David James Martin was arrested on 3/17/08, when he was 21, and on
3/18/10 he was wrongfully convicted of a murder he didn't commit, and
sent to Death Row in Florida. Now, he desperately needs our help to
right this wrong.

How is one sent to Death Row for a crime he didn't commit? Fear,
tricks, deception, threats, laziness, lack of competent counsel, there
are many reasons. It happens more often than most people realize.

( There have been 2,152 exonerations nationwide in the past 30 years.
http://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/about.aspx )

The hidden truths of this case make it seem like more fiction than
real life, for it's kinda hard to believe that such things can
actually happen in the real world. If you read about his case, you'll
read that he confessed to this crime. So, how can he be innocent? He's
not the first, nor will he be the last, to confess to a crime they
didn't commit.

( "False confessions make for
the leading cause of
wrongful convictions in
homicide cases." http://www.falseconfessions.org/fact-a-figures )

David was at the scene of the crime. He had to watch a man brutally
murder his friend, the victim. This man, Mike, then threatened David
and his family, to make him keep his silence. After having just
watched this man brutally murder someone, he understandably believed
that Mike could and would follow through on his threats. And so, when
David was questioned by the police, he would tell them nothing.

Rather than actually do their jobs and investigate this case, these
detectives chose the lazy route and proceeded to threaten, play
tricks, make promises, and coerce David to confess to this crime. They
told him that he had 2 options.
-1: he could continue to tell them nothing, and they would testify
against him in trial, and that the jury would belive them ("two
high-ranking detectives" they called themselves) and not him. And that
he would be found guilty and sent to Death Row.
or
-2: he could say that he did it, and they would help him and he would
only spend 5-10 years in prison, if that.
This theme continued for a few hours, among other various forms of
coercion. He was young, and afraid, and the detectives were able to
wear him down and convince them of what they were telling him. So, he
said that he did it. This was all recorded, so he has the proof.

Later, when he found out that the State was seeking the Death Penalty,
he to his Public Defenders the truth. And they did nothing.
(Unbeknownst to David, his Public Defenders actually did a small
investigation into what he told them, and found that everything they
told him was true. And yet, not only did they do nothing about it, but
they also hid this knowledge from David.) When David went to trial,
his Public Defenders put on no defense! They called not a single
witness! Nothing! And so he was convicted.

Now he is trying to appeal his case. But he is stuck with another
State-appointed lawyer, who puts forth no effort to win his case.
Instead, they prefer to waste time and taxpayer money with doctors and
MRI's and PET scans, trying to show that David has some sort of brain
damage (which he doesn't). This is common practice among these
lawyers. It is a way for them to say "oh hey, look at all the work we
are doing" without actually doing anything helpful.

Not only does his lawyers refuse to actually help him, they even
hinder him by refusing to provide him with his own legal documents!
(They are making him pay for them. Thousands of pages!) So, he spends
his time trying to learn about the law and legal system, trying to
help himself. But without financial help, his chances are very slim.

So, what would your donations be used for? Ideally, if there's enough
donated, he'll be able to hire a real lawyer. But this is not cheap.
For a Death Penalty case, $20,000 seems to be the norm...and that's
just to take the case! That price will go up as investigation and
litigation begins and progresses. Aside from this, David can use your
donations to purchase all his legal documents, so he can better help
himself. He can hire his own investigators. Maybe get the help of a
paralegal. He can buy law books (which are not cheap) so he can learn
and help himself.

Just to show the importance of having his legal documents...I
mentioned that his Public Defender had done a small investigation on
Mike, yet hidden this from David. The only reason he knows about it
now is from some of the documents he has been able to buy. He also
learned that Mike is a Sex Offender. He also learned that, during the
2 years before his conviction, Mike had been making frequent trips to
the workplace of David's Mother, asking her for updates about his
case. Once he was convicted, Mike quit showing up. It was only later,
after she saw a picture of Mike, that she realized who had been
questioning her. She offered to provide the security tapes to David's
lawyers, but they refused! If not for the documents he's been able to
buy, he would know none of this. There are still thousands of pages of
documents he doesn't have...what else might be hidden from him?

I'd like to mention that there have been 161 exonerations since the
Death Penalty was reinstated in 1976. Florida leads the nation with
27.

( for more info on nationwide DP exonerations:
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-list-those-freed-death-row
for more info of Florida exonerations: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/florida-1
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-and-death-penalty?did=412&scid=6 )

So please, let's help him! He needs our help! Without your help, he
cannot win. He will continue to live alone in a cage until he dies. It
doesn't matter if you give a little or a lot. Everything helps.

If you would like to contact him for any reason, his address is:

David James Martin
J30258
Union C. I.
P. O. Box 1000
Raiford, FL 32083
USA