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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Tammie or Shar-day Campbell
honeybrownhope@honeybrownhope.org | 713-854-4879 or 713-854-4141
Hearing on HPD’s Informant’s Questionable Testimony that Lead to Conviction 40 Years Ago
Man Incarcerated 40 Years ago for Aggravated Robbery Based on HPD’s Informant’s Questionable Testimony Gets Hearing
(Houston, Texas) Darius Elam, who got life for aggravated robbery after questionable, paid HPD informant’s testimony in 1984, gets hearing on December 7, 2022, in Judge Josh Hill’s Court. The upcoming hearing will be held at 9:00 a.m., 232 Criminal Court, 1201 Franklin St., 16th Floor, Houston, TX 77002. Community members who wish to attend the hearing in support of Darius Elam are asked to click here to complete this form.
In 1983, Elam was originally charged with murder and credit card fraud. The murder charge was changed to aggravated robbery after the DA’s office was unable to convict on murder. Elam is now a 63-year-old man. When arrested, Elam was a working young man in his twenties, an honor roll student on a track scholarship at TSU, an Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity member, and husband with 4 young children under the age of 5.
Despite having no prior criminal history, maintaining his innocence, a flawed investigation; Elam was convicted of aggravated robbery. With strong family support, Elam continues his fight for freedom. To date, there are three things pointing to Elam’s innocence: a recanted paid jailhouse informant testimony, DNA testing excluding Elam, and an unidentified person’s DNA found at the crime scene.
He secured DNA testing in 2014 that excluded him as a contributor and found an unidentified person’s DNA. In 2019, a hearing was held regarding the DNA results. Although Elam was excluded as a DNA contributor, Judge Hill's January 10, 2022 recommendation to the Court of Criminal Appeals denied Darius Elam’s application for Writ of Habeas Corpus regarding the DNA exclusion, and upheld the original guilty conviction.
In Judge Josh Hill’s failure to properly review all the evidence, he did not address the June 2021 Supplemental Writ regarding a recanted informant's testimony. The Texas Criminal Court of Appeals ordered the December 7 fact-finding hearing about the informant’s recanted statement because Judge Hill failed to rule on the supplementary writ regarding the informant’s recanted statement. The December 07, 2022, hearing was originally set for June 2022. It was re-scheduled due to Judge Hill’s ongoing stalling tactics.
In Elam’s continued fight for freedom and justice, he gained support from the Honey Brown Hope Foundation’s Founder and Executive Director Tammie Lang Campbell along with others.
“Can a judge who made a critical decision without reviewing all of the facts regarding the defendant's case be impartial,” asked Campbell.
After Judge Hill’s stalling and questionable tactics, Campbell and Elam’s supporters are depending on God to make things right and free Darius Elam on December 7, 2022!
For more information about Elam’s case, visit the Honey Brown Hope Foundation at: https://www.honeybrownhope.org/dariuselam.
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About Honey Brown Hope Foundation
For over 30 years, under the leadership of our Founder and Executive Director Tammie Lang Campbell, The Honey Brown Hope Foundation has contagiously spread hope among young people and their families. The organization works from the schoolhouse to the courthouse and jailhouse to offer programming, resources, and support that align with its causes: civil rights, diversity appreciation, and environmental stewardship.