Ricky Jovan Gray
Ricky and Ray Dandridge were convicted of a string of crimes during a crack-induced binge over
several weeks. The spree began when Dandridge was released from prison and found Ricky
attending trade school in Pennsylvania. At the start of trial, Gray's defense attorneys conceded that
his confession alone was sufficient to prove his guilt. Other than he expressions of remorse, however,
the details in Ricky's confession came from his co-defendant. Gray was so deeply under the influence
of crack, that he coutd not recall the crimes. Dandridge’s account blamed Ricky for almost all of the
crimes against the Harveys and, as a result, was allowed to plead guilty and avoid the death penalty
for any of the crimes he committed. This, jurors heard only a Dandridge’s side of who was responsible
for the deaths of the Harvey family.
Ricky had an unimaginable and deeply disturbing childhood. He and his sister were severely neglected
by his mother and father, and regularly sexuaily abused by their older brother, who the parents left in
charge of the younger children. Ricky and his sister were iocked-up for long periods of time, made to
perform sex acts on adults and one another, and regularly left unattended at home and in automobiles
on streets and in alleyways.
Jurors who had to determine Ricky's sentence appear fo have struggled. They refused to find him a
future danger to society; they deliberated for more than 12 hours about the appropriate sentence; they
asked the judge to explain what would happen if they were not unanimous about a sentence:
ultimately, they did not sentence Ricky to death for three of the capital charges.
Ricky’s sister testified about her abuse, but the only other person to testify was Ricky’s mother who
was, herself, responsible for his neglect. As a result, Ricky's sentencing jurors heard only the “tip of the
iceberg” of the extent of the childhood abuse Ricky suffered.
Gray's postconviction attorneys tried to develop and present all of the evidence that his trial attorneys
failed to investigate but was refused the opportunity to subpoena evidence or call witnesses to testify.
Ricky’s case was dismissed in part because he failed to present evidence from a psychological expert
to explain the impact ali of the abuse had on Ricky's behavior even though he had requested the
assistance of a psychological expert to explain the impact all of the abuse had on Ricky's behavior and
was refused. A defense investigator gave a sworn statement that Ricky had told the defense that he
could not remember the crimes, but the court simply ignored this evidence and defense counsel’s
failure to follow-up about it.
Ricky has for years sought and been refused the chance to determine whether his death sentence and
Dandridge’s life sentence are based on what really happened to the Harveys or simply are arbitrary
sentences handed out based on who made a deal with the prosecutor first.
