Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Darryl Hunt's first life ended at 19, courtesy of this state's flawed criminal justice system. Gov. Mike Easley can help him start a new life, and he should do just that.
Winston-Salem police charged Hunt in the stabbing death of Deborah Sykes in 1984, and Hunt was convicted of the crime the next year. After more than 18 years in prison, he was exonerated by a Superior Court judge this month, weeks after DNA testing led to charges against a new defendant who says he acted alone. Hunt, who was headed nowhere fast when he was charged with Sykes' murder, has emerged from prison a new man with fresh ideas about how to help this city leave behind a case that divided many residents along racial lines. Hunt is black; Sykes was white.
"I see different races coming together, and that is a positive that comes out of this injustice," Hunt said at a community gathering last weekend. He pleaded for people not to forget that "there are many more Darryl Hunts in prison" still.
His friends say Hunt would like to help others who remain wrongly imprisoned. He has also said he wants to go to college. He'll need money. The state, which unjustly locked him up all those years, should help. A pardon from Easley would entitle Hunt to financial compensation from the state.
To his credit, Forsyth County District Attorney Tom Keith has presented Easley with documents that would support a pardon for Hunt. Hunt's attorneys are doing the same. Keith continues to catch flak from critics for his past handling of this case. But this latest step, in combination with his successful request that the murder conviction against Hunt be vacated, shows he is finally doing all he can.
Easley will consider the pardon request, and may well consider the feelings of Sykes' survivors. Law enforcement officials have told them for years that Hunt is guilty, and they haven't joined the officials in letting go of that belief.
The governor, however, needs to show that the state as a whole is committed to righting injustice. A pardon of innocence from him would carry strong symbolic weight. But it would carry practical weight as well, as it would entitle Hunt to $360,000 - $20,000 for each year he was wrongly imprisoned.
The money, as well as the pardon, would help Hunt put this ordeal behind him and start his new life. Act 2 is long overdue.