EXECUTED APRIL 2002

Ohio Parole Board
1050 Freeway Drive
N. Columbus, OH 43229

Dear Parole Board Members:

On behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union we ask that you commute the sentence of Alton Coleman to life in prison without the possibility of parole. This relief is warranted because Mr. Coleman s death sentence was the product of a trial that was fundamentally unfair.  Prosecutors systematically excluded African Americans from serving as jurors and his lawyer failed to investigate and present mitigating evidence that might well have spared him a death sentence. 

During jury selection in Mr. Coleman s trial, the prosecution used nine of its twelve peremptory challenges to exclude otherwise qualified African-American jurors.  All of the excused had been passed for cause in the voir dire process and were thus deemed eligible by the court. The Supreme Court has stated repeatedly that racial discrimination in jury selection is an intolerable violation of the Constitution. And when the racial pattern of excluding jurors is as pronounced as in Mr. Coleman s case, the Government must account for its actions. Despite the fact that the prosecution in Mr. Coleman s case eliminated 82% of African American jurors and used 75% of its preemptory challenges to do so, the government has yet to provide any explanation for its actions -- let alone, demonstrate that racial bias was not a factor. Under the circumstances, we can have little confidence in the system that produced Mr. Coleman s death sentence. In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court recently stayed an execution and agreed to hear the case of a Texas death row inmate where it is alleged that jurors were similarly excluded by the prosecution during the trial because of their race.[1]

Moreover, the failure of Mr. Coleman s lawyer to conduct a basic investigation into his psychiatric history and family background and present this evidence to the jury further undermines our trust in the outcome in his case. Had a basic investigation been conducted, it would have revealed that Mr. Coleman was abandoned in a garbage can by his mother who herself suffered with mental illness; that he was neglected by the grandmother who raised him while she operated a brothel and gambling house in her home.  In this environment Mr. Coleman was habitually abused, both physically and psychologically.  He was exposed to a number of disturbing experiences including witnessing group sex (sometimes including his mother and grandmother) pedophilia, and bestiality.  In addition, he twice suffered head injuries that required hospitalization.

Mr. Coleman, now and at the time of his crime, has an IQ far below average and suffers from borderline personality disorder.  His mental illness has manifested itself on multiple occasions through extremes of emotion, impulsive behavior, and psychotic episodes.  None of this evidence was sought or ever presented as mitigating factors during the sentencing phase of his trial.  

The ACLU opposes capital punishment in all cases as a barbarous anachronism and in violation of the Constitution.  Mr. Coleman s case particularly merits clemency.  Had an unbiased jury been given information about Mr. Coleman s abuse and neglect during his childhood, he likely would not have been sentenced to death.  Given the irrevocable consequences of a death sentence, we submit that Ohio should afford Mr. Coleman full consideration for his plea to commute his sentence to life in prison without parole.

Sincerely,

Diann Rust-Tierney                                     Christine Link
ACLU Capital Punishment Project              ACLU of Ohio