Michael James Perry

Last week I received an email from someone asking why I haven't been writing on AC recently. The answer is I don't know. I have been extremely busy working with Michael Perry and trying to get new evidence and experts for him but I do have some spare time on my hands so I thought I would get back to the keyboard and bring you up to date on what's going on with Michael. To tell you the truth, things are not looking good for him at the moment and it is now crunch time. Having said that, things could be much worse.

Before I get into the status of Michael's case, I want to talk about the man I consider my little brother for a bit. Michael and I have spent most of the past few months working on bringing awareness to his case and let me tell you, I pray to God I never have him for an employer because he is an honest to goodness slave driver. That boy had me running 24/7 with calling lawyers and people overseas, posting his thoughts and views on where his case was at, and just being an all around pain in the ass. But you know something? I love every minute of it because I know the payoff could be huge...Michael's freedom.

As you all may know, Michael is bi-polar and his mood swings are incredible, which makes this roller coaster ride that much more fun. There are sometimes that I will write him and give him updates and what I've been working on and he is so happy to hear the news. Other times he will write back and tell me that I'm doing nothing but lying to him and that I don't really care about him and never did. Sounds fun...doesn't it? Yes, as I have said before Michael Perry IS a handful but again, I don't mind. It's important to know who you are and be secure with yourself before you try to have a relationship of any kind with Michael. He has a way of putting you on the defensive and making you feel guilty for something that he just made up in his head. You just have to ignore him and move on to the next subject. His father gave me that advice and it was the best advice I have ever gotten where Michael is concerned. Michael was fully convinced that I was Ray Allen or his brother and all I was trying to do was to hurt him. He has since gotten over that...until the next time.

I briefly want to mention Ray Allen: Many of you knew him as TAZ who wrote quite a few articles here on AC. I have to be careful here about what I say for the fact I do not want to insult his family or him for that matter. I had planned on writing an article about Ray after it was posted here on AC that he had passed away. I scrapped the idea because of push back from Michael Perry's supporters as well as Michael's co-defendant, Jason Burkett's supporters. You see, there are just too many rumors about Ray still being among the living. Some people have tried to find an obituary or some proof that Ray, had in fact, passed away with no success. Let me make one thing clear, I do not know one way or the other but I would like to think that Ray would not pull a stunt like this and I have a hard time believing that he is still alive. I liked Ray and we had some very good discussions about this case and I really do miss the back and forth bantering. I feel at this time it would not be appropriate to write a tribute to someone who may or may not be dead. If I have insulted Ray's family in anyway, then I apologize for that is not my intention. I wish his son, AJ, and Ray's wife Cindy the very best. Now back to Michael

Look, I'm not trying to paint Michael out to be a nut case; he does that all by himself (just kidding). But what I'm trying to say is Michael is Michael and you have to accept him for who he is. He is still that kid with an awesome sense of humor. The same guy who believes with all his heart he will walk out of prison a free man (I do too). He is also the same person that will call you out on the carpet if he thinks your bullshitting him and he makes no bones about it.

In October of last year I lost my father to brain cancer and I went through a pretty rough time. Michael knew about this and was extremely concerned about me. For awhile, every letter he sent me he made sure to ask if I was OK, if I wasn't to let him know so he could help. He also made it a point to tell me he loved his big brother. He has a big heart and he does like to show it. This is one of the many reasons I consider him my little brother and love him like one.

In February of this year Michael lost his appeal in the 5^th Circuit Court of Appeals which means that the state court can now set an execution date for him. This, while being devastating news, is far from being over. We have serious issues about time of death and are pursuing these issues vigorously: Which brings me to another new player in this fight. His name is Larry Swearingen.

Larry Swearingen was convicted of the 1998 abduction, rape and murder of Melissa Trotter. Larry was tried and convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. Unlike Michael's case, there was a lot of physical evidence found by Larry's home and in his truck linking him to Melissa Trotter. He was the last person to see her alive, the found pieces of Melissa's stocking in a dumpster next to Larry's trailer; the same stocking used to strangle her. The police also found hair and fiber samples that put Melissa in Larry's truck. Swearingen had a prior rape conviction to top it off. Seems like an open and shut case but it is not.

Several criminal pathologists say the prosecutors' original theory -- that Trotter had been dead for 25 days before she was found - is impossible because of how preserved her body was. If they're right, that means Swearingen couldn't have killed her. He was in jail for traffic violations for the three weeks before the discovery of her body. Because of this new testimony by the pathologists, Larry was granted an 11^th hour stay of execution. This is the same theory that Michael and Jason both are working on. Adam Stotler and Jeremy Richardson were both found on October 30, 2001 with multiple gunshot wounds from a 12 gauge shotgun. On the reports that I have, when the boys were found they were in "FULL RIGOR (mortis) STARTING TO RELEASE". This would make it impossible for Michael or Jason to have killed the boys on the 24^th of October as the state claims. Rigor Mortis sets in approximately 4 hours after death and reaches maximum stiffness after 12 hours then begins to gradually release and is gone after 72 hours. That means the boys would have to have been killed on the 27^th or 28^th for there to be any signs of rigor left in the bodies. I hope we can find the proof to get this evidence before a judge.

There is a light at the end of this dark tunnel and that is a bill that is being introduced into Texas (HB 913).This bill would form a committee to do a 2 year study on the death penalty in Texas. If passed into law, No inmate in Texas would be executed between the dates of September 1, 2009 and September 1, 2011. We need to get this bill into law so that the innocent people on death row have a chance to prove there innocence and stop the senseless state sanctioned murders.

This is where Michael and his case stand as of right now. I am dreading the day where I read that the state has set an execution date. It will be the worse day of my life as well as Michael's. I know that he is terrified right now and he is barely hanging on to his sanity. I don't think I could be nearly as strong if I were in his position. He is truly a remarkable young man who has been dealt a lousy hand and is dealing with it the best he knows how. He deserves much better than to be sitting on death row for a crime he did not commit. After 2 years of corresponding with him, it becomes clearer everyday that Michael Perry and his supporters are a force to be reckoned with and the state of Texas is in for the fight of their lives. This is a fight the state will not win.