A synopsis of the Danny Meehan Murder Case

Orange County, Texas Judge Pat Clark, in 1996, had issued a severe temporary Restraining Order on one Mark Pieruccini, for attacking his wife, Selma. Mark was a Navy submarine man, an avid gun collector and gun expert. Days before the final hearing on that Order, Mark sweet talked Selma into dropping the charges. The next day Mark kidnapped the couple’s three children and fled to Pennsylvania and opened custody proceedings there. An all out custody battle began, and Mark caused Selma to be homeless in Texas.
Selma worked at a gas station where wrecker driver, Danny Meehan, frequented. Danny was separated from his wife and three kids and invited Selma to move in with him at his mobile home in Orange, since she had no place to go. Danny was a severe alcoholic, and it was well known about his frequent blackouts from drinking. He had been hospitalized once for almost drinking himself to death. Selma and Danny began a serious relationship as the custody battle continued in PA.

Selma began divorce proceedings in Orange before Judge Clark, who renewed the prior Restraining Order and ordered temporary alimony paid to Selma and further hearings. This probably enraged husband Mark. The Custody hearing ended with Mark having to deliver the kids for summer custody in Orange with Selma, who had now lease purchased a house. He would still be in Clark’s Orange court jurisdiction if he came back to Orange. Danny had ideas of ultimately marrying Selma and raising all six children, his and hers.
It was the annual Crawfish Boil in Beaumont, where Danny worked, to come and celebrate and eat and drink. Once again, Danny overdid it and consumed from18 to 20 beers, with his blood –alcohol level almost as high as it was when he almost died. When they came home, Danny only recalls falling asleep immediately. He says he was awakened by a loud commotion and found Selma on the floor in blood and had been shot. Danny’s licensed gun lay next to her. Danny couldn’t find his cell phone and ran and asked his next door neighbor to call 911, which he did. Danny discovered that his back door was wide open. Moments later Officer Donald Washington arrived, and then others, and then paramedics, who were kept waiting outside for ten minutes before being allowed inside.

An illegal search was made without a Warrant, and a case was built around Danny as the prime suspect. There were no prints on the gun and Detective Mark Ellis either threw away a planned gun residue test on Selma, or failed to take one. “Unknown” fingerprints were ignored. Danny was questioned without an attorney, and his Miranda Rights were strained for several hours. He was arrested and charged with murder.
While awaiting trial, jailhouse snitch, Gary Wayne Harris was planted in Meehan’s dorm and three witnesses later told of how he tried to get information on Danny for a get out of jail ticket. The state admittedly had a weak case and failed to investigate the main suspect who had obvious motives, Selma’s husband, Mark Pieruccini. The DA’s assistant, Detective Mark Ellis, gave the husband Selma’s personal items, and along with them the necklace Selma was wearing at the time of the shooting. This was a key piece of evidence, observed and shown in pictures, whereas the bullet had allegedly pierced it and was deflected. But Ellis had taken it out of evidence and gave it away. This shaped the testimony to indicate that the bullet went strait and was not deflected by the necklace.

The DA, the Judge, and all interested parties knew of the jealous husband, but DA Kimbrough, at the trial opening moved to suppress any evidence about Mark Pieruccini. Judge Clark acted as if he didn’t know who he was and allowed it. Clark was in a conflict of interest on his part inasmuch as he was well aware, having issued the Restraining Order (twice) against the husband, and knowing well of the couple's problems at the divorce hearing. A quick murder trial was held and the DA brought in Gary Wayne Harris, who concocted a story of how Meehan had told him how he killed Selma. After a twenty minute defense by Attorney Rogers, Meehan was sentenced to 99 years, by Clark.

Danny’s Uncle Don Meehan did a two year investigation on his own and uncovered evidence to indicate a probable conspiracy to convict Danny, and he finally located Harris, who recanted his lying testimony, swore in an Affidavit saying that Kimbrough and Mark Ellis told him what to say and how to say it on the stand. Days later, Harris was set free, with third felony charges being dropped. Harris said that Kimbrough told him he needed a conviction bad and would help him if he would help them convict Danny. Harris also indicated that Danny’s court appointed attorney, Karla Rogers had represented Harris in months prior on criminal matters, and continuing to represent Danny was another blatant conflict of interest.

Witness tampering is a felony but when Clark was confronted this and other evidence and confronted with his own conflict of interest in a new Habeas Corpus Application, he dismissed it without a fair evidentiary hearing, obviously hoping to continue to suppress any evidence of his wrongdoing and conflict of Interest, and protecting Kimbrough, Ellis and himself. He sent it to the Court of Criminal Appeals, headed by disgraced Judge Sharon Keller. We were told that court didn’t even look at the file and dismissed it ignoring Harris’ lying account and Donald Meehan’s 200 page damning Affidavit. Also in evidence there was the phony Probate of Selma by husband Mark, whereas it was later proven that he produced a forged Will, gaining monetarily and Danny’s knowledge that Mark also had a $100,000 life insurance policy on Selma.

Danny, broke, and now without an attorney, and against all odds, after an unsuccessful Appeal with this new evidence to the Fifth Circuit, is planning to take his case to the U.S. Supreme Court himself, pro se. Danny believes that Selma’s husband, Mark, knowing well of Danny’s blackouts, could have sneaked into Danny’s mobile home and hid, and maybe gave Danny a shot to insure sleep, and shot Selma with Danny’s gun, and ran out the back door and through a short wooded area to his car at a convenience store and sped away. Or that he paid a hit man to kill his wife and frame Danny for the murder.

The obvious conspiratorial efforts to convict Danny Meehan, with the coverups, tampering and paying of witness, involving judge, prosecutor and detective, are the basis of complaints going to the Texas Bar, The Texas Judicial Committee, The Orange and Jefferson Sheriff's Internal Affairs Divisions, and the Texas Commission on Law Enforcemnt.

Please see complaints and Harris recant transcript and Clark cover up Order http://www.scribd.com/dpaulm99

and

Donald Meehan 200 page Affidavit with Exhibits at http://www.scribd.com/don%20meehan

Another Texas Prosecutor May Go Down

I have posted the video, Another Texas Prosecutor May Go Down, on YouTube with some key words of jailhouse snitch Gary Wayne Harris recanting his testimony which sent Danny Meehan away for 99 years. YouTube is a powerful instrument for drawing attention to a cause, And the cause of the wrongly convicted needs attention.



Harris said that in 1997 while in Orange County Texas Jail, Prosecutor John D. Kimbrough told him that he needed a conviction and he needed it bad to further his career. He then made his dirty deal with Harris, whose parole violation and new charges were dropped, and Harris walked out of jail several days after his lying testimony against Meehan. There are now six witnesses whom Harris told he lied.

When asked if he thought his testimony was the deciding factor in the jury’s finding, Harris, answered, ”I know it was.” He said, “Given the details of the case prior to the trial by Mr. Ellis, uh, in John Kimbrough’s presence, that I repeated during the trial was the end, was the last testimony in the prosecutor’s case, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that my testimony was the key testimony that made the jury’s decision.” In the video Harris recants and says that DA Kimbrough's investigator Ellis said, "I want you to look straight at the jury and tell them that Danny (Meehan) told you that he told her, that if he couldn’t have her, if she couldn’t stay with him then nobody else could have her. And then that he shot her point blank." The jury bought this and convicted Danny in less than an hour. And now, Harris says it was all a lie.

This is the story of yet another prosecutor who thinks he can abuse human rights and get away with it. Worldwide attention to this kind of American courtroom injustice could go a long way toward reform. I am contacting every person possible who might show any sympathy whatsoever for the wrongfully convicted and prisoners’ rights to watch the video over and over and pass it along to everyone you know to do the same. If it goes to the top of the YouTube charts then the whole world will notice, and also perhaps some lawmakers will change things.

When this new evidence was presented in a new Writ, Judge Patrick Clark ignored Kimbrough’s wrongdoing completely, denied the Writ, and attempted to hide Kimbrough’s behavior. Clark’s cover-up Order can be seen online.

He then passed it along to Sharon Keller’s (She’s being tried in August) Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which dismissed it without even opening the file. So, either they didn’t see Kimbrough’s dirty tricks or they chose to ignore it. Read full transcript of Harris’ recant.

Now Danny sits there for 99 years. So do many others, wrongly convicted because of prosecutorial misconduct that is hard to fight. Read my affidavit that accompanied the denied Writ.

Complaints are being filed with the Texas Bar Assn. on Kimbrough and the Judicial Committee on Judge Clark. Add Kimbrough to the list of dirty DA’s: Charles Sebesta (former Burleson Texas County DA ), Michael McDougal (former Montgomery County Texas DA) and Chuck Rosenthal (former Harris County DA ). And we can’t forget North Carolina ’s Michael Nifong (who lost his law license and filed bankruptcy).

Sincerely,

Don Meehan
donmeehan@comcast.net