Hubbard 208 was a room of emotion as death row exoneree Curtis McCarty’s presentation “Innocent and on Death Row” took place Wednesday evening.

McCarty’s story is one Ben Jones, a member of Conservatives Concerned with the Death Penalty, can’t believe.

“I’m shocked Curtis survived that experience,” Jones said. “Curtis’ case is one of the worst cases of misconduct in U.S. history.”

McCarty said life leading up to the age of 15 was good for him. He fell into drug addiction and was alienated from his family and his community. This life led him to meet Pamela Willis, a person of similar background to McCarty.

In December of 1982, Willis was murdered. McCarty was eventually charged for the crime because he failed to provide police with the name of the real killer — a name he did not have.

“A [district attorney] representative told me that if I didn’t tell, they would replace [the killer] with me in court…and they did,” McCarty said to the audience Wednesday.

McCarty said at first he was comforted by the idea of the United States justice system. He was certain the system would prove him innocent.

“I really believed I’d be OK,” McCarty said. “Everything that could have gone wrong, did go wrong.”

Joyce Gilchrist, former Oklahoma County police chemist, testified against McCarty, saying his DNA had been recovered off the body of Willis.

McCarty knew then he would be found guilty of murder.

“For the jury, the decision was easy,” McCarty said. “They accepted the state’s version of events.”

After McCarty was initially found guilty, he sat through another trial — one that would decide whether his life had any merit left or whether the judge would see his death warrant signed.

McCarty said the only people he could find to speak on his behalf were his parents.

“I didn’t know how badly I’d damaged my reputation until my second hearing,” McCarty said. “The judge called me a coward for not taking responsibility for Patty’s death and said it made him glad to sentence me to death.”

McCarty then started his long imprisonment. As they led him through the prison, McCarty said it was almost like he could feel his life draining with each gate closing behind him.

Despite his innocence, McCarty said he ended up forming family-like bonds with people on death row. They made a pact to not just lay in bed all day during their 23-hour-a-day lockdown.

“At times, [lockdown] is just unbearable,” McCarty said. “We got up every day, read and studied.”

McCarty’s case was brought up in a second trial, but to no avail as the same false evidence was reintroduced. He remained hopeful through those early years, he said.

McCarty said that out of the 25 other inmates he went to death row with in 1986, only he and one other survived. McCarty’s own best friend and cellmate fell to the state of Oklahoma.

“I loved him, he was my friend,” McCarty said. “It killed me that day — his family disowned him, they let me walk down with him before they put him in the death cell.

“As I put my arms around him and said goodbye, I knew I was done.”

Soon after, McCarty began comprising his last will and testament — something death row inmates are encouraged to do as soon as they arrive.

Hope sparked in McCarty again when he received a letter from his mother while working on his will. The letter contained a newspaper clipping claiming the police crime lab in Oklahoma City was under investigation.

The FBI examined McCarty’s and several other cases that came from the same department and found tampered evidence.

In May 2007, Judge Twyla Mason Gray ordered McCarty released.

McCarty said the happiest time was walking out after two decades.

“It was profound and deeply moving … but it didn’t mean what it was supposed to mean,” McCarty said. “There was nothing to celebrate. I never have celebrated.”

McCarty said his suffering was nothing compared to that of Willis’ family.

McCarty was approached by the organization that helped prove him innocent, the Innocence Project, and they convinced him to begin telling his story and speaking out against the death penalty.

He said the death penalty is vastly more expensive than life without parole. McCarty also addressed the idea of the death penalty being a deterrent to crime.

“The ‘we kill people to teach people killing is wrong’ is nonsense,” McCarty said. “It’s not a deterrent to crime.

“Look at Texas: they’ll kill you lickidly split. More come in the front door as to replace the ones that go out the back door.”