Georgia executes man despite little evidence of guilt

Before Brian Keith Terrell died, he looked at the County Sheriff and mouthed "didn't do it." Terrell was executed Tuesday evening by the state of Georgia, 14 years after he was convicted of the murder of John Watson and 23 years after Watson's death. He has steadfastly maintained his innocence throughout his incarceration, and evidence shows that the state used unreliable forensic evidence and "relied on false witness testimony" to secure Terrell's conviction and execution. “There is still no legitimate evidence to suggest he was actually involved in the crime,” ThinkProgress stated.

Terrell stole 10 checks from John Watson, a 70-year-old family friend and patient of Terrell’s mother, Barbara. When Watson discovered what Terrell did, he told Barbara that he would not press charges if her son returned the money.

According to prosecutors, Terrell chose to kill the elderly man instead. They used shoe impressions and hand prints to link Terrell to the crime scene. They also built their case around witness testimonies: one from Terrell’s cousin, Jermaine Johnson, who drove Terrell to and from the crime scene, and one from Watson’s neighbor.

But the shoe impressions taken at the crime scene were too small to match Terrell’s feet. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) tested 13 fingerprints, and none of them matched Terrell’s. In addition to the fact that fingerprints are not considered infallible forensic evidence, prosecutors relied on two fingerprints and a palm print on Watson’s vehicle that matched the prints of Terrell’s uncle. They struck a plea deal with Johnson, who also faced murder charges. Johnson received a five-year-prison sentence for robbery in exchange for testifying against his cousin. He has since sworn that he was pressured to do so by police and would tell the true story if perjury charges were off the table. Watson’s neighbor also maintains that she did not see Terrell at the scene, despite information that prosecutors presented in court.

Terrell continually asserted his innocence and even refused to take a plea deal of life in prison, which would have made him eligible for parole after only seven years. He ended up standing trial three times. The first one ended in a mistrial because some on the jury thought he was innocent. He was convicted during the second trial, but the conviction was overturned due to jury selection error. He was convicted during his third trial in 2001, nine years after the murder. The state Supreme Court and the US Supreme Court both denied Terrell's state and federal habeas petitions.