I am here to speak about Roger Collins who is entering his 30th year of incarceration under death sentence in the state of Georgia, USA. Members will be aware of the historical difficulties of the case such as non-representation of an effective counsel for almost 28 years. During a recent trip to Georgia from 6 to 13 November we engaged two lawyers on behalf of Mr. Collins. We returned to Georgia from 6 to 23 January to meet the lawyers to examine this enormous case which has been left in abeyance for so long. There are many problems associated with inactivity of the case for many years. I am aware that one of the lawyers concerned, Mr. Brian Farrell, a highly eminent qualified international lawyer and practising lawyer in the United States of America has written to the Chairman. Mr. Farrell who has practised in Georgia and Iowa will be in Ireland at the end of April to complete a doctoral thesis in NUI, Galway.
Mr. Farrell along with Mr. Nathan Williams, a lawyer in Savannah, has taken time to visit Roger Collins. Members will note in the documentation circulated this morning a hand-written letter from Roger Collins, subsequently typed for clarity, about a visit he received from Professor Stephen Bright of Atlanta. Members will note from the commentary in Roger Collins's letter that nothing much has changed in regard to Professor Bright or his staff. There is very considerable grievance that a possible deal could have been reached ten years ago. It is the right of any citizen in any circumstances to have his or her case well briefed, a courtesy not afforded to Mr. Collins by Professor Bright. This led to a further ten years of violation of Roger Collins's life under death sentence.
Mr. Collins is quite upbeat at the moment having met the new lawyers. To him this is the beginning of the end. The definition of "the end" will depend on what we can do here today or what can be done legally, diplomatically or politically. Mr. Collins's family and friends were denied the right to speak on his behalf many years ago. I am asking today that the sub-committee look at the plantation justice Mr. Collins received and communicate directly with his lawyers. Senator Mooney asked on several occasions for an update on the position with the lawyers. We explained the difficulties which pertained at the time. At long last, the lawyers are available to communicate with the sub-committee and Chairman directly if so required.
We visited Roger Collins five times this time. I was joined by Aidan O'Leary and we met the two lawyers in Macon, which is 15 or 20 miles from where we were resident. We were staggered to see Roger Collins so animated, lively and hopeful. That was my 35th time to visit him on death row and in those 35 times the gross and horrendous nature of the cruelty of the place has not changed. To execute someone is indefensible but the death row process defies description in language.
I ask the committee to consider the issue of mental retardation. I have circulated a legal profile document, which I ask members of the committee to examine. It presents a very different picture from that presented over the years. The document is marked "Strictly in Confidence" for obvious reasons and is not for publication. It is part of the strategy of a legal team. I have also given the committee a photograph of someone's left arm. This is from a major newspaper dated 21 January 2007 and indicates that the difficulties we are highlighting are also being dealt with in the media.
Research shows the difficulties faced by someone like Roger Collins. Black people know what plantation justice is about, as we once understood imperialist justice. The knowledge that we are examining his case gives him hope and something to look forward to with dignity, whatever the outcome. The lawyers have spoken of the historical and present difficulties and have detailed the absolute destruction of Roger Collins's life.
When approached by the two lawyers, Professor Stephen Bright was helpful, effective and aware that action being taken in Ireland and elsewhere could change the situation for Roger Collins and others. I ask the committee to consider the possibility of visiting Georgia. It would be critically important diplomatically to meet the Governor and the people of influence who may have the final say on the life of Roger Collins, regardless of the legal and diplomatic approach. I also ask the sub-committee to ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs to raise this matter at the United Nations. I ask the sub-committee to ask the Minister to meet us directly and to make a presentation on our behalf. This is what is required.
At the end of next week a large number of files will be taken from Atlanta to Savannah for examination and analysis and there will begin the unravelling of one of the greatest miscarriages of justice ever known. This is the tenth year Aidan O'Leary and I have been part of this process but this does not compare with the 30 years spent by Roger Collins in prison. His birthday falls on 16 January, the same birthday as Martin Luther King. There is a strange irony in his sharing this day with one of the greatest Georgians of all time.
I ask for a clear written commitment from the Government, expressed through all possible channels, to support Roger Collins. The commitment should include an invitation to Roger Collins to reside and be resocialised in Ireland. This can easily be done by his being banished or exiled, or through whatever legal mechanism is required. He will need all this and more if he is to have the slightest hope of walking out of prison as a free man.
When we addressed this committee in 2003, the Chairman said we had a huge mountain to climb. We have spent ten years climbing this mountain and we hope the committee's efforts today will make one person walk free. That will have made our efforts worthwhile.
Roger Collins is the least culpable of the people involved in an indescribably despicable murder. The victim's family do not want retribution or retaliation. They do not call for closure, which is a euphemism for death. I spoke to Mrs. Lester, who died in 2005, and she categorically said she did not want such action against Roger Collins. I also spoke to the mother of Bill Durham, the leading aggressor in the murder who received a life sentence. She wants no part in any retribution and does not wish to see any further pain inflicted. Mrs. Durham and Mrs. Collins, Roger's mother, were once neighbours but have been separated by an orchestrated effort on behalf of the state. Mr. Styles, the third member of the gang, received an immunity deal. One could describe him as a supergrass. He has since died, but his wife, whom we met and recorded on film, says her husband stated many times that Roger Collins did not kill and was not the leading aggressor in taking Delores Lester's life. This will be quite obvious when the two transcripts are compared.
The first transcript is that of Roger Collins's trial. At the age of 18, Roger Collins was selected because of his youth by a district attorney who was taking her first case and who saw his as an easy case with which to achieve the death penalty. She has since retired because of a medical condition. This was recorded in the local press and media in Warner Robins, Georgia. It was a historic achievement in Georgia for a female district attorney to seek and succeed in getting a death penalty in her first case. It had horrendous consequences for Roger Collins. The price of this result was corrupt and toxic evidence and corrupt analysis. This price was paid by Roger Collins.
All of these facts can now be substantiated in the document compiled by the two lawyers. They indicate that there is a possibility of innocence in the case of Roger Collins. They made two visits to him. The first lasted from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. and after a two hour break, which is customary for security reasons, they returned from 2 p.m. until 4.30 p.m. They had ample time to analyse the case. They are both active members of the Georgia Bar Association, one is a prosecutor and the other a defender. Therefore, they have a great understanding of what it takes to convict someone and sentence him to such a long term of imprisonment.
I ask the committee to consider again the holding of the World Congress Against the Death Penalty in Ireland. I repeat so that it will not be misunderstood in faraway fields, this is neither an anti-American nor pro-American presentation. I stress this because less than 24 hours after the Seanad passed a motion of condemnation regarding this case, members of Professor Stephen Bright's staff came to intimidate Roger Collins on death row. I know we have advanced technology but I had not realised we were that advanced. This may be a throwback to Mr. Albert Reynolds's time when similar activity was initiated.
I ask the committee to look on Roger Collins as a human being who had a grossly abusive childhood. I do not offer this as an excuse but I ask the sub-committee to look at his case in humanitarian and social terms. This is a man-made problem and it can be solved by men. Lawyers may have ways of saying things which we will not say today. Mr. Brian Farrell is willing to communicate directly with the committee and to meet the sub-committee if that is necessary. He will take any role he is assigned to gain the beginning of justice for Roger Collins, who has been maligned for so long.
