Arizona Republic

ARIZONA: 1st day out as a free man - 

Inmate saved by DNA dives into life, political debate

As former death row inmate Ray Krone celebrated his first full day of freedom Tuesday by taking a swim and eating steak, national justice groups used his decadelong ordeal to press for an end to capital punishment.

Krone was freed from prison after serving 10 years for a murder he didn't commit.

He is the 100th condemned American to be freed since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976 and, as such, instantly emerged as a poster child in the national debate.

Krone seemed to revel in that new role, describing his miserable life behind bars, his loss of faith in the justice system, and his belief that capital punishment is wrong except in cases of treason.

"It's the final end, it's too late, and it's the ultimate travesty to kill an innocent person," he said.

 But gallows conversation did not prevent Krone from enjoying his liberty. Amid a flurry of interview requests, he drank margaritas with friends, shopped for clothes, attended a perfunctory court hearing and talked about his inside-out life.

 He also learned how to use a motel keycard for the 1st time. And, pale from prison life and sinewy from pounding rocks, took a purging dive into the pool, then shrieked at the chilly water.

 "I don't think about rebuilding," Krone said earlier. "I think about starting over. I have a brand-new life, brand-new dreams. . . . I don't want to be negative, vengeful or angry. I don't have time for that."

 Krone was accused of killing and sexually assaulting Phoenix bartender Kim Ancona in 1991. The death sentence was based largely on testimony by a dental expert who matched bite marks on the victim with Krone's teeth. After that conviction was overturned, Krone was found guilty a 2nd time and sentenced to life.

 A few weeks ago, new DNA testing revealed that saliva on the victim's tank top belonged not to Krone, but to Kenneth Phillips, 36, who is serving prison time for an unrelated sex crime.

 "They better hang onto him, hold him and charge him," Ancona's mother, Patricia Gasman, said of Phillips. "He deserves the death penalty for his pedophile cases alone."

 Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley agreed to free Krone on Monday, with apologies.

 Now, the 45-year-old former postal worker cannot avoid his symbolic place in the death-penalty debate any more than he could have escaped prison.

 In Washington, D.C., Justice Project Executive Director Wayne Smith described the Krone case as a "shameful milestone" in America's death-penalty saga.

 At the Death Penalty Information Center, also in the nation's capital, Executive Director Richard Dieter said the injustice "underscores the errors that can be made and the risks of the death penalty."

 Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., issued a news release saying there is no way of knowing how many more Ray Krones have been sentenced to death. As sponsor of the Innocence Protection Act, which would require competent legal counsel for murder defendants and DNA testing of all convicted criminals, Leahy added, "It is past time to enact these reforms and to end this cruel game of Russian roulette."

 On the other side, Dudley Sharp of Texas-based Justice for All said the list of 100 so-called "exonerated" inmates from death row is "completely made up."

 "This is a political deal," Sharp added. "It's got nothing to do, in my opinion, with concern for innocent people. . . . What they want is for the media to say, 'Oh, my God, 100 innocent people?' without asking, 'Do you have any proof for these claims?'"

 Meanwhile, Krone told a more personal story of how guards reacted as he was taken to death row 10 years ago: "I was something they looked at on the bottom of their shoes, that they were trying to scrape off," he said. " . . . It was a little humiliating and helpless to be in there all that time. But it gives a person strength to know you're not alone."

 He said condemned inmates worry more about living in prison than leaving the world by lethal injection.

 "I was on death row, and the men there had no fear of dying. . . . " he said. "The men were laughing and joking about what their last meal would be, what their last words would be."

 Krone offered his sympathy to Ancona's mother, Gasman, adding, "I never really had a chance to grieve or express my condolences."

 Gasman, who lives in Phoenix, said she has been following Krone in the news.

 "I got his message, I really did," she said.

 "I'm comfortable with him being free. I wish him the very best."

 Krone said he's probably too old to have kids now. He talked of going back to work as a letter carrier, if the Postal Service will take him.

 He gave thanks to a cousin, Jim Rix, who spent more than $100,000 in the legal fight and "never wavered, not even a second."

 Finally, Krone deflected questions about whether he plans to sue police and prosecutors, asking reporters in turn, "What would you do?"