Judge the evidence for yourself . . .
John King has been sentenced to death in a trial that obsessively focused not on guilt or innocence, but on the political and religious ideas that John King held. The fact that he had read a politically incorrect book, associated with political conservatives, had tattoos, and held unconventional religious views formed the basis of the "case" against him.
Excerpt from John's Statement to the Dallas Morning News...
" The word objective refers to the attitude of the observer, who should remain unemotional, unbiased and unprejudiced when evaluating the truth or falsity of what reported to be facts. The validity of a fact must not be judged in advance (prejudged); as was Shawn Berry's statement released, in an affidavit of probable cause, to the public. Whereas, in light of substantial evidence implicating his involvement, Berry has admitted he lied and recanted his initial statement. . .
Given
a description as to the whereabouts of the dirt trail, where an alleged
beating of the deceased occurred, it's essential to acknowledge the
fact
that Shawn Berry co-inherited a small tract of land adjacent to the
tram
road; which he visited quite frequently. Therefore, the fact that my
cigarette
lighter,
with "Possum"inscribed upon it, was found near the scene of the crime,
along with other items, i.e., several hand tools with BERRY inscribed
on them, a
compact disc belonging to Shawn Berry's brother, Louis, and my
girlfriend's watch, as well as items of the deceased, are all verified
facts;
implementing
[sic] that these items could have fallen from Shawn Berry's truck
during
a potential struggle with the deceased while on the tram road. However,
unacknowledged facts remain; that I, along with Russell Brewer and
Louis Berry, had been borrowing Shawn Berry's truck to commute to and
from an out of town land clearing
job each day. My girlfriends [sic] watch was kept in Shawn
Berry's
truck for us to keep track of the time. Louis Berry had brought along
several
of his CD's for our listening pleasure during our hourly drive each
morning
and evening, which he had a tendency to leave in his brother's
truck.
Furthermore, the aforementioned cigarette lighter had been misplaced a
week or so prior to these fraudulent charges that have been brought
against Russell Brewer and me. This so forth, does not prove the
presence of my girlfriend, Louis Berry, Russell Brewer, nor myself at
the scene of the crime;
verifiably,
only the owners of the property in question. . .
Scientists, authorities, investigative reporters and a credulous public need a word of caution about incidents of poor observations. In such incidents as Mr. Brewer's and my involvement in this case, authorities and the media are making accusations based on visual judgement [sic] and criminal histories of slight deviations from what is considered normal. Procedures are often flawed because the results could be easily influenced by the observer's desire to gain recognition or to contribute to a national honor. That should not be interpreted that no facts can be trusted. Mistakes are easy to make. The main point is to prudently cautious about accepting facts as true. We must be ready to listen to people who think our facts are wrong, and make an effort to check the facts we so often take for granted. . .
The
authorities, and general public alike, evaluated the purported facts of
Mr. Brewer's and my involvement, in this inhumane act, with a
subjective
view based on emotional appeal, orchestrated by a biased media. It's
been
prematurely concluded that this was some sort of hate crime, with me
implicated
as the initiator, despite unsubstantial evidence. Thus overlooking
facts
that imply otherwise...
Decide
just what you believe. In a review of verified facts, a diverse motive
for murder will be objectively established; thus insinuating Russell
Brewer's and my innocence. A more meaningful way of looking at the
situation would be to make references to Shawn Berry's irate temper,
abusive behavior, and
steroid
use. For example - On several occasions, Louis Berry, my girlfriend -
Kylie Greeney, Alan Cunningham, and myself among others have witnessed
Shawn Berry physically assault Ms. Christie Marcontell whenever she
defied his wishes. Incidents include: Shawn Berry has threatened
Christie Marcontell with a knife,
then proceeded to cut any of her clothes to shreds, which he deemed
inappropriate
for her to wear in public. On different occasions, Shawn Berry has been
viewed, with knife in hand, threaten to slice the tires on Marcontell's
vehicles if she tried to flee his violent tirades. Once, even cutting
the protective covering (or car-bra) from the front of
Marcontell's car when she tried to drive away as he approached her.
Though Christie Marcontell never filed charges on Shawn Berry; she did,
however, file several complaints of assault against him, with both the
Newton and Jasper Police
Departments.
Furthermore, though charges for the possession and use of an illegal
substance have never been filed either, friends and family have bear
[sic] witness
to Shawn Berry inject a substance, he claimed to be H.G.H. (Human
Growth
Hormones), or steroids, into his body; with hopes of enhancing
his
size and strength. . .
Along
with the steroid use and complaints of assault, Shawn Berry is also
known to have an alcohol problem and has been charged with two separate
counts
of Driving While Intoxicated. The outcome of the first DWI left Berry
with
a totaled Chevy pickup, a head wound which required staples and
two
severely injured passengers. The second DWI induced the revocation of
his
driver's license, and though his license was never reinstated, Shawn
Berry
continued to drink and drive on the roadways. Fortunately for Mr. Berry
his
probation officer was not compelled to revoke his probation; despite
unaccounted
violations.
. .
Those
of us, who knew Shawn Berry as a friend, knew him as a ludicrous
alcoholic and volatile individual, who frequently engaged in
wanton behavior
outside of his relationship to Ms. Christie Marcontell.Shawn Berry was
someone
I valued as a close and personal friend, despite our occasional
differences. Garrison Keillor said it best when saying, "Sometimes you
have to look reality
in
the eye and deny it". . .
Several
statements and the theories against Shawn Berry, Russell Brewer, and
myself (John W. King), for a prospective motive in this horrid
crime have been
presented to the public. Against the wishes of my attorney, I shall
share
with you objective facts and my account of what happened during
the
early
morning
hours of June 7, 1998. . .
After
a couple of hours of drinking beer and riding up and down rural
roads adjacent to highway 255, off highway 63, looking for a female's
home who
were expecting Shawn Berry and Russell Brewer. Berry, though frivolous
anger
and fun at first, begun to run over area residents [sic] mailboxes and
stop
signs
with
his truck, due to negligence in locating the girls [sic] residence.
Becoming
irate with our continued failure to locate the female's house, Shawn
Berry's
behavior quickly became ballistic as he sped through area
residents[sic]
yards in a circular manner and made a racket with his trucks'
tailpipes,
managing to sling our ice chest from the back of his truck several
times.
During his little conniption [sic] fit, Shawn Berry then stopped just
ahead
of a mailbox on highway 255, took a chain from the back of his truck,
wrapped
it around the post of the mailbox, and proceeded to uproot and drag the
mailbox
east on highway 255. Stopping yards short of the highway 63 North
intersection, where he then removed this chain, replaced it, and
continued to drive to a local convenient store (Rayburn Superette) to
try and call the female who was expecting him and Brewer. Fortunately,
no one answered at the girl's house, and after repeated request [sic]
from me as well as complaints from Russell Brewer of a throbbing toe he
injured during a recovery of our ice chest, Shawn Berry then agreed to
take us to my apartment. . .
Shawn
Allen Berry, driving with a suspended license and intoxicated, while
taking Russell Brewer and me home those early morning hours, decided to
stop by
a mutual friend of ours' home, located on McQueen Street: to inquire as
to what the residents and his brother, Louis Berry, were doing. On our
way there, we passed a black man walking east on Martin Luther King
Drive, whom Shawn
Berry
recognized and identified as simply "Bird": [sic] a man he befriended
while
incarcerated in the Jasper County Jail, and Berry stated:
supplied
him with steroids. Shawn Berry then proceeded to stop his truck
approximately
ten yards ahead of this individual walking in our direction, exit his
vehicle
and
approach
the man. After several minutes of conversation, Shawn Berry
returned to the truck and said his friend was going to join us,
because Berry and Byrd had business to discuss later; and thus,
Byrd climbed into the
back of Shawn Berry's truck and seated himself directly behind the cab.
While
continuing
on to our friend's residence, where supposedly Louis Berry was to be,
we
noticed there were neither lights on nor signs of activity in the
trailer
as we approached. We decided to proceed on to my apartment; but
contrary
to Russell Brewer's and my request, Shawn Berry drove to, and stopped
at,
another local convenient store (B.J.'s Grocery), just east of the
Jasper city limits. Shawn Berry then asked Russell Brewer if he could
borrow fifty to sixty dollars, because he needed a little extra cash to
replenish his "juice" (steroid) supply.
After
Brewer gave Shawn Berry the remainder of what money he had, to return
to
Sulphur Springs, Texas on, [sic] Berry asked if Russell Brewer and I
would
ride in the back of his truck and let his friend, Byrd, sit up front so
they
could discuss the purchase and payment of more steroids for Shawn Berry.
Russell
Brewer and I obliged on the condition, Berry take us to my apartment
without further delay, which, after a brief exchange of positions
he did.
. .
Once
we arrived at my apartment, Shawn Berry informed Russell Brewer and me
that he was leaving, so that he could take Byrd to get the steroids and
then home. He asked if Brewer or I would bring a small cooler of beer
down for him and his friend, along with a bottle of bourbon Berry had
bought a few days
prior.
Russell Brewer and I went up to my apartment, and began to fill a small
cooler with approximately 6-8 beers; realizing I left my wallet
and
cigarettes in Shawn Berry's truck, I opted to bring the cooler back
down
to Berry. After retrieving my wallet, but unable to locate my
cigarettes,
I then returned upstairs to my apartment, into my bedroom, and
proceeded
to call an ex-girlfriend before retiring to bed in the predawn
hours
of June 7, 1998. . .
That
of which may have occurred afterwards, I cannot justifiably say; but
considering such facts as, Shawn Berry's known steroid use, Violent
temper and abusive behavior, combined with his alcoholism and
association with a known convicted drug offender (James Byrd), who
Shawn Berry admittedly stated,
supplied
him with illegal substance a conclusive verifiable motive for murder
could be substantiated in an objective way. Thus alleviating an
unsubstantiated subjective motive of racial hate and supremacy; which
investigators
would like to conjure up to ensure a credulous case against Russell
Brewer and me, therefore gaining recognition as contributors to the
National Honor of a solution to America's racial problems. . .
One of the basic problems that arise when using subjective observations is that there are many kinds of illusions that distort our judgements [sic]. Furthermore, Russell Brewer and myself are being stereotyped and persecuted due to our differences in appearance, criminal histories, and the pride we openly express for our race. Unfortunately, when people have one-sided opinions, or strongly favor one point of view, authorities and the media try to mold opinions by suppressing facts that tend to show their opinions to be wrong. They forget that we live in a real world in which "facts" approximate an ideal of precision to varying degrees..."
Above excerpt from John's statement to the Dallas Morning News
Judge the evidence for yourself . . .
At the day of his sentencing, John's attorney C. Haden Cribbs coerced John into signing a contract for profiting from the rights to John's story. ( Click here to view contract ) Giving Mr Cribbs and his partner Brack Jones, Jr. a full 2/3 of all interest and revenues. Being that this demand was made on the day of John's sentencing, one can only wonder how long the lawyers had been cooking up this profit scheme. It could be said that John's best interests were put to the side at some point.. not exactly the kind of defense council you'd want to defend your innocence. Here for public viewing is the contract which should clearly indicated to any reasonable person that these lawyers had less-than-genuine interests in taking on John's case.
The case for overturning the unconscionable decision against John:
1. Jury foreman knew John prior, also had personal bias.
2. Defense lawyer coerced John to sign
story 'rights' contract,
before trial ends.
( Click here
to view contract )
3. Weak circumstantial evidence was
the only real "evidence"
presented.
4. Character witnesses were badgered and threatened by officials.
5. During jury selection, any
prospective jurors who showed signs
of aversion to the
death penalty were excused for "cause" by the
District Attorney.
Therefore because of this, the DA's office
engineered that if
John could be convicted on their shoddy
circumstantial evidence,
he would receive a death sentance and
therefore to garner
more of the ever-increasing 'minority vote',
they would be able
to put a feather their cap with this kind of
'victory'.
The news media tried and convicted
John long before the trial had even begun. Through lies and innuendo,
John King was transformed into the perfect scapegoat that ambitious
politicians and misguided law enforcement officials needed to convict
an innocent man and silence the opposition for passing unconstitutional
hate-crime legislation. If John King is executed, our precious right to
the exercise of political and religious freedom will die with him.
Please pray for John King and our
diminishing freedoms!
JOHN
KING'S PENPAL REQUEST - Sept 2005
Those wishing to can write to John personally at the address below:
John King # 999295
Polunsky Unit
3872 FM 350 South
Livingston, TX 77351
John and his father awaiting the sentencing
after a "guilty" verdict was pronounced.
THE INFORMATION ON THIS PAGE IS PROVIDED BY THE SUPPORTERS OF JOHN WILLIAM KING
|
John William King's
Official Homepage The official webpage maintained by John's supporters NOTE: THE CCADP IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY OF THE CONTENT OF JOHN'S OFFICIAL WEBPAGE |
| News - Victim's Son Speaks Against Death Penalty For King |
 http://www.broadcast.com/video/courttv/022599_fatherron.ram [3:12] From Court TV - Real Video - Father Ron, spiritual adviser to the defendant's ailing father, describes the last meeting of a father and son. |
| http://www.broadcast.com/video/courttv/022499_jaspersentence.ram [1:20] From Court TV - Real Video - After three hours of deliberation, the sentence is handed down. |
