Tag: withheld evidence

“An execution date should not be scheduled because Mr. LaMar’s death sentence is precisely the sort identified by the Joint Task Force to Review the Administration of Ohio’s Death Penalty. Mr. LaMar’s conviction rests on prisoner testimony which is not independently corroborated, there is no physical or video evidence linking him to the crimes and he has always maintained his innocence. Evidence supporting Mr. LaMar’s innocence is slowly coming to light after dogged efforts to unearth such proof following years of suppression.”

Keith LaMar, also known as Bomani Shakur, is a prisoner in Ohio, condemned to death on false charges following the 1993 Lucasville Prison Uprising. Bomani is one of five men condemned to death after being railroaded through forced snitch testimony. They are known as the Lucasville Five. The following is an interview with Bomani from death row, recorded on March 7, 2014.

I’m 37 years old, a husband and father of seven children with two grandkids. On July 15, 2009, I was arrested and charged with second degree murder. Prior to my arrest, I had a very promising future. I was a college student majoring in film, I own and operated Coastal Fence Co., Just Fence It, Price Low Fence Co. and Grave Yard Records in Shreveport, Louisiana. I was very well known in the community for creating jobs and being positive.