Wrongly convicted, 32 years

Joseph Walker

From Christine Walker

Even though Joseph Walker has been in prison for 32 years, the truth of the matter is that he is an innocent man in prison for a murder he did not commit.  So you think he’s just another guilty man in prison, claiming to be innocent, hoping to get out of prison? Ok, well let me give you the facts, and we will let the facts speak for itself.

On the night of November 9, 1988, a man lost his life. No one was arrested or apprehended for the crime that night.  One week later someone contacted law enforcement officials, giving them Joseph Walker’s name as the shooter. There was two alleged witnesses to the shooting, one 13 year old and one 18 year old.  They were both shown an allegedly suggestive photo lineup with Joseph’s picture in it.  They both picked Joseph who was then subsequently arrested.

The trial lasted five days, Joseph was found guilty and sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison, though there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime scene or the crime. Unfortunately, sometimes in our communities, it takes a while for the seriousness of a situation to kick in before people who know the truth of a matter to come forward.

Those who live in our communities know that to speak the truth about a murder, almost guarantees the possibility of you losing a life.

So it took some time for the truth to begin to come out and illuminate the darkness of the hole Joe had been thrown in.  The brother of the man who really killed the victim came forward and not only told law enforcement and court officials that his brother killed the man Joe was in prison for but gave a written and notarized affidavit, testifying to that truth. One of the two alleged eye witnesses (who were then at the young impressionable ages of 13 and 18 at the time of the shooting) was shown two pictures, one of Joseph Walker, and another of the now known true murderer and asked which picture was the picture of Joseph Walker.

The same Joseph Walker who she picked out of a photo lineup which resulted in his arrest.

The same Joseph she positively identified in a courtroom during trial in front of a jury who found him guilty.

Now years later, standing in the presence of a private license investigator, without any law enforcement suggestive or intimidating tactics, she picked the photograph not of Joseph Walker but the photograph of the man whose own brother identified him as the true killer.

After being told she did not pick Joseph, her reply was they look so much alike that I can see how I could have identified an innocent man.

The woman who initially contacted law enforcement years later gave a sworn affidavit confessing that someone who knew that she had gone through a conflict with Joseph Walker paid her to contact police and specifically tell the lie that Joseph Walker was the killer.

In a sworn affidavit she conceded that she lied against Joseph in exchange for a payment as revenge for the conflict she and Joseph had. Another affidavit was given by a man who attested to being in the car with a man who threw the gun that killed the victim into a river.

The thumb print of the killer, the man who confessed to his brother, was found on the scene.  Joseph’s prints were not found on the scene.

Multiple individuals have attested hearing the man who paid for the victim to be murdered boasting about it.  Eyewitnesses said the killer did not have gold teeth.  At the time of the murder, Joseph had cemented gold teeth, which were removed decades later while in prison by a prison dentist. The man identified as the real killer, he had no gold teeth.

Despite all of the above evi-dence being brought forward in the past 32 years, the courts have struggled to embrace the truth of Joseph’s innocence.

Everything in this article can be verified by court records.

All these people have risked their lives to tell the truth.

32 years later, the man who attended New River middle school, Dillard High school, raised in Franklin Park and tater town, the son of parents who raised three boys and two girls’ remains unjustly in prison. He is the father of one boy and two girls, grandfather of six grandkids.  Since his incarceration his father and two sisters passed in which he was unable to attend their funerals.  Joseph is not another guilty man claiming to be innocent.

Broward County has set up a review committee to review old cases and Joseph has filed an application for review. The committee will look at evidence the jury did not get to see and decide if the case needs to be revisited.  Joseph remains strong, unbroken, he is mentally, spiritually and physically healthy, and God has preserved him.

Joseph is 58 years old now, he is not bitter and lives his life with a love of helping anyone struggling in the struggle.

There are many mothers and other family members out there  holding on to the hope for justice and mercy for their loved ones that are incarcerated, don’t ever give up hope.

About Carma Henry 24481 Articles
Carma Lynn Henry Westside Gazette Newspaper 545 N.W. 7th Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33311 Office: (954) 525-1489 Fax: (954) 525-1861

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