My name is Maurice Davis...

In 2004, I was convicted of a 1997 double murder in Kansas City, MO that I had nothing to do with. For years I've been writing; trying to get someone in the public to assist me without success. My calls have either been ignored or my case is placed on a waiting list, and I'm seemingly forgotten.

To help you better understand the injustice occurring to me, you should know I was not convicted for being the person who shot and killed the victims. The crime scene witness testified and she is sure without doubt, I was not one of the two men present at the scene when her father and step-mother were killed. In court documents I am said to have assisted “others” in the commission of this crime and these “others” are never named and no one else has ever been prosecuted. In the middle of the trial after the eye witness stated that I was not in the home, the prosecution did a 180 degree turn and began arguing that I was sitting outside in the getaway vehicle. The narrative became that I instructed and helped these “others”, so in effect I was convicted for a crime where the actual perpetrators were never named, found, or prosecuted.

Between 1997 and 2004 I had been arrested and jailed on three separate occasions. At least nine trial dates were set during this time period. Each time we believed trial would begin, the prosecution would request the date be continued. Twice the case was dismissed, once in 2000 and again in 2003. The latter was based on insufficient evidence for trial.

When the September 2004 trial was set in August my lawyer erroneously assumed the prosecutor would continue the case again. When it became apparent the prosecution wasn't going to do that, my lawyer filed the first defense request for a short delay, so he could ensure the presence of witnesses. That request was denied and during the trial I had no defense to the prosecution's narrative of guilt. 

Had the jury heard the testimony from Derrick Hopkins, who was near the scene at the time and saw no getaway vehicle nor me anywhere, and my (ex) wife, confirming that I was at home in Omaha when the crime took place, no reasonable jury would have found me guilty. 

It's been 16 years since my conviction and I have spent over 20 incarcerated for this case, and every day I live in angst. Life in prison is 20-22 hours a day in a cell the size of a parking space. I need help now. Please don't ignore me thinking someone else will eventually come along. I can't go on living like this."