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After 27 years in prison, a man who loves golf has been released today. Not only that, he was rendered innocent. Of course, the state can restore innocence to around 27 years old.
Nevertheless, the Erie County District Court in Buffalo, NY, has overturned the murder conviction of Valentino Dixon, 48, who was serving a 39-year sentence for life – most of the infamous Attica correctional facility – for 1991 murder of Torriano Jackson. A long time ago, during that hot August night, both were at a noisy street party with miners who were drinking a fight during which a girl turned into a shootout.
But before we dive into what has really happened, a brief reminder of why golfers might care about Valentino Dixon. Six years ago, Profiled Golf Digest this inmate who grinds colored pencils at his claws by drawing meticulously detailed golf landscapes. Although Dixon never hit a ball or even set foot on a course, the match puzzled him when a golf goalkeeper brought a photo of Augusta National's 12th hole for the inmate to forgive him. In the din and darkness of his stone cell, the placid composition of grass, sky, water and trees spoke to Dixon. And the endless permutations of the bunkers and contours gave him a subject with which he could play.
"Guys can not understand," said Dixon. "They always say that I do not need to draw this golf thing. I know it does not make any sense, but for some reason, my mind is listening to this game. "
A sample of Dixon's golf illustrations.
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A sample of Dixon's golf illustrations.
It took a hundred designs before Golf Digest noticed it, but when we did it, we also noticed that his belief seemed fragile. We therefore investigated the case and raised the question of his innocence.
The case is complicated, but on the surface, it involves poor police work, no physical evidence linking Dixon, contradictory testimony from unreliable witnesses, confessions recorded on video by another man, a public defender who Did not call a witness at trial. and the charges of perjury against those who said Dixon did not do it. All together, a fairly clear case of local officials have rushed a young black man with a criminal record in jail. Dixon's past was not spotless, he had sold cocaine, but that did not make him a murderer.
Golf Digest's 2012 article has helped NBC / Golf Channel, CRTV.com, Fox Sports, the Georgetown University Prison Reform Project and others gain a better understanding of the issue. At the same time, Dixon's daughter, Valentina, led a grassroots campaign to raise funds for her father's legal fees by selling her works online. However, the workings of the judicial system refused to turn. By Christmas 2017, Dixon's exhausted appeals, pardon requests, and leniency requests have not received any response from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's office.
But now, suddenly, a flickering belief – which means innocence – a much higher legal victory. Why now?
According to Donald Thompson, who, along with Alan Rosenthal, filed Dixon's last petition (which included the Golf Digest article), it stems from the convergence of factors. "Once the case has crossed a certain threshold of media attention, it is important, even if it is not," says Thompson. "It is embarrassing for the legal system that the best presentation of the investigation has been made for a long time by a golf magazine."
Thompson says Golf Digest's work has finally been overshadowed by the recent report tabled by the Erie County District Attorney's Unjust Convictions Unit, which is a new type of department that is appearing in various districts these days. Their report was helped by Georgetown University students, a group of undergraduate students who also created documentary campaigns, websites, and social media around three other people suspected of being ############################################################################### 39, be improperly imprisoned as part of a class. "They did a great job talking to the witnesses who could still be located, as well as to what Chris Belling [who prosecuted Dixon] say different things from the positions he has defended in the past. "
Dixon was rubbing crayons at their claws while drawing.
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Dixon was rubbing crayons at their claws while drawing.
The value of fresh blood must not be reduced either. Frank Sedita III, Erie County's longtime attorney, said society should be more concerned about "wrongful acquittals". The new man, John Flynn, has been at work for a year and it is mainly thanks to his blessing that Dixon was released.
Of course, a small question to settle before the guilt of the man is acquired is to place it on another person. Just before Dixon left the courthouse, LaMarr Scott entered and pleaded guilty to Jackson's murder. Scott has acknowledged his responsibility on the night of filming for decades (including at Golf Digest), with the exception of a brief period of time during which Belling pressured him to do so. he says the opposite. Scott has already served a life sentence for firing in 1993 during an armed robbery that left a tetraplegic victim. Taking advantage of a concomitant conviction for Jackson's assassination does not change his outlook, except that the possibility of conditional release is reduced to nothing.
Where is Dixon after the courthouse? "I'm going to Red Lobster to celebrate with my family and my support team, and then we'll go to a park," he said. The next day, he will visit his grandmother and the next day he will buy a mobile phone and register to obtain a passport at the post office so that he can visit his 12-year-old wife, Louise, who lives in Australia. She has a heart of gold and the two met because she has spent her life trying to help those she can.
"So many times I'm close [to giving up]but God kept giving me the strength to continue and now I know why, "Dixon told me on the phone, hours after learning his imminent freedom.
The careers of people who have put Dixon out of the way will not be affected. All have either retired or moved to new positions. "The good thing is that this case could serve as an example to wrongful convictions elsewhere," says Thompson.
The lower men would have broken. With his mind and body in tact, Dixon hopes to have good years ahead. Maybe he will even play golf.
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