Media letter

Dear Sir or Madam,

Hello, my name is Charles Douglas Raby. For 29 years I’ve been on Texas’ Death Row for a crime that’s been proven physically impossible for me to even be a suspect of. Not only is there no physical or eyewitness evidence of me being at the crime, my DNA is completely absent from the scene. I’ve been eliminated as the perpetrator in every single way in which this case is looked at. As there are very few opportunities for media coverage (unless given an execution date), I am reaching out to you with the hope of gaining public awareness and community support. My fear is that my first date with death could be my last.

A coerced false confession, inadequate police investigation, false and misleading testimony by the Houston Police Department Crime Lab (HPDCL), incompetent lawyers, landmark Supreme Court rulings, and prosecutorial misconduct only make up a fraction of the corruption in my case. Please take a few moments to read my story.

On October 19, 1992, I was arrested for the murder of Mrs. Edna Mae Franklin. Under the pressure of the police threatening to arrest my fiancée and take her newborn son away, I signed a typed statement set before me. Despite this coerced and false confession contradicting both the facts and physical DNA evidence of the murder, I was sentenced to death on June 17, 1994.

Physical evidence from Mrs. Franklin's murder case was processed, tested, and stored at the HPDCL. Although physical and blood evidence was readily available for proper testing at the time of my original trial, the HPDCL Analyst Joseph Chu testified before the jury that the forensic results were “inconclusive” when they actually excluded me. In 2005, the federal government began an investigation of HPDCL, led by Michael Bromwich. Bromwich found that the HPDCL did not report the results of blood typing and DNA testing accurately, possibly because of a “more sinister manipulation of analytical results”: the crime lab would not report results that did not implicate police-identified suspects. So lab results would not be reported accurately unless they fit with the suspects that the police identified. My blood typing results did not fit with the blood type under Mrs. Franklin's fingernails. So instead of stating the truth, they stated that the results were 'inconclusive'. Now, more than 20 years after Chu falsely testified at my trial, the state’s own Chief of Crime Lab says Chu's testimony in my case was “incorrect” and “unsupported”.

After years of pursuing an appeal with my trial judge, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA) finally granted me the right to have conclusive DNA testing on the blood under Mrs. Franklin's fingernails. In their opinion from my appeal from the denial of a motion for post-conviction DNA testing *(Raby v. State**,**AP- 74,930; Tex.Cr.App. 2005),*the TCCA stated:

“No blood or other physical evidence that connected appellant [me] to the scene was recovered. In his statement, appellant did not say he stabbed the victim. In some aspects, appellant’s statement contradicts the testimony of police officers about the physical evidence from the crime scene. – ” Sergeant Allen testified that there was no physical evidence to connect Mr. Raby to the crime,21 and he agreed that DNA testing would be useful in this case.22”

In addition, the clothing I’d worn on the night of Mrs. Franklin’s murder was also subjected to testing. As a result, I was 100% excluded, as noted by the following statement from my Ch. 64 hearing below:

“…DNA material from at least two different men was present underneath the fingernails of Edna Franklin’s left hand when the clippings were collected at her autopsy. Furthermore, these DNA tests establish to a scientific certainty that none of the DNA from these unknown males belong to the petitioner Charles Raby. The presence of at least two foreign male profiles underneath Edna Franklin’s fingernails at death is more than sufficient to raise reasonable doubt given the other evidence presented to the jury. No eyewitness placed Mr. Raby with the deceased the day of her death. No biological or physical evidence links Mr. Raby to the scene. No fingerprint evidence exists. No DNA evidence links Mr. Raby to the scene. Evidence that should have linked Mr. Raby to the crime was simply never there. Nor did the state offer much of a motive for the murder. Virtually the sole basis for the verdict was a custodial statement, but that statement is disturbingly vague and lacks any indices or reliability such as corroborated details towards which homicide detectives aspire.”

Unfortunately, this is 2022 and I am still on Death Row. After the results of the November 2008, Ch. 64 hearing were presented, Judge Joan Campbell, of the 248th District Court, had to make a ruling on whether the new DNA evidence would be considered favorable [to me] or not. Assistant DA Lynn Hardaway told Judge Campbell that lack of DNA evidence doesn't equal innocence so Judge Campbell ruled against me. My attorneys appealed Judge Campbell’s opinion to the TCCA. The TCCA considered DNA evidence to be irrelevant in proving someone’s innocence; so much so, that they stated that it wouldn’t have made ANY difference at all. Considering a jury’s purpose is to consider any and all evidence that proves whether a person is innocent or guilty, it would make sense that the jury’s decision may have been different. It’d be interesting to know what my jury would think now if they were to learn of the DNA evidence.

As you are aware, politics play a major role in the justice system (especially when it comes to capital punishment). Taxpayers complain of the high costs associated with the appeals process in death penalty cases, yet despite knowing the DNA wasn’t mine for over 20 years, the state has continued to deny me any relief. On top of my trial judge taking almost 3.5 years to make her ruling, it took the TCCA another two years to deny me. I truly believe that the TCCA granted this DNA testing, never thinking it would come back with anything other than mine. Ironically, my bid for DNA testing (and possibly during my Ch. 64 hearing) occurred during the same time that the media focused on the misconduct at the HPDCL.

I truly hope that you will take to time to help me. I am begging the media to step in for my life is on the line. I have wonderful attorneys, but if they feel media is not wanted, then they don’t have to get involved. I feel it is greatly needed. I have been trying to get a new trial for so long. Therefore, I am open to any and all media access.

So with that folks, I will end. I hope to hear from you. I will answer any questions and do any media interviews. I will be an open book, and welcome any help that you can give. Thank you for your time in this matter.

Sincerely, Charles Douglas Raby TDCJ #: 999109