Former Death Row Inmate Shares Story
Friday, October 17, 2003
By Sarah Hughes
Pouring rain failed to keep students from trekking to ICC Tuesday night to hear the 100th exonerated death row inmate in U.S. history, Ray Krone, speak about his experience in prison after being falsely accused of murder.
Krone described the journey from his arrest to when he was later released and the process of clearing his own name while attempting to raise awareness about the death penalty.
“People say prisons are country clubs, but there are misrepresentations about a lot of things in the justice system,” Krone said.
Krone explained his disbelief with his false accusation, his test of faith and the bleak reality of prison.
His ordeal began when police officers showed up at his door to question him regarding the murder of a young waitress at a bar he frequented. At this bar, the head waitress was found stabbed to death in the bathroom. When police interviewed her co-workers, they said the waitress had mentioned involvement with Krone.
Despite his claims that he had no such connection to the waitress, the police found grounds to arrest him in that he was urged to undergo several tests which examined his hair samples, fingerprints, tooth moulds, as well as searched his body for scratch marks. Krone was then charged with murder, kidnapping and sexual assault.
“I thought the system worked,” Krone said, “then after spending six months in jail, I found myself standing trial for murder.”
Krone’s trial lasted eight days. He was acquitted of sexual assault; however, the prosecution used that as the motive for the murder, of which he was found guilty and sentenced to death.
Krone said the days after his sentencing were spent in isolation, in a six-foot by eight-foot cell. He was allowed recreation and showers outside the cell only three times a week and could make two phone calls per month. He recalled the food always being cold.
The point of the mitigating hearing, Krone said, is “to lessen your guilt or culpability. But how do you show regret or remorse for something you didn’t do?” He admitted he was powerless. Refusing to give up hope, Krone started visiting the law library and educating himself about his legal rights. He also kept his faith in God by reading the Bible, which he read straight through three times.
After several appeals and a new trial in February of 1996, Krone was found guilty again. At this point, the hair samples and DNA found on the victim’s body did not match Krone’s samples, so the judge ruled that there was “lingering and residual doubt.”
Instead of the death sentence, Krone was given two consecutive terms, totalling a minimum 46 years, for murder and kidnapping.
“At 35 years old, those two sentences didn’t look too promising. You don’t usually live to see 81 when you are in jail,” Krone said.