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James Harry Reyos

I was contacted by James Harry Reyos last year after he read a message posted by me on an Internet discussion group, causing him to visit this website. He was wrongly convicted of murdering an Irish priest named Father Patrick Ryan, who was violently bludgeoned to death in a motel room in Odessa, Texas, USA, shortly before the Christmss of 1981. He was convicted of the murder in 1983, partly (we believe) because he was a Native American, homosexual with an alcohol problem and was accused of killing a highly respected priest. Father Ryan was certainly homosexual, accused of abusing young men, but this was only first revealed during James' trial. Understandably the jury would not have liked to believe such claims, which have been proven since the conviction. The prejudice against James because of his lifestyle and race would have resulted in the jury seeing him in a negative light.

Although James was released from prison, on parole, last year, he is still a convicted murderer. Having questioned him I am highly satisfied that he is innocent. He is one of the very small number of people whose innocence I am absolutely certain of. I have found independent material to substantiate everything he has told me. He has the support of a number of politicians and lawyers, including an attorney involved in the prosecution against him. I have written to State Representatives in the USA, President Bush and Vice President Cheney, the media, other officials and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to voice my concern and present an argument which I hope will, in conjunction with the work of others, lead to the conviction being overturned. James is requesting a Full Pardon on the grounds of Innocence. We are hoping for nothing less than that and anything other than a Full Pardon will be unsatisfactory.

James has a growing amount of support amongst the media and politicians in the USA. All signs are very encouraging and we are hopeful that a decision, and most importantly the right decision in James' favour, will be reached before long. We had expected the decision to have been made before now but we hope that this will be a case of "all good things come to those who wait." Although James has been waiting for justice for as long as I have been on this earth (he was charged with murder in the Autumn of 1982). The waiting is frustrating for James but he is a remarkably patient man. His whole attitude to his situation is truly an inspiration to us all.

Here is the first message he sent to me, which summarises many details:

'Check out this miscarriage of justice. Prosecuting attorney, Dennis Cadra said the following: "Despite my 16 years as a prosecutor, I came to the firm conclusion that it was physically impossible for Mr. Reyos to have committed the crime for which he has been in a Texas penitentiary for almost eight years." He wrote this to the then Governor Ann Richards, in 1992.

The following is taken verbatim from "Shadows Of A Doubt: by Howard Swindle, Investigator Reporter, DALLAS MORNING NEWS (Sunday, July 4, 1993): "In the 6-inch prosecution file on the homicide of Patrick Joseph Ryan, there are autopsy reports, lab results, interview statements and leads that had taken detectives to Denver City [TX], Plains [TX], and Albuquerque and Hobbs, NM. Not in the file is any physical evidence to indicate that Mr. Reyos had ever been in Room 126 of the Sand and Sage Motel. Quite the contrary. An FBI lab report dated April 27, 1983 noted 'The five latent fingerprints and the two latent impressions are not the fingerprints or palm prints of Reyos,' the FBI examiner wrote. Wrote the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Lab in Midland on May 30, 1983, 'None of the numerous hair from the scene previously examined resembled head or pubic hair from the suspect (Reyos).' Also in the file is a report written by Detective Jerry Smith, the primary Odessa Police Department investigator, six days after the death of Father Ryan: 'At about 5:30 p.m., Det. Casey completed Reyos polygraph. Det. Casey advised that he felt Reyos was truthful and was not involved in the homicide.'"

On Wednesday, April 23, 2003, prosecuting attorney Dennis Cadra stated on TV's "American Justice": "Mr Reyos couldn't have, couldn't have committed the murder."

Why am I still being unjustly punished for this crime I DID NOT COMMIT?!!!!!!

Thank you. James.'

To read my letter to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, which contains far more details about the case and my arguments for James' innocence, please click here

There is one man who is regarded by many to be Father Patrick Ryan's killer. The man's identity remains a mystery. One year after the murder (around the same time James was charged with killing Father Ryan) he went to a church in Boise, Idaho, USA, to make confession. Whilst waiting he swallowed a cyanide tablet. On his person he had a large sum of money to pay for his funeral and a cryptic note. The note was signed with a false name (studies of the signature suggest it cannot be a genuine signature - it looks too false, as if the individual was not used to signing that name. The surname 'Toomey' was fully explored, with no one of that name being reported missing). The man is also suspected of killing another priest who was murdered in very similar circumstances to Father Ryan. Did the Boise Doe kill Father Ryan, did James Reyos, or did someone else? Nearly twenty four years after the murder no one can be quite sure of the exact truth. What is certain, however, is that Father Ryan's killer has not yet faced justice and has let an innocent man pay for his crime.

James Harry Reyos now has a campaign website. The website is available at: www.jamesharryreyos.g3z.com

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