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The David Thorne Case: Did Police Frame An Innocent Man?

This week, Injustice Anywhere Radio discussed the David Thorne Case with advocates Sue Gless Thorne and Lynne Blanchard.

David Thorne was convicted in January of 2000, and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, for allegedly hiring an acquaintance to kill his son’s mother, Yvonne Layne, in March of 1999.

Thorne has proclaimed his innocence from the beginning, and his supporters contend that there is overwhelming evidence that he was falsely arrested and wrongfully convicted. Thorne, who had a iron-clad alibi, was implicated by Joseph Wilkes, a mentally and emotionally impaired man, after Wilkes was arrested and interrogated by police officers. After being threatened with the death penalty, Wilkes told his interrogators that he was hired by Thorne to commit the murder. The problem was that Wilkes was unable to provide accurate details of the crime scene. According to Forensic Scientist Brent Turvey, Joseph Wilkes got every detail of the crime wrong, except the type of weapon used.

Shockingly, the jury bought the confession of Wilkes, despite his glaring inconsistencies, putting David Thorne in prison for the rest of his life.

Please visit www.wcodt.org to learn more about this case.