Kenny Gay

Born in Swindon, 50-year-old Kenny Gay has been on death row in California since 1985 despite a bizarre trial process and dubious case against him.

Kenny was convicted along with another man - also sentenced to death - for killing a police officer in Los Angeles in 1983.

The prosecution’s claim - which was accepted by the jury - was that Kenny and the other man had shot the police officer in turn, using the same gun. Under this scenario, both were equally guilty of murder and so both equally eligible for the death penalty. There is now, however, evidence that it wasn’t Kenny but the other man who fired all the shots, including eye witness testimonies.

After Kenny’s initial conviction and death sentence, the California Supreme Court recognised that there had been problems with his legal representation at trial: his lawyer provided ineffective assistance of counsel and one justice was concerned that the lawyer suffered from a conflict of interest as he was under criminal investigation himself at the time of Kenny’s trial. The California court, therefore, vacated the original sentence of death.

Unfortunately at the new penalty phase trial, Kenny’s lawyers were prevented from presenting evidence of his innocence and he was again sentenced to death.

In March 2008, the California Supreme Court reversed Kenny’s death sentence a second time because the trial court barred the presentation of substantial evidence that demonstrated Kenny was innocent of the crime, and once again ordered a new penalty phase trial.

The Court issued an order in July 2008 asking the Director of the California Department of Corrections to show cause why Kenny’s conviction should not be reversed as a result of his trial lawyer’s conflicts of interests, or failure to present evidence that tended to show that Kenny did not participate in the crime.

Kenny’s penalty phase retrial has been stayed while the order to show cause is being litigated in the California Supreme Court.He is now facing his 25th year on death row.