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HAROLD E. STATEN STORY
Edited by Pamela Eller
I'm an inmate at Graterford State Prison doing a life sentence for a crime I did not commit. Not only was I falsely accused, but I was wrongly convicted of an arson-murder that happened October 30, 1984.
During my fight for freedom I've talked to quite a few people. Felito Feliz Mendoza, an inmate at Graterford, told me about the magazine, Justice Denied, and told me about their fight on behalf of the innocent. He also told me about your daughter's fight for freedom and her success.
I feel it is time for me to write my story and show how the evidence they have is very superficial and how they found me guilty. On October 30, 1984 a house was set on fire in North Philadelphia. The fire started between 3:30 a.m. and 3:43 a.m. Truly this was a malicious act and it was to become a cataclysm in my life that would set me within a violent situation in Graterford Prison.
Sometime in August of 1984, I was a construction worker for a local union and when I wasn't working for them I was self-employed as an exterminator. One day I ran into some friends and they wanted to get high so I agreed. I left my roach bombs at a friend's house who is related to my oldest son as an aunt by marriage. Anyway, while I was at another house with my friends a few of them left ahead of me and went back to the house where I left the roach bombs and they took two cans. Of course, I didn't know this at the time. When I returned to the house where I left the roach bombs I saw a theft had taken place and two cans were missing. I became angry with the fellow who was sitting by the box. His name is "Cowboy" I asked him who took the spray and he said he didn't know. So I told him if he didn't tell me who took the spray he was going to pay for it. Another man, who eventually died in the fire, came to me and wanted to pay for the spray and I told him, "No, you didn't have anything to do with it." I told Cowboy if he didn't tell me who took the spray I would kick his ass and he would still pay for the spray. This went on for a few days because I was so disgusted and filled with sarcasm.
Two weeks later my friends came to me and told me the truth about the theft. They told me they had taken the spray and they would pay for it. I decided to tell them, "No, I don't want the money. I just wanted to know who took the spray." After that we began to drink wine together. After I had the truth of what happened with the spray, my anger was over and there was no need for me to have a motive to hurt or do anything to anyone.
Apparently, the Philadelphia Police didn't think that way. Two months later the house was set on fire that night in October. A few days later Bo died. Bo is the man who was the boyfriend of the owner of the house. Her name is "Baby." Right after the fire the police came around and started asking questions about it and some young girl said she saw me in the neighborhood that night walking away from the fire. In a black neighborhood when a person says something of that nature it runs rampant throughout the neighborhood. The story spread through the neighborhood fast. Little did I know an arrest was inevitable. On the night of the fire I was with a lady at home in bed. After the lies went around the neighborhood for two months and hearing those despicable lies about me I decided to go to the police department, by the request of a police officer, and try to extinguish the lies. I just wanted to diminish the suspicion of my guilt and being a suspect.
Another young lady by the name of Annette McCurry made a statement on November 7, 1984 saying that she knows me, but didn't see me before, during or after the fire, but 16 months later that same girl had the audacity to change her statement and say that she saw me the night of the fire.
In February 1985 I took a lie detector test and was interrogated. I passed the lie detector test with flying colors, but they still arrested me in March 1986 for this crime. After my arrest I went to trial on October 6 and 7 of 1986 and was convicted of arson, murder and a lot of other charges. My lawyer was very ineffective. He never called witnesses on my behalf and he had names and addresses of these people he got from me. At trial the District Attorney subpoenaed Annette's boyfriend to testify against me, but he told the truth, Annette didn't see anything. She was drunk the night of the fire so she couldn't have seen me. At the pre-hearing Annette also testified that she wasn't a drinker, but she did have a few drinks at the disco club that night before going home. Her boyfriend also testified he pulled the fire alarm and he helped the people out of the house that night and he never saw me in the vicinity. Annette also said that I used to hang out with her brother, who is deceased. According to my private investigator, her brother is not dead. Why does she lie?
After I was found guilty the District Attorney sent me a statement saying they withheld the dying declaration of Bo saying, "his girlfriend had done this to him." Bo's girlfriend also said at the hearing she and Bo had an argument that night and she put him out of her house and he refused to leave. I have copies of statements made by the Commonwealth's only witness against me and in that testimony she says she never saw the person's face because she was "half a block away and she was high." She also said in her first statement about me in November 1984, "she wasn't high on cocaine", but when she made her second statement she says she was high on cocaine.
I fought for 25 months on post conviction relief because of the ineffectiveness of counsel. The judge said she wanted to give me a new trial because the trial merits a new one because of the ineffectiveness of my counsel, but after my new lawyer and I proved our point she didn't give us the new trial. I have notes and statements from the paramedics, in which the dying man told them who did this malicious and horrible thing to him. I hired a private detective in 1996, by the name of Paul J. Paris and he talked to the paramedics again and he was told no one ever came to talk to him or take a statement other than the officer who took his statement in 1984.
I can prove my innocence and the arresting officer was never called to testify at my trial as to the probable cause that resulted in my arrest. I need public exposure and help. I have one year to file a Federal Habeas Corpus with the Court and I need help doing this so I can prove my innocence. I pray to God I can get some help from someone out there. I am a victim of injustice. I pray that someone will hear me.
THE STATE'S CASE AGAINST ME
1. Lorraine Palmer started my name flowing around the neighborhood the night of the fire by saying she and her boyfriend, Tyrone Paige, had seen me walking down Indiana Avenue around 1:00 a.m. This was the night of the fire, October 30, 1984. She never made a statement until March 18, 1986 17 months later. I talked to her personally the night after the fire in the presence of her aunt and the brothers of the owner of the house in question. Their names are George and Vincent. At that time she told her aunt, after she was asked if she saw me, "I saw him walking down Indiana Avenue last night around 1:00 a.m." She never said she saw me walking down Percy Street at all. Her Aunt Bunny replied, "listen, if you didn't see him start this fire, shut your mouth, because this is serious stuff here." At this time October 30, 1984 , she was 17 years old. When she made her statement she was 18 years old. We have proof through her boyfriend, Tyrone Paige, that Lorraine lied about that night because he wasn't out there that night with her at all.
2. Annette McCurry made a statement on 11-7-84, 7:00 p.m., 8 days after the fire. When asked what she knew about the fire, her exact words were, "a couple of weeks ago my girlfriend Lorraine came around and Harold was in 3011 N. Percy St. and he was telling Miss Baby Brothers that he didn't start the fire. Rainey (Lorraine) told her cousin, Bunny, that on the night of the fire she was on the corner with her boyfriend and that Harold was the only person on the block, Harold said he didn't start the fire." When asked, "did anyone tell her who started the fire," she replied, "no." Everything in her first statement is "hearsay." When asked did she see me before, during, or after the fire, she replied, "no." Then on 3-13-86, 11:10 a.m., she said I was the one who committed the fire the night of October 30, 1984 . She also said I used to hang with her brother who's deceased, and that's a lie. Her brother is still living and I never hung around with him.
3. My mother's next-door neighbor, Linda Leak, made a statement on 11-14-84. When she was asked what she knew about the fire her reply was, "I wasn't there. Annette, from Percy Street came around and told me that Rainey said she saw Harold on the corner before the fire and when Bo (Juanita) jumped out of the window, she saw Harold on the corner." When she was asked if she knew who started the fire she replied, "no." Her mother also said that her daughter doesn't know anything about the fire because she was home in bed when the fire happened. Linda Leak's first statement was made on 11-14-84 at 6:50; a.m. or p.m., and was never mentioned. Detectives Bennett and Morton did the interview and everything she says in this interview came from Miss McCurry's hearsay. On 3-13-86 at 5:25 p.m., she made another statement that was also hearsay because she used the words, "at least that's what Annette told me." She told me they argued.
Ernest Pleasant made a statement on 1-3-86 saying he heard me say I killed Mr. Harris. He said a couple of months after the fire happened he was on the corner of Germantown and Somerset, when in fact, when this fire happened Mr. Pleasant was doing time at Rockview State Prison and had been there for over 1 year. When he came home the fire was almost 9 months old. So how could he hear me say I was involved with any part of this incident? After these officers couldn't find any probable cause to arrest anyone they turned their case over to Officers McNesby and Cimino. These two officers talked to me on 2-21-85 because another officer by the name of Avon Wilson asked me to take a lie detector test to clear myself. I did and I was interrogated and given the test and I passed both. I was let go after about 4 hours. They told me I was telling the truth. They waited for almost 14 months after my original statement was made to arrest me for the crime.
Proof will show Officers McNesby and Cimino took Mr. Pleasant's statement and went to Miss McCurry and coerced her for almost 3 months to change her original statement that was made 11-7-84 to the one she made on 3-13-86. With Mr. Pleasant saying he heard me say I killed Mr. Harris, they figured if Miss McCurry could place me on the spot they could get a conviction.
They also did the same thing to Linda Leak. Her original statement dated 11-14-84 was all hearsay and so was her second statement dated 3-13-86. The officer took Mr. Pleasant's statement, got Miss McCurry to change hers, as well as Miss Leak, and took it to a Magistrate and got probable cause to arrest me with hearsay statements.
I also have a statement from fireman Robert Clark, badge number 2179, who was the paramedic that night transferring the victim to the hospital. He heard the victim, say to his girlfriend, "look, see what you did to me." This statement was made 11-8-84 at 1500 hours. He was interviewed again on October or November 1997 and made the same statement. He said from all the years of being a fireman working out of the paramedic department, the victim was saying the lady was the cause of the fire. He also said no one ever talked to him concerning this matter other than homicide detective H. Allen, no lawyer and no DA.
My lawyer was ineffective because he never got my witnesses to come to trial.
He never talked to:
1. George Stokes
2. Tyrone Paige
3 Larry Holiday
4 Carl Jones
5 Alibi witness Ella Mae Brown
6 DwayneThese witnesses got the chance to tell their story after I was found guilty during my post verdict motion trial I fought for 25 months.
COMMONWEALTH MOTIVE
Motive used by District Attorney:
The DA used the two cans of Roach Bomb that were stolen from me as a motive for the fire. I knew what happened, and who stole the spray 2 ½ months before the fire started. Carl Jones and Larry Holiday were the ones who stole the spray from me and they told me they did this. I apologized to Cowboy for accusing him.
Harold E. Staten #AS-2651
P.O.BOX 244
Graterford, PA 19426-0244My outside contacts are:
Brother,
James T. Lassiter
7511 Maryland Rd.
Philadelphia, PA 19138Friend:
Mrs. Faye Douglas
PO BOX 30152
Winston Salem, NC 27130-0152
© Justice Denied
