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| Man Seeks Freedom After New Evidence |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 03/18/2002 |
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Steven Crawford was a teen-ager when he was sentenced to a Pennsylvania prison for killing his best friend, who was beaten by a sledgehammer in the head and robbed of his paper route money. Now a middle-aged man, Crawford is making another push for freedom thanks to new evidence in his case. Newly discovered documents contradict police testimony about evidence in the 1970 killing of John Eddie Mitchell, which landed Crawford in prison. Crawford is looking at the new documents not just as his ticket to freedom, but also as an opportunity to clear his name. Crawford, 45, recently turned down a deal that would set him free in exchange for a no-contest plea to third-degree murder. Police found Mitchell's body in a blood-spattered garage in a narrow alley behind Crawford's Harrisburg home. The 13-year-old victim had been beaten in the skull with a sledgehammer that was found in an adjoining garage. His body was left under a car owned by Crawford's father. Police say Mitchell was robbed of the $32 he had collected on his paper route that day. Crawford, who was 14 at the time of the slaying, was convicted of homicide four years later and sentenced to life in prison. Although the conviction was upheld in two subsequent trials, Crawford continues to insist he did not commit the crime. Crawford's cause may have new hope with the discovery of notes written by a now-retired police chemist that were found in a county detective's briefcase after he died. The notes contradict police testimony about blood on a hand print that Crawford left on a car in the garage. A hearing on the new evidence is set for April 30. |
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