"I will keep fighting"

My name is Zolo Agona Azania. I am an artist, painter and self-published writer, and I am currently confined on death row.

The sheriff and the prosecutors subverted my legal defense by causing an atmosphere of racist hostility in the courtroom and by threatening my expert witnesses with the loss of their jobs if they testified. Relying on the self-serving opinion of the sheriff and other police agents, the trial court judge, Kenneth R. Scheibenberger, had me shackled during the trial in the presence of the all-white jury. African people were systematically excluded from the jury selection. All this made it impossible for me to receive a fair trial.

But more than that, the judge improperly influenced the jury against me. On the orders of the judge, the court bailiff spoke to the jurors in the deliberation room and told them that their verdict should be DEATH! The jury was also allowed to consume alcoholic beverages during the course of the trial. The foreman of the jury has given a sworn affidavit to these facts.

Laws do not provide procedural safeguards in protecting accused defendants from being misused and abused by government courts in this manner. Racial discrimination is also an integral part of the political process.

My legal defense has been mishandled by court appointed lawyers for sixteen years. I am poor and without the means to buy justice. I would like to receive your help to get the word out about my plight.

No matter how long it may take, I will continue to fight back until I prove my innocence!

Thank you,
Zola Agona Azania
#4969, Indiana State Prison
P.O. Box 41
Michigan City, IN 46361-0041

The New Abolitionist - May 1998, Volume II, Issue 3
Campaign To End The Death Penalty, Chicago, IL - www.nodeathpenalty.org