals that testified on behalf of the State have recanted their testimonies and acknowledged they were coerced by the prosecution to make false statements in order to convict James Griffin.
This case was open and shut. To this date, the perpetrators of this crime have never been apprehended nor charged. James Griffin still remains in prison for a crime that was never proven that he committed. He was found guilty based on the one definitive description “he sounded black”.
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