One would normally think that an execution date is the most troubling thought to a condemned man, but not for me. What troubles me is how this judicial system ignores critical evidence. Many people tell me that this system is the best in the world. But I may become another of many witnesses that this system does not always work.
To me, it seems as though the courts have hidden behind a technicality to make sure I cannot use the evidence that shows I am innocent. How can the best courts in the world be willing to affirm my conviction and death sentence while refusing to look at the evidence?
Every time I read the trial transcripts, or petitions to the courts, I get the impression that the courts are determined to kill me on a technicality.
They act like they are 100% sure that I am guilty of this crime -- but they will not listen to the evidence that says I am not guilty. Their rulings and decisions reflect themselves as poor or bad judicial decisions.
These are the things that most trouble me about this case. These courts can justify or use sophistry to affirm death penalty cases as they pick and choose, on a case by case basis. That's why the case law is so chaotic. Judges and courts make decisions based on emotions and personal political sentiments. No judge or court wants to make the right decision or ruling where they think it may bring them public or political criticism. Therefore true justice is dying, faster and more effectively than any condemned prisoners.
Why do the courts want to execute me? The trial judge said I would be dangerous in prison. However, neither I nor any of those around me, or those who have come to know me, have seen any signs of this so-called monster the state describes. I am not running around prison waiving a knife at everyone. I paint. I teach other prisoners how to paint. I try to make some kind of life in prison. I help other prisoners to make do with prison. I try to understand my case. I help other prisoners work through their cases. Even if the courts won't let me out, why can't they at least let me live?
--Willie Enoch
To get involved in the fight for justice for Willie Enoch, call the Campaign to End the Death Penalty at (773) 409-7145. Circulate fact sheets, petitions and brochures available from the Campaign. Attend a rally to demand justice for Willie Enoch, 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 16, at Coffey Hall, Loyola University's Rogers Park Campus.
Featured speakers include Dennis Williams of the "Ford Heights Four," who spent 18 years on death row for a crime he did not commit; Sheri Engelken, Willie Enoch's new lawyer and a leader in the fight for his freedom; Mrs. Mary Cummins Enoch, wife of Willie Enoch; Clarence Archer, member of The Coalition Against the Death Penalty and close friend of Willie Enoch; and Andrew Highsmith, member of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty and the International Socialist Organization.
For further information on Willie Enoch's case, go to http://www.wenoch.com