WITNESS
[TO INNOCENCE
1501 Cherry Street ¢ Philadelphia, PA 19102 * (267) 519 - 4584
info@witnesstoinnocence.org * www.witnesstoinnocence.org
July 29, 2014
Dear Members of the Interim Joint Judiciary Committee:
My name is Ray Krone, and I live in the neighboring state of Tennessee. To most I come across as your
average Tennessean. I love the mountains, fishing, and fixing motorcycles. But I am more than just your
average Tennessean —I am the 100" person exonerated from death row in the United States after DNA
proved my innocence.
Before my exoneration in 2002, I spent nearly 10 years in an Arizona prison, three of those on death row, for a
murder I did not commit. The case against me, in the 1991 stabbing death of a woman who worked at a Phoenix bar,
was based largely on circumstantial evidence and the testimony of an “expert” witness about bite marks found on
the victim.
Before my wrongful conviction, I had been a proponent of the death penalty. I believed it should be reserved for the
worst of the worst, but after spending 10 years in prison for a crime I did not commit, I’ve come to understand that
the risk of executing an innocent human being is far too large to take. For the last 12 years, since the day of my
release, | have been advocating for an end to the death penalty in the United States. Because despite DNA evidence
that exonerated me, it took years before the prosecution grudgingly acknowledged it had no case against me. If it
had been up to the state of Arizona, I’d be dead today.
And I’m not alone. In fact, I am one of 144 men and women that have been exonerated for crimes they did not
commit, including Larry Osborne of Ky. — that’s one for every 10 executions. How many more innocent men and
women languish in prison? Each of us knows all too well the flaws in our death penalty system. My story and the
stories of so many other death row exonerees are too troubling to ignore.
The only way to be 100 percent sure that no innocent person will ever be executed in Kentucky is to end the death
penalty. Human systems are fallible and always will be. Once an innocent life is taken, you cannot bring that person
back.
I will be traveling throughout Kentucky in November sharing my story and pushing for an end to death penalty in
the Bluegrass State.
Thank you for taking the time to hear my story. I often end my stories with this: “If it can happen to me, it can
happen to anyone.” Don’t let that be the case — end the death penalty today.
Sincerely,
Ray Krone
Director of Membership and Training
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