September 3, 2003
In This Issue
WHEN A. C. Thompson came to me back in the fall of 2000 with the tale of two innocent men sentenced to life in prison for a crime they didn't commit, I could sense there was a great story here. The information A.C. uncovered in more than six months of investigation was stunning: John J. Tennison and Antoine Goff had been convicted of murder on the basis of the most flimsy evidence – and even worse, someone else had confessed to the crime. The evidence that Tennison's lawyers (including the indefatigable Jeff Adachi, who is now S.F.'s public defender) put together would later show that two San Francisco cops (Napoleon Hendrix and Earl Sanders, who by then was the assistant chief) had framed the defendants and that the prosecution had failed to give the defense key evidence that could have exonerated Tennison and Goff.
I think we both had the same thought: these kids got a really raw deal – and there's a good chance that nothing we can do will help them.
The truth is, a few high-profile stories to the contrary, most of the time, people who are wrongfully convicted and have no money for powerful lawyers and fancy investigations never get a second chance. Hurricane Carter had Bob Dylan (and at one point, about half of Hollywood). Geronimo Pratt had Stu Hanlon and the recognition that came from being a former Black Panther convicted in the days of J. Edgar Hoover and COINTELPRO. Tennison and Goff – two kids from Hunters Point who'd had their share of run-ins with the law – were facing pretty tough odds.
But A.C. did an amazing job on the story, producing "The Hardest Time" (published Jan. 17, 2001), one of the best investigative crime pieces we've ever run. Two lawyers from the high-powered firm of Keker & Van Nest, Elliot Peters and Ethan Balogh, saw the story and agreed to take on the case pro bono (ultimately, their costs would be close to $800,000). And with Adachi's help, they did the almost unimaginable: they convinced a federal judge to vacate Tennison's conviction. Chances are good Goff will be exonerated soon.
Of course, the San Francisco Chronicle has since picked up the story, initially even giving us credit for breaking it (although Seth Rosenfeld's Aug. 27 front-pager ignored that fact). But A.C. Thompson first shone the light on this injustice – and against all odds, the innocent victims are going free.