Unfair From the Start; The Story of Clinton Young

The article published by the Justice Gap outlines the case of Clinton Young, a man who was 18 when he was present for 2 murders over the course of 3 days in November of 2001, and has since been a victim of a miscarriage of justice. At the time, Young was keeping the company of David Page, Mark Ray and Darnell McCoy, a group where drugs and petty crimes were the norm. On November 24th 2001, these four men were driving with Doyle Douglas when Douglas was shot and killed. After this incident, the group of men disbanded, Young leaving town with Page. On November 26th 2001, a second murder took place which Young was present for; a man named Samuel Petrey was kidnapped and killed. Police did not investigate the scene, no witnesses were interviewed, and security camera footage was not obtained, but Page went to the police and blamed Young for the crime. Young was later arrested and charged with capital murder. Lack of forensic evidence, DNA testing, and the unreliable testimony ended up being enough for his conviction.

Young’s appeals were unsuccessful after multiple attempts, even in 2010 when evidence was uncovered that proved prosecutors made deals with Page, Ray and McCoy to testify in exchange for favourable sentences. The trial court continued to deny Young’s appeal, and his execution date was set for October 26th 2017. While Young was waiting for his execution, Page was interviewed, where he admitted to kidnapping Petrey and lying at Young’s trial, but this confession was not disclosed until after Young received a stay of execution. A pair of gloves found at the second crime scene were introduced as new evidence; the only DNA detected in the gloves belonged to Page, and gunshot residue was found on the outside, pointing to him as the killer.

In August of 2019, still waiting for the court to consider the new evidence of the gloves, the active prosecutor discovered her predecessor on the case, Ralph Petty, was working as a paid law clerk for the trial judge while working as a prosecutor; Petty was working both sides of the case at once.

This example of prosecutorial and judicial misconduct is a clear demonstration of a miscarriage of justice, whereby Young was not offered the impartial trial he deserved. Since the publication of the below article, Ralph Petty has surrendered his license to practice law, and a new trial has been recommended for Clinton Young.

More information can be found at: https: https://www.thejusticegap.com/the-case-of-clinton-young-the-lethal-price-of-an-unfair-trial/