Innocent Father Behind Bars

Who is Valance Cole?

Valance Cole, a 63-year-old Guyanese Innocent Man, Father, and Grandfather, serving a 12 to 25 year-sentence at the Arthur Kill Correctional Facility in Staten Island, New York.

History
In the summer of August 1985, Michael Jennings was fatally shot in front of several witnesses when he intervened during an altercation between two men inside a bar. Months later, Valance Cole, who didn't match the descriptions of the shooter, was arrested after being identified by two men, including Jeffrey Campbell, who was then in jail on a robbery charge.

Cole's family says that at the time of the shooting, he was at home sleeping, physically exhausted after attending his nephew's funeral the day before.

The word on the street was that the wrong man was in jail. Nearly a decade after Cole's conviction, the case took a surprising turn when His Cousin Anne Wagner learned from his friends that Campbell, who was then homeless and dying of AIDS, was ready to recant. Anne Wagner went to see him and brought along an audio recorder.
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"He (Jeffrey Campbell) was crying and said that he was promised that if he testified, the charges in his other felony case would be dropped," says Wagner. Before he died in 1994, Campbell also made a statement on videotape. The victim's mother also emerged to say she was convinced of Valance Cole's innocence. But despite the new evidence, a motion to vacate Cole's conviction was struck down.

In 2002, Cole was granted a new motion to overturn his conviction. But in September 2003, in an unusual decision that shocked the city's legal community, Brooklyn Supreme Court justice John Levanthal ruled that there was a 55 percent chance that Cole was "probably innocent," but that under New York law, the motion could not be granted unless there was clear and convincing evidence.

- Anne Wagner -

"That's like saying you're a little bit pregnant. Either you're guilty or you're innocent"

RECENT NEWS

Imagine Being Locked Up 35 Years For A Crime You Didn't Commit!

James Bain used a cell phone for the first time Thursday, calling his elderly mother to tell her he had been freed after 35 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit. Mobile devices didn’t exist in 1974, the year he was sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping a 9-year-old boy and raping him in a nearby field. Neither did the sophisticated DNA testing that officials more recently used to determine he could not have been the rapist.

As Bain walked out of the Polk County courthouse Thursday, wearing a black T-shirt that said “not guilty,” he spoke of his deep faith and said he does not harbor any anger. “No, I’m not angry,” he said. “Because I’ve got God.” The 54-year-old said he looks forward to eating fried turkey and drinking Dr Pepper. He said he also hopes to go back to school. Friends and family surrounded him as he left the courthouse after Judge James Yancey ordered him freed. His 77-year-old mother, who is in poor health, preferred to wait for him at home. With a broad smile, he said he looks forward to spending time with her and the rest of his family.

“That’s the most important thing in my life right now, besides God,” he said. Earlier, the courtroom erupted in applause after Yancey ruled.

“Mr. Bain, I’m now signing the order,” Yancey said. “You’re a free man. Congratulations.”

Have a Fela Holiday! #fela @felakuti

Have a Fela Holiday! #fela @felakuti

The Crisis Mar-Apr 2004

The Crisis, Article

Father & Son

I've been without my father for 25 years. It's been a struggle as a son to grow up without my father in the household. My entire life has been unbalance because of this terrible situation. I remember being a child, around age 5, I would ask God for one special gift on my birthday, that gift was to have my father around on that special day. It never happened and I never received that gift, but I still ask up until now at the age of 25 for that one gift. I know it will happen one day.

Photo Gallery

"We miss our father."