Meet Destry C. McKinney: African American,
father, grandfather, prior U.S. Army Medic (Honorably
Discharged), prior Ohio National Guard, entrepreneur with no
prior felonies. At the time of his incarceration, he was
the sole custodian of two young children.
A female friend approached him about
giving her the furnishings she had stored at his home. He
went home and began to move her items out to his yard so
that they could be placed on a truck that a friend of hers
was driving. Destry was aware that the young woman coming
to his home had a volatile personality. She was currently
out on bail for an Attempted Murder charge. So, with his
soldier's instincts, he knew that he needed to be ready to
protect his children's father.
A verbal disagreement with his friend
ensued. She hit him with her car. As a defense,
he discharged the firearm. The
aggressor was hit as she sat in the car. The instincts of
an Army Medic and ambulance driver kicked in as he furiously
drove her to the Emergency Room. Unfortunately, she did
not survive.
Destry was arrested that day in February
of 2000 in Alabama. His Preliminary Hearing was waived by
an attorney who DID NOT have his permission to do so. As
he went to trial, he pleaded Self-defense. The most
crucial pieces of evidence to corroborate his plea were
mishandled and destroyed by investigators and jail
officials. First, blood that was on the fender of the
victim's car was photographed but NEVER TESTED. Then, the
car was released to the lien holder. Next, there was the
DISAPPEARANCE of the bloody swatch cut from his pants by
jail officials. This piece of evidence re-appeared (IN
DESTRY'S PERSONAL PROPERTY ENVELOPE) after he had been
convicted of Capital Murder and sentenced to Life Without
the Possibility of Parole. Subsequent testing of the swatch
was positive for Destry's DNA.
Destry was abandoned by his
court-appointed attorney. This attorney wrote him a letter
stating that he had filed an appeal in Federal court.
Destry ended up spending years awaiting a Federal response
to an appeal that was NEVER FILED.
Destry has begun the appeals process on
his own. Today, he is in need of funds to pay for a
DEDICATED attorney who will work diligently on his behalf to
correct all the wrongs of the past 18 years. This could
cost up to $20,000. Please donate $20, $30 or whatever you
can and ask your acquaintances to do the same. Thank You,
in advance, for your help.
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