Devontae Sanford was 14 when he was sentenced to 90 years in prison.
Eight
years later, a growing pile of evidence and a reported confession by a
professional hitman is casting doubt on the conviction.
In 2007,
Sanford was sentenced as an adult for the murder of four people on
Runyon Street in Detroit. He pleaded guilty and confessed to his
involvement. His current attorney says the legal system failed him.
"He
only accepted a guilty plea once he was in the middle of a trial and
come face to face with the fact that his defense attorney was not going
to do anything to defend him," attorney Megan Crane said.
Sanford's mother said his release would be the greatest joy.
"I
haven't held Devontae in over eight years," Taminko Sanford Tilmon
said. "I don't know. I would be just overwhelmed with joy when I can
touch him."
A new confession from a known and convicted hitman
has attorneys from the Michigan Innocence Clinic saying Sanford is
innocent and deserves a new trial.
That hitman, Vincent Smother, confessed to 12 murders from prison including the four Sanford was convicted of committing.
Smothers
wrote in a sworn affidavit that was turned over to the court: "Davontae
Sanford is being wrongly incarcerated for crimes I know he did not
commit."
Attorneys say this confession is more than enough to warrant a new trial.
"For
far too long the truth in this case has been hidden and suppressed
Detroit police and prosecutors," Crane said. "That truth is a
professional hitman committed the crime for which Davontae Sanford is
doing the time."
A spokesperson for the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office issued a statement saying they plan to argue its position in court.
Meanwhile a mother and son are making plans for when they will get to be a family again.
"I
told him, I said 'when you get home I'm not going to sleep,'" Tilmon
said. "He was like 'what do you mean you are not going to sleep?' I said
'I just want to lay and watch you sleep'. I said 'I am not going to
sleep the first night you get home.'"
Prosecutors will have about
60 days to respond to this request for a new trial and if they do get
that new trial we're told this lengthy and detailed confession from
Smothers may be admissible.
Eight
years later, a growing pile of evidence and a reported confession by a
professional hitman is casting doubt on the conviction.
In 2007,
Sanford was sentenced as an adult for the murder of four people on
Runyon Street in Detroit. He pleaded guilty and confessed to his
involvement. His current attorney says the legal system failed him.
"He
only accepted a guilty plea once he was in the middle of a trial and
come face to face with the fact that his defense attorney was not going
to do anything to defend him," attorney Megan Crane said.
Sanford's mother said his release would be the greatest joy.
"I
haven't held Devontae in over eight years," Taminko Sanford Tilmon
said. "I don't know. I would be just overwhelmed with joy when I can
touch him."
A new confession from a known and convicted hitman
has attorneys from the Michigan Innocence Clinic saying Sanford is
innocent and deserves a new trial.
That hitman, Vincent Smother, confessed to 12 murders from prison including the four Sanford was convicted of committing.
Smothers
wrote in a sworn affidavit that was turned over to the court: "Davontae
Sanford is being wrongly incarcerated for crimes I know he did not
commit."
Attorneys say this confession is more than enough to warrant a new trial.
"For
far too long the truth in this case has been hidden and suppressed
Detroit police and prosecutors," Crane said. "That truth is a
professional hitman committed the crime for which Davontae Sanford is
doing the time."
A spokesperson for the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office issued a statement saying they plan to argue its position in court.
Meanwhile a mother and son are making plans for when they will get to be a family again.
"I
told him, I said 'when you get home I'm not going to sleep,'" Tilmon
said. "He was like 'what do you mean you are not going to sleep?' I said
'I just want to lay and watch you sleep'. I said 'I am not going to
sleep the first night you get home.'"
Prosecutors will have about
60 days to respond to this request for a new trial and if they do get
that new trial we're told this lengthy and detailed confession from
Smothers may be admissible.
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