Thomas David Cress is an innocent man serving life without parole for a crime he did not commit. The State of Michigan, whether intentionally or not, has wronged Mr. Cress:
- by prosecuting and convicting Mr. Cress on the basis of unreliable informant testimony when hard evidence and common sense both pointed to his innocence;
- by destroying vital DNA evidence before it could be tested, and after it became clear that such evidence would almost certainly inculpate another man and clear Mr. Cress's name; and most of all
- by denying Mr. Cress a new trial when a new trial should have been granted in light of the destruction of DNA evidence and the fact that another man confessed under oath to having committed the crime for which Mr. Cress was convicted.
Dear Governor Granholm:
Thomas David Cress is an innocent man serving life without parole for a crime he did not commit. The State of Michigan, whether intentionally or not, has wronged Mr. Cress:
1. By prosecuting and convicting Mr. Cress on the basis of unreliable informant testimony when hard evidence and common sense both pointed to his innocence;
2. By destroying vital DNA evidence before it could be tested, and after it became clear that such evidence would almost certainly inculpate another man and clear Mr. Cress's name; and most of all
3. By denying Mr. Cress a new trial when a new trial should have been granted in light of the destruction of DNA evidence and the fact that another man confessed under oath to having committed the crime for which Mr. Cress was convicted.
United States Senator Carl Levin has referred to Mr. Cress's case as an egregious violation of fundamental fairness and has stated that the collection of factors provide an overwhelming case for commutation.
Michigan Appeals Court judges Hilda Gage & E. Thomas Fitzgerald have called the denial of a new trial for Mr. Cress a miscarriage of justice.
Michigan Supreme Court Justice Marilyn Kelly has stated that there is a very real possibility that an injustice has occurred.
Even former Battle Creek police officers Commander Joe Newman and Detective Dennis Mullen believe Mr. Cress is innocent and have referred to Mr. Cress's case as a travesty of justice.
Governor Granholm, as Governor you have the unique power to pardon Thomas Cress or commute his sentence, thereby rectifying this travesty of justice. Mr. Cress has already spent 23 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Please don't let him spend another day in prison.
