A statement released on http://www.freegregwright.com
You may be aware
that John Wade Adams, at a punishment phase Retrial, was granted relief
from his original death sentence yesterday. A mis-trial was declared by
the presiding judge following 27 hours of jury deliberation which
failed to agree a verdict. The full report in the Dallas Morning
News can be found here: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/080310dnmetdeathpenalty.2762004.html
Given the enormous role John Wade Adams had in falsely implicating Greg
Wright in the murder of Donna Vick, you will understand the complex
feelings of Greg's family and friends. Many outraged comments are being
received by us, with the underlying question being "How can we get
Greg's conviction re-examined and overturned ... leading to a
posthumous exoneration. " It is also good to see the support of the
Texas Moratorium Network at this time which, on its blog, asks the
question "But did Texas execute someone who did not kill anyone, namely Greg Wright? "
John Adams was granted his retrial on the basis that his difficult
childhood circumstances were never considered in mitigation at the
original trial. Fair enough. But Greg was denied a retrial despite the
flouting of Constitutional Precedent and Right concerning the hearing
of John Adams statement at Greg's trial, without the opportunity of cross-examination in court. What is fair or consistent about that?
As you will doubtless have read in these pages and elsewhere, the
grounds of Greg's Appeal of Actual Innocence were serious and extensive
... not least because of Adams own written confession, and exoneration of Greg for any participation or complicity in the crime.
There was much more evidence of innocence but the DA, Craig Watkins,
and his team of prosecutors, chose to take a negative path to sustain
Greg's death penalty rather than acknowledge the blatant errors and
malpractice of their predecessors. That they were aided and abeited by
a complacent judiciary is example enough of the irretrievably broken
process that is the death penalty in Texas and the US.
Greg's family and close friends do not have, alone, the resources or legal
recourse to challenge his wrongful death. The performance and attitude
of John Adams, as his new sentence of Life with parole was announced,
may have added to the conviction of many more of you that this man was
guilty not of one murder but, by proxy, of two. Donna Vick was Greg's friend, and lifeline to a recovery of his health and welfare. HE DID NOT KILL HER. Only John Wade Adams had the motive and criminal history to have done that.
We end this statement with a heartfelt appreciation of the sorrow and
loss endured by Ms. Vick's son and family. We hope they will one day
soon come to understand the great respect and gratitude Greg had for
Donna Vick.
Finally we reference once again Greg's own words:
“There has been a lot of
confusion on who done this. I know you all want closure. Donna had her
Christianity intact when she died. She never went to a drug house. John
Adams lied. He went to the police and told them a story. He made deals
and sold stuff to keep from going to prison. I left the house, and I
left him there. My only act or involvement was not telling on him. John
Adams is the one that killed Donna Vick. I took a polygraph and passed.
John Adams never volunteered to take one. I have done everything in my
power. Donna Vick helped me; she took me off the street. I was a truck
driver; my CDL was still active. Donna gave me everything I could ask
for. I helped her around the yard. I helped her around the house. She
asked if there were anyone else to help. I am a Christian myself, so I
told her about John Adam. We picked him up at a dope house. I did not
know he was a career criminal. When we got to the house he was jonesin
for drugs. He has to go to Dallas. I was in the bathroom when he
attacked. I am deaf in one ear and I thought the T.V. was up too loud.
I ran in to the bedroom. By the time I came in, when I tried to help
her, with first aid, it was too late. The veins were cut on her throat.
He stabbed her in her heart, and that's what killed her. I told John
Adams, "turn yourself in or hit the high road." I owed him a favor
because he pulled someone off my back. I was in a fight downtown. Two
or three days later he turned on me. I have done everything to prove my
innocence. Before you is an innocent man. I love my family. I'll be
waiting on ya'll. I'm finished talking.” Gregory
Wright, Oct. 30th, 2008
