Press Conference to Announce Newly Discovered DNA

LOUISIANA CRISIS ASSISTANCE CENTER
36 Baronne Street
New Orleans, La. 70113
(504) 558-9867 Fax: (504) 558-0378

CONTACT: William Sothern
(504-251-8346 - cell; 504-558-9867, ext. 25 - office)

Press Conference to Announce Newly Discovered DNA

Evidence-Identifies Real Killer, Proves Death Row Juvenile Innocent

(New Orleans, LA) - Newly discovered DNA evidence proving Ryan Matthews innocent, and identifying the real killer, will be submitted to the Louisiana State Supreme Court on Monday.Matthews has been in incarcerated for the armed robbery-murder of convenience store owner Tommy Vanhoose since April of 1997 and was convicted and sentenced to die for the crime in May of 1999. He is now on death row at Angola Prison.

The identity of the real killer will be revealed at a press conference at 10:30 a.m., Monday, April 21 on the steps of the Louisiana Supreme Court, 301 Loyola Ave., New Orleans, LA, following the filing of the motion regarding the new DNA evidence.Members of Matthews' family and his legal team will speak at the press conference.

"Jefferson Parish law enforcement has failed Ryan Matthews, putting him on death row as a teenager for a crime he did not commit," says Billy Sothern, one of Matthews' attorneys. "Justice must be done in this case to put a stop to the suffering of all the families impacted by this wrongful conviction."

Other evidence shows that Matthews is innocent. The murderer was seen fleeing the scene in a getaway car after jumping headlong through the open passenger-side window. The car that Matthews was picked up in and which the police alleged to be the getaway had an intact passenger-side window that had been stuck in the up position for years, according to witnesses. No physical evidence was ever found linking Matthews to the crime. The witnesses with the best opportunity to view the gunman described him as being between 5'4" and 5'7'. Mr. Matthews is 5'11".

Matthews was convicted on the basis of two weak eyewitness identifications. One of those identifications has come under scrutiny recently when it was revealed that the witness, Candice Meza, had pending felony charges for child abuse and prostitution at the time that she testified. The prosecution failed to inform the defense about these charges. The courts require such disclosure because the charges can bias the witness in hopes of getting lenient treatment if they tell the police what they want to hear. Ms. Meza was recently arrested on the charges.

The United States Supreme Court has recently questioned the constitutionality of applying the death penalty to juveniles after studies showed that other impressionable groups, like mentally retarded people, were more susceptible to wrongful convictions. Matthews was a juvenile when arrested on this charge and is mentally retarded.

Nationally, there have been 107 death row exonerations since 1973, only three of which have involved juveniles. During that same period, Louisiana has had five exonerations, two of which have involved juveniles.

National and international human rights groups, including Amnesty International and the Juvenile Death Penalty Initiative, have rallied around Matthews. The Jefferson Parish District Attorney's Office has received thousands of cards urging the reversal of Matthews' death sentence. ###

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