news-record.com

From a story in today’s paper:

RALEIGH — Ed Taylor stood with friends and family in front of the Wake County courthouse Tuesday, each wearing a lime-green T-shirt with a simple message: “Free Greg Taylor.”

Greg, 47, is the Greensboro retiree’s son. Sixteen years ago a jury found him guilty and a judge sentenced him to life in prison for murder. Since then, he has exhausted most every legal avenue to overturn his conviction, save one. Last month, the relatively new N.C. Actual Innocence Commission ruled unanimously there was enough evidence to warrant a review of the case.

Along with other friends and family, Ed Taylor hopes the display might speed the day Greg is released from a state prison in Johnston County.
Today he is certain his son isn’t a murderer. As he drove toward the same courthouse in April 1993, Taylor said, he was certain of other things.

“I was always a strong law-and-order man,” Taylor said. “I came down to the trial mentally prepared to hear evidence that he was guilty.” There’s a choke in Taylor’s voice when he confides he would have “thrown the switch” himself if prosecutors had proved his son was a murder.

What he heard during the trial and what he has found out since has convinced him of quite the opposite.

Click here for the full story.

I’m not the first to write about this story and got interested mainly because of the Greensboro angle. You can read more about the case here, here and here.

In addition to interviews, my story was based on a trove of documents at the Innocence Inquiry Commission offices, including a few snipits of audio and video.

Here's a video of Taylor being told that the Innocence Inquiry Commission would take up his case:

It’s worth noting that there’s a lot more to this story than I was able to cram into my piece. Each of Greg’s family members has their own stories to tell, and I only talked to a few of them. And there were many twists and turns that I didn’t have time to get into.

A few other notes of interest:

• In the story, I mention that Greg’s brother Eddy is writing a blog on the case. You can find that by clicking here.
   
• Primary sponsors of the 2006 law that created the inquiry commission included now-Speak Joe Hackney. Co-sponsors included Reps. Pricey Harrison and Earl Jones, both of Greensboro.
   
• The commission remains the only one of its kind in the nation, according to officials at the commission.
   
• Legislators amped up the powers of the commission this year with H 937. That bill allowed the commission to grant immunity to witnesses in certain cases.

A final note: I spoke with Don Vaughan, now a state senator but at one time an appellate lawyer for Taylor, and Chris Mumma, who heads the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence. Both said there are plenty more cases that the commission could be taking up. Vaughan told me of another case with facts very similar to Taylor's that the commission rejected because it didn't have the time or resources to take up.

So it's somewhat serendipitous that this release came over the transom Friday:

The North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission (Commission) is proud to announce that they have been awarded a federal grant from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) in the amount of $566,980 for DNA testing of post-conviction innocence claims. The Commission applied for the grant with the support of the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. The money will be used from January 2010 through June 2011.

Under the NIJ grant, the Commission will be able to dramatically expand their capacity to review DNA cases and conduct forensic testing. The grant includes: funding for two staff attorney positions, training, supplies, expert witness fees, and DNA testing.

The Commission is a state agency that currently operates with a staff of five and is allotted a budget of $372,879 per year. The Commission reviews and evaluates post-conviction claims of actual innocence. Since the Commission’s creation, they have reviewed 557 innocence claims and conducted three hearings. A public hearing in the case of State v. Gregory Flynt Taylor was conducted on September 3rd and 4th and is now pending for final hearing before a three-judge panel.

The Commission’s Executive Director, Kendra Montgomery-Blinn, explained that the Commission reviews cases that involve DNA testing and cases where there is no physical evidence to test. The grant may only be used for cases involving DNA testing, but the Commission will continue to use their regular funds to review both types of cases.

The Commission’s Chairman, Judge Quentin T. Sumner, said, “This grant is recognition of the important work the Commission does. I am proud of how much we have accomplished in the past three years and ready to see how much more we can do with this extra funding.” Executive Director, Kendra Montgomery-Blinn, said, “This funding comes at a time when it is desperately needed and will almost double our budget.”

Cases may be referred to the Commission by any person or agency. If you have an innocence claim to refer, please send information about the claim to the Commission at:

North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission

Administrative Office of the Courts

P.O. Box 2448

Raleigh, NC 27602

More information about referring an innocence claim can be found on the Commission’s website at: www.innocencecommission-nc.gov