Tuesday 1 November 2022 08:28 PM Death row inmate backed by Oprah Winfrey claims he's INNOCENT of 1985 murder of ... trends now
Oprah Winfrey backed a death row inmate that is convicted of murdering a corrections officer in 1985 as he maintains his innocence and attempts to clear his name.
Jarvis Jay Masters had been booked at the San Quentin State Prison for armed robbery when he was charged with the fatal stabbing of correctional officer Sgt. Hal Burchfield four years into his sentencing in June 1985.
Masters, who was 23-years-old when Hal was killed, alleged that he was a few floors above where the murder happened and was forced to write out the details of the officer's death by a gang member.
Prosecutors later used the notes to convict him of murder, along with two others in 1990. He was also convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to death, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Oprah Winfrey has supported the death row inmate since reading his 2009 autobiography, 'That Bird Has My Wings: The Autobiography of an Innocent Man on Death Row.'
'I believe that he is absolutely innocent of this crime,' Winfrey told The Times.
Jarvis Jay Masters is attempting to overturn his murder conviction after prosecutors said he murdered a correctional officer in 1985. Masters has maintained his innocence and said gang members in the correctional center pinned the crime on him
Sgt. Hal Burchfield was fatally stabbed in the chest by metal ripped off of a bed frame to make a spear
Oprah Winfrey has backed Masters' innocence and recently read his 2009 autobiography in her famous book club. The book explains how Masters is innocent while sitting on death row
Masters is booked at the San Quentin State Prison where Hal was also stabbed to death
Masters is currently waiting for a federal judge to rule on his conviction and sentence appeal after he filed it in federal court in November 2020, according to The Times.
Winfrey has helped Masters build a team of attorneys, and chose to read his autobiography in her famous book club last month.
Her interest in the case has helped Masters recent appeal for freedom gain traction.
'I just feel that any reasonable person, reading the facts of this case, would want to at least have the case reopened so that you could at least know what you made the greatest effort for justice to be served.'
Winfrey has once spoken to Masters as he sits at the San Francisco Bay prison. She was amazed at how he kept himself together and maintained a sense of humor.
'I was fascinated at how normal he is, and how coherent and present he was, because that would be a struggle for, I think, most people. To hold on to yourself in the midst of that. I know that I would not be capable of doing it.'
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Masters is currently behind bars and waiting for a federal judge to rule on his conviction and sentence appeal after he filed it in federal court in November 2020
Winfrey has helped Masters build a team of attorneys, and chose to read his autobiography in her famous book club last month
The inmate, who prosecutors said stabbed Hal with metal torn off from a bed frame that was used to make a spear-like weapon, has previously filed an appeal with the California Supreme Court but was rejected.
He is optimistic that this time will be different.
'I feel like now I'm in good hands,' Masters told The Times. 'Now my case can get some speed to it, get some traction.
'I was a bandit, I was a crook, I stole, I robbed people. I did a lot of
