Post-conviction evidence clears the way for Presidential Pardon
WASHINGTON, D.C. – December 3, 2024 – The Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project today announced it has filed a federal clemency petition for six men wrongfully convicted of the 1984 murder of 49-year-old Catherine Fuller on 8th and H Street in Washington, D.C. Despite no physical evidence tying them to the crime, eight young men were convicted and sentenced to a combined 258 years for a heinous crime they did not commit. It is now clear that another man who was seen running from the scene of the crime with a murder weapon, and who later assaulted three other women and committed an identical murder just blocks away, killed Mrs. Fuller. Two of the eight innocent men have since died after serving decades in prison as innocent men.
In their continued fight for justice, the other six men – Clifton Yarborough, Christopher Turner, Charles Turner, Timothy Catlett, Levy Rouse and Russell Overton – have now turned to President Biden in an effort to clear their names. Most citizens wrongfully convicted of murder can apply to their state’s governor for a pardon, but because this case took place in the District of Columbia, which is a federal jurisdiction, only the President can grant these men pardons.
“Two of the eight men wrongfully incarcerated in this cruel, senseless killing, died without receiving justice,” said Shawn Armbrust, Executive Director of the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project. “These men have fought for decades to prove their innocence in the courts and reverse their convictions to no avail. Their last chance at justice is in the hands of the Biden administration. We believe that President Biden will do the right thing to finally vindicate these men after the years of emotional trauma they continue to endure after being wrongfully criminalized.”
On October 1, 1984, Mrs. Fuller was in an alley off of H Street when her perpetrator attacked her, dragged her by her feet to a nearby garage, sodomized her and left her to die. A street vendor and police both witnessed James McMillan running from the scene, hiding what was likely the murder weapon. Shortly thereafter, McMillan attacked two other women in the same neighborhood and spent the next eight years in prison for those crimes. Upon his release, he committed an identical sodomy-murder just three blocks from the scene of Mrs. Fuller’s murder and is now serving a life sentence for that crime.
Clifton Yarborough, Christopher Turner, Charles Turner, Timothy Catlett, Levy Rouse and Russell Overton were falsely accused and wrongfully convicted. They have not received justice, for Mrs. Fuller’s murder remains on their records, not McMillan’s.
“This is a clear example of police tunnel vision after law enforcement bought into a theory of a gang of criminals committing this crime for $40 and some cheap jewelry,” said Jim Trainum, a former D.C. Homicide Detective and an expert in police investigative procedures across the country who has examined the case in great detail. “We ask President Biden to correct this obvious miscarriage of justice and grant these innocent men the clemency they deserve. They’ve lost decades of their lives, and their family’s lives, to this monstrous crime that they had nothing to do with. Despite being freed from the prison bars, the conviction hangs over their heads and without Presidential Pardons they cannot truly move on. We hope President Biden can use his final days in office to right this wrong.”
Clifton Yarborough, Christopher Turner, Charles Turner, Timothy Catlett, Levy Rouse and Russell Overton have been paroled and become model citizens, spending a majority of their time volunteering to help others in their communities. Chris Turner, incarcerated at 19, is now a dedicated employee of the Duke Ellington School for the Arts. He also helps run and advises multiple nonprofit organizations dedicated to the wrongfully accused and others reentering society from incarceration. Charles Turner, incarcerated at 20, now spends countless hours volunteering for Free Minds Book Club, where he mentors young people reentering the community from prison. He also volunteers at homeless shelters and works at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. Levy Rouse, incarcerated at 19, earned a degree in computer science and recently married a pastor. He is an avid walker who is enjoying his well-deserved freedom in D.C. Russell Overton, incarcerated at 25, has reconnected with his children, and was recently promoted to supervisor after earning employee of the month twice at his job. Timothy Catlett, incarcerated at 19, is planning to marry his fiancée, and works 14-hour days to earn an income for his new family. He volunteers at Free Minds Book Club and regularly attends church. Cliff Yarborough, incarcerated at 16, devotes his working days to providing physical and spiritual safe passage to school children. He also takes care of his mother and spends all of his free time volunteering in his community.