A mentally challenged inmate in a Texas prison who has spent more than 30 years behind bars after his conviction was overturned is now at the center of a legal battle between the state and federal courts to decide his fate. Jerry Hartfield, whose murder conviction was reversed in 1983, believes that his constitutional right to a speedy trial was infringed upon after Texas failed to retry him in court, but also didn't set him free. The 56-year-old Hartfield was 21 when he was convicted in the 1976 slaying of a 55-year-old bus worker. At the time of his initial trial Hartfield was described by the court as an illiterate and mentally impaired fifth-grade dropout with an IQ of 51. Hartfield, who has since learned to read and has become a devout Christian, insists that he's not angry.
“Being a God-fearing person, He doesn't allow me to be bitter," Hartfield said. "He allows me to be forgiving. In order to be forgiven, you have to forgive.”
Read the entire article at this link: "Long, hard road to justice: U.S. inmate waiting to be freed 30 years after overturned conviction" http://rt.com/usa/news/texas-inmate-overturned-conviction-years-312/
Mary Neal, director of Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill http://www.care2.com/c2c/group/aimi
Dog Justice for Mentally Ill http://DogJusticeforMentallyIll.blogspot.com
“Being a God-fearing person, He doesn't allow me to be bitter," Hartfield said. "He allows me to be forgiving. In order to be forgiven, you have to forgive.”
Read the entire article at this link: "Long, hard road to justice: U.S. inmate waiting to be freed 30 years after overturned conviction" http://rt.com/usa/news/texas-inmate-overturned-conviction-years-312/
Mary Neal, director of Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill http://www.care2.com/c2c/group/aimi
Dog Justice for Mentally Ill http://DogJusticeforMentallyIll.blogspot.com
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