John Curtis Pipps Dewberry

"All I want is a fair chance, now that I'm not a 17-years old child,   to prove my innocence and have my life back!"

On  Christmas day, 1994 Mr Elmer Rode, a known pedophile in the Beaumont area, was found dead in his Beaumont , Texas home. He was found that afternoon by his loving sister. He had been shot multiple times. It was without a doubt a terrible crime and a tragic loss. What makes it all worse is that I was wrongly convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Elmer Rode, while the true killers remain free and have not been charged.

On March 1st, 2005, the United States Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that executing juveniles is unconstitutional. Being John was only 17 years old, a child, at the time he was arrested and railroaded to Death Row, his death sentence was commuted to life. On June 22, 2005 he was moved off Death Row to general population. BUT the fight of John´s life is not over, death row or general population, from one cage to another, he is still an innocent man whose life was taken from him at the age of 17. Capital offenders in Texas who are serving a life sentence are not given the opportunity to have a court appointed attorney handle their appeal process. 

John still has appeals pending in federal court but he has lost his court appointed counsel when his sentence was commuted, without a dedicated attorney these issues could be lost forever.