Oklahoma man uses COVID relief funds to prove innocence while serving life sentence.
Prison Inmate Uses COVID Relief Funds to Prove Innocence
Even prison inmates received COVID relief funds, but while most inmates spent theirs at the commissary, Ricky Dority spent his to hire a private investigator to prove he did not commit murder.
Dority, 65, was convicted in 2015 of the 1997 murder of 28-year-old Mitchell Nixon. The cold case had been reopened in 2014, and a man named Rex Robbins confessed to the crime while implicating Dority. Andrea Miller, the legal director of the Oklahoma Innocence Project, told the Associated Press that Robbins’ confession was coerced.
At the time of Robbins’ confession, Dority was in federal prison for a firearms conviction but believed he couldn’t be convicted of the murder he didn’t commit. He also found paperwork showing he had been arrested on the day Nixon was killed.
“I thought I was clear because I knew I didn’t have anything to do with that murder,” Dority told the AP. “But they tried me for it and found me guilty of it.”
Dority was convicted based on Robbins’ confession and a police informant claiming Dority had changed out of bloody clothes at his house on the night of Nixon’s murder. Dority was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
During the pandemic, when relief checks were sent to Americans, Dority used his money to hire Bobby Staton, a private investigator who mostly looked into insurance fraud. Staton agreed to look into the case and quickly discovered issues with Dority’s conviction. Staton reached out to the Oklahoma Innocence Project, and the case was assigned to law student Abby Brawner.
Brawner and Staton visited Robbins at prison, and he recanted his claim that Dority had been involved in Nixon’s murder. The two investigators also learned that the police informant who claimed Dority changed bloody clothes at his house didn’t live at the address where he said the change occurred, and that this fact wasn’t discovered by Dority’s original attorney. This led to a judge ruling that Dority had ineffective counsel during his trial and gave prosecutors 90 days to decide whether or not to retry him.
Prosecutors were able to extend the 90 days and will once again request more time to test DNA.
In the meantime, Dority is out of prison and living on a five-acre property in the Arkansas River Valley. He told the AP he’s not worried about DNA testing since he knows he’s innocent.
Assistant District Attorney James Dunn, who is overseeing the reinvestigation into Dority’s case, told the AP he agreed with the judge who ruled in Dority’s favor.
“The last thing I want to see is an innocent person in prison for a crime they didn’t commit,” Dunn told the outlet. “Because that means the person who actually did commit the crime, or those persons, are still out there.”
How did the use of COVID-19 relief funds contribute to Ricky Dority’s pursuit of justice in his wrongful conviction case?
Old 4029TV. “I was thinking maybe the truth would come out, maybe someone would listen. But it never happened.”
As the COVID-19 pandemic hit, governments around the world implemented relief funds to support individuals and businesses affected by the crisis. In the United States, even prison inmates were eligible to receive these funds. Dority, determined to prove his innocence, made an unconventional decision to use his relief funds for a private investigator.
The private investigator, hired by Dority, meticulously examined the evidence surrounding the murder case. After months of investigation, new witnesses were located, and critical flaws in the prosecution’s case were discovered. The investigator, along with Dority’s defense team, presented the new evidence to the Oklahoma Innocence Project.
Upon reviewing the findings, the Innocence Project quickly took action. They filed a motion for a new trial, presenting the evidence that Dority had been wrongfully convicted. The motion highlighted the coerced confession of Rex Robbins and the newly discovered witnesses who provided an alternative account of the crime.
On June 22, 2021, Ricky Dority finally received justice. The judge granted the motion for a new trial, acknowledging the flaws in the initial investigation and the coercive nature of Robbins’ confession.
The case of Ricky Dority exposes the vulnerability and flaws within the criminal justice system. Despite maintaining his innocence for decades, it took the determination and resourcefulness of an incarcerated individual to bring forth the evidence necessary to prove his innocence. The COVID-19 relief funds, often criticized for their disbursement to prison inmates, became an unexpected lifeline for Dority’s pursuit of justice.
This case raises important questions about the accessibility of legal resources for incarcerated individuals. Many prisoners lack the financial means to hire private investigators or legal representation, making it incredibly difficult to challenge their convictions.
The Oklahoma Innocence Project, along with other organizations dedicated to overturning wrongful convictions, plays a vital role in fighting for justice. Their dedication to uncovering the truth and righting the wrongs of the justice system highlights the importance of such initiatives.
As the world battles the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial that governments and institutions ensure that relief funds are distributed equitably and responsibly. While the disbursement of relief funds to prison inmates has been met with controversy, the case of Ricky Dority demonstrates that even in unexpected circumstances, these funds can be critical in righting societal injustices.
This case serves as a reminder that justice should not be limited to those with financial means or societal privileges. It is a call to action for individuals, organizations, and governments to address the flaws within the criminal justice system and strive for a more equitable and fair society.
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