FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 17, 2024

JACKSON, Miss. – The long road of injustice continues for Willie Jerome Manning. Mr. Manning’s Petition for Post-Conviction Relief asserting his innocence has been denied by the Mississippi Supreme Court in a close 5-4 decision. Four Justices authored a strong dissent, arguing that the Court has “pervert[ed] its function as an appellate court.”

The Court’s majority opinion ignores debunked forensic science and newly discovered evidence with the recantation of several key witnesses. The majority opinion even goes as far as saying that the recantation of the only key witnesses somehow “would not have changed the verdict.” But the key witnesses stated they were coerced by police and even incentivized to present fraudulent testimony. One key witness stated in an affidavit that she was paid $17,500 dollars for her fraudulent testimony. With the witness recantations and debunked forensic science, there is no evidence against Mr. Manning. There is no DNA, fibers, fingerprints, or other physical evidence linking Mr. Manning to the murders or the victims.

The Mississippi Supreme Court’s majority opinion ends by claiming that Mr. Manning “has had more than a full measure of justice. Tiffany Miller and Jon Steckler have not. Their families have not. The citizens of Mississippi have not.” What measure of justice is served if the wrong man is put to death?

In 2024, will Mississippi allow a man to be executed when it has been proven that corruption, coercion, and false forensics lie at the core of his conviction and death sentence? Here is a link to a very short video overview of Manning’s case:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVY10911mdg

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