Page 10 - the NOISE April 2014

DEATHTO CAPITAL PUNISHMENT:
RAY KRONE
SPEAKS FOR THE OTHER 68%
STORY BY
MARK SZOPINSKI
Early last month, Flagstaff Federated Community Church hosted a seminar titled “Questioning the Death Penalty in Arizona.” The event was sponsored by the Church, as well as influential anti-death pen- alty groups Death Penalty Alternatives for Arizona (DPAA) and the nationally-operat- ing Witness to Innocence (WTI), an orga- nization composed entirely of exonerated former death-row inmates.
The event’s keynote speaker was Ray Krone, who spent ten years incarcerated in Arizona — two of which on death row — for the brutal murder of a female Phoenix bartender, only to be exonerated after DNA evidence proved his innocence. Though undoubtedly the focal point of the evening, those expecting to only hear Mr. Krone’s testimony were treated to other qualified speakers, each differing in their relationship with the death penalty but united by their devotion to see it abolished.
With SB 1067, a new bill currently in the Arizona Legislature hoping to make an appearance on the November ballot which would abolish the death penalty in our state, the seminar was particularly relevant.
Inside the large white conference room of Flagstaff Federated, in front of tables selling shirts and giving away buttons in hope of signatures, the front wall was adorned with numerous ceiling-high hand-made posters divided into two categories. The green post- ers presented international death penalty statistics and used information dated from 2011, including lists of the 100 nations with no death penalty and the 40 that still regu- larly practice it. The red posters displayed United States statistics and used informa- tion dated from 2013, including lists of the
18 states that have abolished capital punish- ment and the 32 that still have not.
The evening opened with DPAA Board Member Dr. David Spence highlighting that upon each list of abolition-embracing regions, there was a space left open where the United States and Arizona might hope- fully one day be written.
Mark Michaels, another DPAA Board Member, motioned to the list of death pen- alty nations, saying, “As you can see, we’re in some pretty good company, with Saudi
Arabia, Iraq, North Korea.” His tone quickly changed from casual to serious, calling the death penalty a “violent insult to any justice system that uses the word justice.” With Mr. Michaels’s charged statement, the seminar officially began.
As numerous speakers continually stressed, perhaps the most compelling ra- tionale for abolishing the death penalty is the unfortunate but undeniable reality of wrongful conviction; without question, this truth was the seminar’s central theme.
In the United States, 143 death row in- mates have been exonerated since capital punishment was reinstated in 1979, eight of which having been released from Arizona prisons. Mr. Krone was the 7th in Arizona, and the 100th in the United States overall, the man that pushed the number of death row exonerations into triple digits. Due to being
“lucky number 100” and the media’s fixation on pleasant, round numbers, his case and ex- oneration received ample attention.
On 29 December, 1991, 36-year-old Kim Ancona was sexually assaulted and stabbed to death at CBS Lounge, the Phoenix bar where she worked. Days later, Mr. Krone was arrested. Eventually, he was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death, a decision based upon the supposedly “ex- pert” testimony of Nevada forensic odon- tologist Dr. Raymond Rawson, who claimed bite marks on Ms. Ancona’s body matched Mr. Krone’s signature teeth — Mr. Krone was even dubbed the “snaggle tooth killer.”
In 1996, Mr. Krone was granted another trial, but despite DNA evidence which had since proven that blood discovered on Ms. Ancona’s body didn’t belong to either him or her, he was again found guilty on the basis of Dr. Rawson’s testimony. After the second trial’s conclusion, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge James McDougall wrote, “The court is left with a residual or lingering doubt about the clear identity of the killer,” later stating, “This is one of those cases that will haunt me for the rest of my life, wondering whether I have done the right thing.”
Though the second trial removed him from death row, at 35, Mr. Krone still faced 40 years to life. As far as the beautiful freedom
of life is concerned, it was a death sentence. For the next six years, though fervently main- taining his innocence, reality of the situa- tion was making it difficult for Mr. Krone to remain optimistic. It wasn’t until April 2002, when a DNA test of saliva and blood found on Ms. Ancona’s clothes and body proved his innocence by simultaneously condemning the real murderer, that he was released.
At the time, Ms. Ancona’s true killer, Ken- neth Phillips was already incarcerated in Ari- zona for sexually assaulting a seven-year-old girl. During the time of Ms. Ancona’s murder, Mr. Phillips resided only a few blocks from the CBS Lounge, on probation for breaking into a neighboring woman’s apartment and assaulting her. Ironically, in exchange for Mr. Phillips pleading guilty to first-degree mur- der and sexual assault, prosecutors did not pursue the death penalty.
While Mr. Krone managed to escape ex- ecution, if DNA evidence had not cleared his name, he could easily have already been put to death. If Mr. Krone had been executed, then Joe Hedgecock, the first featured speaker of the evening, would be partly responsible.
Joe Hedgecock served as a juror on Ray Krone’s initial trial. Due to the emotional shock triggered by Mr. Krone’s complete exoneration, Mr. Hedgecock has since be- come a passionate promoter and speaker for abolishing the death penalty. Recalling the state of Phoenix immediately following Ms. Ancona’s murder, Mr. Hedgecock stated that authorities were under “immense public pressure” to catch the killer.
Upon first seeing Mr. Krone in the court- room, he noticed that Mr. Krone appeared confidant and cocky, a fact which Mr. Hedge- cock admitted was “a bit unnerving.” As Mr. Krone would later describe in greater detail, the reason for his cocksure demeanor was simple: he knew he wasn’t guilty, whole- heartedly believing the truth would eventu- ally clear his name — the arrest, the whole horrible trial, would all be over soon.
After sitting through a five-day trial, Mr. Hedgecock and the other jurors deliberated for two hours before finding Mr. Krone guilty of first degree murder.
PHOTO BY DARRYL WEBB
Ten years later, when an associate called and informed him about Mr. Krone’s proven innocence, Mr. Hedgecock was dumbfound- ed, struck not only by the part he’d played in incarcerating an innocent man, but also the fact that such severe and wrongful impris- onment could be possible; he couldn’t stop thinking about how an innocent man could be convicted and found guilty, twice.
After initially passing up an opportunity to speak with Mr. Krone, years later the chance again presented itself, and Mr. Hedgecock couldn’t let it slip away. As Mr. Hedgecock explained, he had built up an understand- able amount of guilt and confusion during the ten years since Mr. Krone’s subsequent release, guilt which had previously made facing Mr. Krone perhaps a little too much to handle.
In a shaky voice still unsteady with emo- tion, Mr. Hedgecock described their first meeting, coming face to face with the man he helped put behind bars, vehemently apologizing amid tears. Mr. Krone answered,
“All is forgiven, brother. All is forgiven.” Clear- ing his throat and regaining his composure, Mr. Hedgecock concluded his testimony by introducing the formerly accused, telling the audience, “I’d like to introduce my friend and brother, Ray Krone.”
Amid thankful applause from the audi- ence, Mr. Krone shook Mr. Hedgecock’s hand before taking center stage — fast-talking, charming, and humorous, despite the unde- niable weight to his words. Quickly brush- ing past his pre-conviction history, which included his childhood in Pennsylvania and six years in the Air Force, the scene was set for Mr. Krone’s downward spiral.
After concluding his postal worker shifts, Mr. Krone fancied unwinding and playing darts at the CBS Lounge. His relationship with Ms. Ancona was nothing more than the standard familiarity that exists between bar- tender and patron. However, as Mr. Krone explained, the authorities went into the in- vestigation with the fervent assumption that Ms. Ancona’s killer had to be someone who knew her. Unfortunately, in that regard Mr. Krone fit the bill, despite having no criminal record whatsoever.
10 • APRIL 2014 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us
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