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Sahara Rollins is a prisoner on Philadelphia’s Death Row. Convicted by a misinformed jury, represented by an incompetent lawyer, sentenced by a racist judge, he has been innocent and on Death Row for nearly twenty years.
Deborah Leavy in an article titled 'Pa.'s flawed system of death' wrote "What if there were a state where there were more people on death row who were found to be innocent than were executed? There is and you're living in it:Pennsylvania. The three who have been executed since 1978 had not exhausted their appeals..they asked to be put to death. During this period, five innocent men, each represented by a lawyer, convicted by a jury, sentenced to death by a judge, with all the appeals they were entitiled to...were exonerated after collectively serving nearly 50 years awaiting execution. Despite that, Pennsylvania has not enacted any significant procedural safeguards to keep someone innocent from being sentenced to death and executed". Philadelphia Daily News, Oct 22nd, 2007.Sahara was convicted of murder. Troubling facts about his trial/case include: The blood type found at the scene, assumed to be that of the killer, doesn’t match Sahara’s. His attorney never thought to find out his blood type. After the defense had rested, the prosecution mentioned this fact in a conference with the judge. The judge decided to let the trial proceed anyway. The prosecution's case for guilt was based in part on firearms evidence that linked the gun used in the homicide to the gun used in an alleged offence some days later. Circumstantial and eyewitness evidence linked Sahara to the latter offence. However other contrary evidence was not fully developed at trial. Evidence consistently concludes that the killer would have been left-handed. However psychological testing reveals that Sahara is strongly right-handed and it is highly unlikely that he could draw, point and fire the weapon used in the victims murder with his left-hand. This was not developed at trial. The judge in his case was Judge Sabo, who also presided over Mumia Abu-Jamal’s trial. He famously said, while discussing the Abu-Jamal trial, “Yeah, and I’m going to help them fry the nigger.” A 1983 survey of defense attorneys found that over one-third of respondents found him unqualified to be a judge. Before his death, there were many attempts by activists to get him removed from the bench for his apparent racism and hostility to defendents. Sahara suffered extensive abuse and neglect as a child, and had three serious head injuries. One of the jurors, said afterward that if he had known that, he would have asked for a lighter penalty. One of the main reasons the jury voted for the death penalty was because they thought that Sahara shot the victim inside the house, went outside, and then came back inside and shot him again. However there is evidence that all shots must have been fired in the struggle between the victim and the killer and the sequence of events described to the jury could not have taken place. The jurors were not informed that a sentence of life means life without parole, not life until parole. A turning point in deliberations was one of the jurors saying that if Sahara was sentenced to life, he would get out in 13 years. That was a basis of their sentencing recommendation decision. A juror has said that he would not have made the recommendation he did had he known this. (For more detailed information on these points and more, read Sahara's blog entries).
In sum, at Sahara's trial the jurors never heard information that may have proved his innocence; they never heard mitigating evidence concerning his history of surviving abuse or mental disability; and they were not informed about the consequences of their decision. Despite all of this, and despite having had an openly racist and incompetent judge, Sahara has never had a retrial. This is due largely to his poverty; he does not have the funds to hire an attorney who is interested in helping him find justice.
Sahara needs donations to his legal fund, publicity about his case, and legal support. He would also like penpals (romantic and platonic) and help finding his family in Japan: he wants to find emotional support for his children in the event of his death. If you are interested in any of these things, please contact his supporter at [email protected]. You can also contact Sahara directly by postal mail:
Saharris Rollins, AY-8832
SCI Greene
175 Progress Drive
Waynesburg, PA 15370
Donations to Saharas Legal Defense can be sent to
Delmarva Bank
1206 Nanticoke Rd
East Salisbury 21801
phone (1) 410 546 2100
Account name:"For the Benefit of Sahara Rollins"
Account Number 2630507
Routing Number 052103065
BEAUTIFUL ARTWORK FOR A DONATION OF $25-$50 TO SAHARA'S LEGAL DEFENSE FUND
Any donations of $25 - $50 to Sahara's legal defense fund will receive original handcrafted artwork if it is desired. You can choose any of these beautiful pieces here on display or if something else is desired, something just for you, contact his supporter at [email protected] All pieces here are 8.5 x 11 inches in size, original pencil works on paper and can be framed.
This profile is maintained by a supporter, and his daughter who can be reached with questions or comments at [email protected] .. Myspace Layout Generator-Layoutgen.com
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