Allegation

On June 18, 1999, the State of Alabama, with the acquiescence of the federal government, executed Brian K. Baldwin in the electric chair. The state and federal governments failed to ensure Baldwin's right to a fair and impartial trial, his right to be free from torture, and his right to be free from racial discrimination. State torture and an unfair, racially discriminatory trial resulted in his execution.

Crime

On March 14, 1977, 16-year-old Naomi Rolon was murdered. Prior to her murder, Rolon had picked up Brian Baldwin, age 18, and Edward Horsley, age 17, in North Carolina and proceeded to drive with them to Alabama. Baldwin and Horsley had recently escaped from a youth detention center. In Alabama, Baldwin stole a truck. Horsley drove off with Rolon. Horsley later returned alone and on foot. Baldwin and Horsley were arrested, tried, and convicted for the murder of Naomi Rolon.

Salient Issues

• After Baldwin had been arrested, his parents were not informed of his whereabouts until after he had been convicted of capital murder.
• Police repeatedly beat and intimidated Baldwin until he signed a confession.
• Baldwin's confession failed to name the correct weapon and failed to provide an accurate description of the murder. The confession was later altered to fit the facts, as revealed by Baldwin's co-defendant.
• Baldwin's trial lasted a total of one and one-half days, including jury selection, jury deliberation, and sentencing.
• Baldwin's trial attorney failed to undertake an independent pre-trial investigation, to prepare his client to testify, to call any defense witnesses, to introduce exculpatory forensic evidence, or to object to the improper actions of the prosecution.
• Forensic evidence suggested Baldwin's innocence, but was not introduced at trial.
• Brian Baldwin was in the courtroom in handcuffs throughout jury selection
• Throughout the trial, the prosecutor repeatedly suggested that Baldwin had committed sexual assault, although Baldwin was never charged with sexual assault.
• After the trial, the state withheld a complete record of Baldwin's trial from the defense and claimed to have lost key evidence, thereby hindering his appeal.
• Eleven years before his own execution, Baldwin's co-defendant confessed to the crime and exonerated Baldwin.
• African-Americans were intentionally excluded from the jury, in a county where 46% of the residents were African-American. An all-white jury convicted Baldwin.
• An Alabama court later found that the prosecutor and judge in Baldwin's trial and appeal had, over a period of time and including the period of Baldwin's trial, practiced "deliberate racial discrimination."

Trial

Brian Baldwin was convicted by an all-white jury of Naomi Rolon's murder in a trial that lasted for only one and one-half days. The prosecution successfully excluded all African-American persons from the jury and Baldwin's court-appointed attorney did not object. Intentional exclusion of jurors solely on the basis of race has since been found to be unconstitutional (Batson v. Kentucky, 1986). Baldwin's conviction was based largely on his confession, a confession that had been obtained under torture.

Baldwin was both beaten and cattle-prodded to obtain information about the whereabouts of Naomi Rolon. When Rolon's body was found, Baldwin was beaten and prodded again until he signed a confession that named the wrong weapon and the wrong method used to kill Naomi Rolon. In a separate confession, Horsley claimed Baldwin was the murderer, but supplied accurate information about the murder weapon and the attack. The information was added to Baldwin's confession after the fact, as was the signature of a deputy who claimed to have witnessed Baldwin's waiver of rights, but who was not present.

Forensic evidence discovered shortly before Baldwin's execution showed that the deadly blows were the work of a left-handed assailant. Horsley, not Baldwin, was left-handed. Also, Horsley's clothes and shoes were stained with blood, but Baldwin's clothing tested negative. Years after Baldwin had been convicted and sentenced to death, Baldwin's co-defendant, Edward Horsley, confessed in a letter that he, alone, was responsible for the murder of Naomi Rolon and that Baldwin knew nothing about the killing until Rolon's body was discovered by police.

Baldwin's lawyer failed to provide competent counsel. According to Baldwin, his lawyer met with him for a total of 20 minutes, before the trial. Baldwin's lawyer did no investigation of the case and presented no witnesses except Baldwin, whom he did not prepare for testifying. Baldwin's attorney also failed to present the forensic evidence and did not object when the prosecution suggested that a sexual assault might have taken place, even though Baldwin had never been charged with sexual assault. Baldwin was found guilty of murder and sentenced to die.

Appeals

The initial appeal, claiming Baldwin's trial was marred by improper procedure and racism, was assigned to the original trial judge in the case. He denied the appeal and upheld his earlier decision. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals accepted his ruling in its entirety and denied Baldwin relief. This action was later denounced in a brief signed by 33 prosecutors and judges across the country, including six justices of state supreme courts. Despite the discovery of the suppressed trial record and irrespective of alleged violations of Baldwin's constitutional rights, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court both denied relief.

During the appeals process, complete transcripts of Baldwin's trial were withheld from his attorneys. A court recorder claimed no voice tapes of the trial had been made, although both the tapes and short-hand notes were discovered 20 years later. Both tapes and notes revealed discrepancies in the transcript provided by the state after Baldwin's trial. Baldwin was never provided with the opportunity to present this evidence in any court.

Conclusion

Brian Baldwin was executed despite compelling evidence of his innocence and evidence that he did not receive a fair trial. Allegations of torture and racial bias by the State of Alabama, in violation of constitutional and international human rights, were sufficiently egregious to warrant a reversal of the trial court's decision. The initial appeal alleging improper procedure and racism was heard by the same judge who had convicted Baldwin, and against whom some of the allegations of racism and misconduct were being made. Nonetheless, the trial court's decision held. Both state and federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, denied relief in spite of the numerous and egregious allegations of rights violations. Brian Baldwin was executed after sitting in the electric chair for one hour.

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