"People Lie, DNA Doesn't"

Robert Pruett #999411

May 6, 2007

“People Lie, DNA Doesn’t”

As a child my father told me that I could do anything I set my mind to, no matter how impossible it might seem. His words have echoed through my head every time I’ve ever set out to do something, and, for the most part, they’ve proved true. When I focused on an assignment in school I aced it; I’ve always been a formidable opponent in the sports that most interested me; whatever it was that I’ve seriously tried to accomplish, I almost invariably got it done. That said, the greatest challenge of all lies before me: convincing the judicial system that I’m innocent of this crime they are about to put me to death for. It seems insurmountable. I painted myself into a corner when I invoked my right to remain silent during the investigation following the murder. At trial, I had the opportunity once again to avoid conviction and the death sentence, but I was intent on making an early exit from this world. Not only do I have to overcome my own stupidity, I have to take on a system that is fundamentally flawed and corrupt……with limited resources.
As I lie awake at night pondering my predicament, a feeling of futility envelopes me. The maxim that had once helped me develop an insatiable will wants to fade away. I waited too long to fight, says some voice that I hardly recognize as my own. It’s over. I should acquiesce to my fate……Yet there’s another voice from the depths of my soul rebuking the other, warning me against throwing the towel in. I’m not a quitter, it says, I can do this if I set my mind to it. That sounds more like the Robert I know. There’s still time to prove my innocence. It’s foolish to waste it with all the negative thoughts of defeat.
Forget for a moment that all of the state’s witnesses in my case were inmates who had committed crimes like rape, arson and murder, and that they were only testifying because the prosecutors were giving them something in exchange for their testimony. Allow your mind to drift from the fact that the ONLY link between me and this crime is a torn up disciplinary case with my name on it and an unknown palm print, that palm print neither his nor mine. (Besides, that disciplinary case had already been informally resolved hours earlier by a ranking officer.) Let’s just focus on the one thing about my case that should’ve already proven that I couldn’t have been the killer: the DNA evidence.
Earlier in the day that Daniel Nagle was murdered, I cut my right thumb very badly on the weight machine while on the outside recreation yard. Anyone who has ever used that machine can tell you that it takes two people to use the bench press; one person to lift up the bar, the other to get under the weights and adjust the pin holding the weights in place because the machine was rusty and very old. And if you aren’t careful, you’ll get bit by that pin when trying to wedge it between the bottom weights. That’s exactly what happened to me that day. I cut the shit out of my thumb. They took pictures of my cut after they targeted me as a possible suspect and you can see from them that it was a gaping injury. I bled for at least five hours afterward.
Now, the prosecutors claimed that I cut my thumb on the murder weapon, which was a prison-made shank with two sharp ends, killing this man. Imagine that for a second. Suppose I was the murderer, which I maintain that I was not, and I stabbed this man and cut myself in the process. It was a gaping injury as evidenced by the photographs the prosecution had, so wouldn’t it stand to reason that some of my blood would be on the murder weapon, which was found at the scene of the crime? Or wouldn’t some of my blood be SOMEWHERE at the crime scene? The fact is that there wasn’t any of my blood DNA or any other physical link to me and this crime whatsoever!! The victim’s blood was found all over the crime scene, yet none of his blood or DNA was found on me. How is it that one man can be exonerated by DNA evidence and I can’t? Is it because they don’t have any other suspects in this case and just need to kill someone to deter other prisoners from killing their guards?
Another thing that absolutely blows my mind is that there hasn’t been any investigation into Sergeant Martinez and Sergeant Ortiz, both of which played key roles in securing evidence and investigating this crime. Martinez was indicted for money laundering and organized crime (working for gang members in the prison) and Ortiz “quit” for being suspected of it as well. Everyone knew that Nagle liked to bust dirty guards and I have no doubt that he was on to these two men. Shouldn’t it have raised red flags that these two were implemented in criminal activity just one month after Nagle was murdered and they both were key in the investigation of his death? Somehow, I think that “unknown” palm print on the disciplinary case by Nagle’s dead body belongs to one of those men. It certainly didn’t belong to Nagle or me.
Public awareness to the facts of my case is my only real hope. If you’re reading this, please spread the news. Otherwise I might be dead within a year, possibly much sooner. Like my lawyer said, “People lie, DNA doesn’t.”

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