In 1998, Kwayera K. Jackson was a student, a son, a brother, a nephew, a cousin, a grandson, and a friend to many. He was also an 18 year-old all-star athlete and a football player in Edwardsville, Illinois, who would choose to give up his dream of playing for a major university so that he may be a father to his child. Upon hearing the news of his girlfriend’s pregnancy, Kwayera enrolled in a local community college so that he could be present for the birth- and raising of- their son, and the two young parents-to-be moved into a home of their own to raise their child, Keyonte.
After Keyonte’s birth, and when the infant was around five months old, Kwayera began to notice that the child was not developing as rapidly as other infants he has been around. One of Kwayera’s greatest hopes for his son was that he would someday grow to be an athlete much like his father. So, Kwayera perceived that Keyonte’s inability to develop at a similar rate, as the other infants, would place the child at a disadvantage. In his naiveté, he did not understand that infants tend to develop at various rates and that his son’s development was, in fact, perfectly normal. So, when Kwayera came across a magazine article that advocated baby exercises as a means to improve the mechanics in young children, he foolishly construed this as meaning that it would be acceptable for him to perform, what he called, muscle strengthening exercises on his son. This included, but was not limited to, attempting to strengthen his son’s abdominal muscles. It was these exercises in particular that would ultimately contribute to the death of five month-old, Keyonte Jackson.
Kwayera’s hired attorney did very little to substantiate the soundness of Kwayera’s innocence. The attorney was ineffective in that his entire defense was centered around diminished capacity, which is an argument that focuses on the mental state of a defendant at the time of his or her crime. This was important for Kwayera to establish before a jury so that he could prove that it was his youth incompetency at parenting that led to the death of Keyonte and not that he was some cold-hearted murderer. In order to establish this particular defense, Kwayera’s attorney would have to produce expert witnesses that would testify on his client’s behalf. These experts include pathologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, etc. Kwayera’s attorney failed to present one expert witness to testify before the jury, nor did his attorney ever call a single character witness to testify on Kwayera’s behalf. He, instead, placed Kwayera on the witness stand to act as the sole witness testifying in his own defense. He did so with full knowledge that Kwayera was not in a mental/emotional state healthy enough, due to the devastation and depression from losing his son, to act as the sole means of his defense. In fact, Kwayera had barely spoken at all, to anyone, between 1998 and 2000 as a result of his severe depression. His attorney was well aware that having him testify on his own would not be in Kwayera’s best interest legally, mentally, and emotionally.
The crux of this inexplicable decision by Kwayera’s attorney to have him act as his only witness can be found within the prosecution’s case. The argument of the prosecution was that the cause of Keyonte’s death was blunt trauma to the abdomen, with a contributing factor being a contusion to his forehead; all of which was allegedly caused on the same day. The implication was that the combination of both acts was what lead to Keyonte’s death; that he had been beaten to death by his father, and without one act the other would not have necessarily caused death. Although Kwayera never refuted that it was his negligence that caused his son’s death, he adamantly denied having inflicted any such contusion upon his son in the manner that the prosecution described. In fact, he argued that there was documented evidence proving there could never have been a so-called contributing factor to his son’s passing; that the state’s own witness had testified to seeing a small discoloration on the baby’s forehead (in the exact location of the contributing factor) a day prior to his death. Further, Kwayera provided his a attorney with a photograph of Keyonte taken several days before his passing that clearly depicts the fact that this alleged contributing factor had been present days prior to his demise. Kwayera’s attorney’s failure to effectively present this evidence before the jury, along with an expert witness’ testimony would discredit the State’s argument of murder, and left Kwayera with a shoddy defense which was easily overshadowed by the State’s Medical Examiner. Additionally, upon finding his son not breathing in his crib, Kwayera attempted to administer CPR (and had improperly done so due to a lack of knowledge of how to properly administer such techniques on an infant) on Keyonte prior to the paramedic’s arrival. This fact was never considered in his defense, as it is well-understood that improperly administered CPR in an infant can cause severe internal injuries, and even death.
The forensic pathologist for Madison County, Illinois, who determined the cause of Keyonte’s death, had been under scrutiny by previous employers a minimum of two times for misrepresenting autopsy reports. Shortly after Kwayera’s imprisonment, this same medical examiner was forced to resign her position with Madison County for misdiagnosing the autopsy of a two year-old child. Although her report was what fuel the State’s pursuit of first-degree murder charges against Kwayera, his attorney never properly vetted this medical examiner nor did he contest her report. Had he done so, had Kwayera had his own defense medical expert carefully scrutinizing her report, it would have undoubtedly been revealed that there could not have been a so-called “contributing factor†in Keyonte’s death. Thus, this would have erased the implication that Keyonte was beaten to death. It would, in essence, make clearer the stark contrast between first-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter.
After an arduous and discouraging, five-day trial, Kwayera was convicted of first-degree murder by all all-white jury. He was sentenced to 40 years in maximum security prison under the truth-in-sentencing legislation, with no possibility of earning good-conduct credit towards his sentence or being paroled. The charge of involuntary manslaughter was never an option for the State’s Attorney, because, in the State’s mind, Kwayera’s actions were intentional. The fundamental difference in manslaughter and murder is that manslaughter shows culpability without intent, while murder shows that an action was done purposefully, intentionally, and with knowledge that those actions create a strong probability of death or great bodily harm. Although it can be argued that Kwayera’s actions created a strong probability of death, it was never proven by the State that these actions were committed with the expressed purpose of causing great bodily harm or death. The State never proved that there was an intent on Kwayera’s part to kill.
To remain consistent with his ineffective theme, Kwayera’s attorney never appealed the 40-year sentence, citing that it would be a waste of time to do so, as the appeal would go before the same judge who sentenced him. This poor legal advice annihilated Kwayera’s direct appeal because the State used it against him, pointing out that he should have appealed the sentence prior to his direct appeal. Failure to do so relieved him of any right to appeal his sentence in the future. As a result, his direct appeal was denied, leaving him virtually no option in which to contest his sentence.
Losing a child as a result of his own actions is something Kwayera has lived with, and will have to continue living with everyday, regardless of his place of residence. By all accounts, he was once a dutiful father; an employed and productive member of society and had never been involved with the judicial system prior to this incident. Never could he have imagined that he would make such a poor choice or that one ill-conceived decision would forever alter his path toward becoming a success in life. His current predicament is something that has been very trying for him and he continues to struggle with the pain he has caused so many with his reckless actions. And yet, in spite of his circumstances, Kwayera has made it his mission to better himself in every area of his life.
Since his incarceration nearly 13 years ago, Kwayera has become a prolific writer and is striving to become a published author. Educational opportunities in Illinois maximum security prisons have become non-existent; despite this fact, Kwayera has utilized his time seeking out his own educational endeavors. He has become adept in spirituality, philosophy, science, astronomy, meditation, world history, politics, religion, and economics. He has used this experience to self-educate and grow as a man and as a human being. Kwayera offers love, compassion, and guidance to all who he encounters; hoping to, in some way, add volume to the characters of others instead of diminishing them; hoping that they, too, will add to his.
Kwayera has a well-developed website which he will use to create his own financial security through book sales, speaking engagements, and youth empowerment seminars across the nation once he obtains his freedom.
Currently, Kwayera has obtained competent legal representation and the support of the John Howard Association of Illinois. Kwayera’s loving family, supportive friends, and a host of well-wishers across the globe are all anxiously awaiting his release…
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