There are thousands of ex-convicts walking the streets everyday, unpunished for crimes they have committed. From the two million Americans incarcerated yearly, there are far too many cases like the case of Maurice Carter; who is serving a “life sentence” for an alleged murder he did not commit.
The Maurice Carter case is one of the most publicised stories in decades and rightfully so. It is a story about a black man who was convicted because of his race. There was no compelling evidence to prove that he was guilty; most of the evidence used contradicted itself. According to court and police records the crime had occurred at 1:00 pm on a sunny winter day on December 20, 1973. Thomas Schadler, a policeman, and his wife were shopping in downtown Benton Harbour. During their shopping trip they decided to drop by a record shop called “Wig and Record Shop”. At the Cash Register was Gwen Baird, a black female, assisting a black male. The Schadlers walked in without paying any considerable attention to the two.
As the married couple were going through some music tapes, and “without provocation”, the black male walked up from behind them and shot Thomas Schadler several times in the back and head. As his wife, Ruth Schadler, tried to stop this horrendous act, the black man took a shot at her, but missed. The man then rushed out of the store, while Thomas Schadler struggled to his feet, after being shot four times, and tried to go after the assassin. He slipped on some ice, but still managed to pull his trigger at the fleeing murderer, taking no consideration for innocent pedestrians walking the streets. After an enormous police hunt, the gunman was not found.
On this same day, Maurice Carter and Wilbur Gillespie were coming out of their hotel when two policemen explained to them the recent situation and asked them a couple of questions that were mandatory police work. Later on that day Maurice Carter was at a tavern when two police officers walked into the tavern and began questioning Carter regarding the incident that had occurred earlier that day. They asked him if he would come to the crime scene for identification by one of their witnesses. Carter agreed without any resistance, and went to the record shop where the shooting had occurred. Gwen Baird, the female sales clerk that was talking to the shooter minutes before he shot Thomas Schadler, was asked to identify if Maurice Carter was the shooter. She immediately said that Carter showed no close resemblance to the convict.
Later, police officers showed her some photos, and she identified one of the photos as looking a lot like the shooter. This was a photo of a Mr. Meridy. She told them repeatedly that Carter was not the man they were looking for, and she was very sure of this because she had waited on the man for 15 minutes before the crime occurred. She said she’d never forget the man’s face as long as she lived. She also told them that the person they were looking for was “5'9" to 6' tall, dark skinned, heavy set with broad shoulders, had an accent to his voice, and was wearing a green fatigue-like coat.” None of this information resembled Carter, though Gwen Baird’s statement at the crime scene and her non-identification of Maurice Carter were never used during Maurice Carter’s Trial. Captain Harold Harris, who was a supervisor witness, knew about Gwen’s statement regarding the convict's appearance how she had dismissed Maurice Carter as the person who had committed the crime. He said nothing.
During the trial Thomas and Ruth Schadler testified that Maurice Carter was the man that had shot at them. Their prior police statements completely contradicted their testimony, their prior police statements were never entered or made part of court records. In four police reports, Thomas Schadler had clearly stated that he did not pay attention to his assailant, and in another report he clearly stated that he did not get any type of identification on his assailant. On some police reports Mrs.Schadler had stated that she did not know what was happening until after everything was over. However on another report, she stated that the gunman was 5'8”, and that he was left handed. Maurice Carter is 6'1” and right handed.
Maurice Carter was convicted without a weapon, without fingerprints, without any clear identification, or any type of physical evidence. His jury was all white, and the jury had to rely on the contradictional testimony of Thomas and Ruth Schadler. The jury was unaware of Thomas and Ruth’s previous police reports, that Mr. Carter is right handed, that both Ms. Baird and Mrs. Schadler had said another man they saw in an earlier line up had a complexion similar to the gunman’s, and that the complexion of that man was much darker than Carter’s. The jury was unaware that Victor Miller, who testified that Mr. Carter looked like the gunman, initially had stated that he did not see the gunman at all, and the jury was not informed of Gwen Baird’s non-identification of Maurice Carter.
Most people will read this story and brush it off as yesterday’s news. However, Maurice Carter cannot do this. He has been imprisoned for a large portion of his natural life. He has been wrongly convicted, and those who have helped put him behind bars have committed an act worse then the alleged “attempted murder” Carter has been charged for. Many people have moved up the ladder in their careers on Carter’s back. Carter’s conviction has given many lawyers, judges, and police officers a greater reputation amongst their colleagues.
Maurice Carter received a life sentence for an attempted murder he did not commit, while people who have been convicted of numerous murder counts get off in less time. The reasons for Carter’s conviction are clear, and the facts point to nothing but Carter’s innocence. Many people might not hear of it, but the sole fact that there are people out there willing to spend their time to help the misfortunate tells me that this world is not only filled with the greedy, selfish, and the cold hearted. This shows that there is still a chance for justice - not just for Maurice Carter, but to every person who has ever been treated unjustly. Maurice Carter’s case has been built on a wall of lies, but we must not let this wall stand any longer.
In late July 2004, Maurice Carter was finally set free after spending nearly three decades in prison. His name, however, has not been cleared of his crimes and the case will continue to be a sad reminder of the injustice some people face through others.
There are thousands of ex-convicts walking the streets everyday, unpunished for crimes they have committed. From the two million Americans incarcerated yearly, there are far too many cases like the case of Maurice Carter; who is serving a “life sentence” for an alleged murder he did not commit.