Jacob's Story

This is the story and a plea for help from a young man named Jacob Blackmon who has been locked up since he was 15 years old when he was given a life sentence for capital murder…a crime that he did not commit. At 35 years of age, Jacob has now spent more time in prison than out.

There are many exoneration stories reported these days for people wrongfully convicted, people whose cause was taken up because someone recanted their trial testimony, often many years later. But not so with Jacob. People quickly recanted, but no justice came from it.

Let me share some of Jacob's story with you. It is a story about a young man who has never quit fighting for his freedom and has done everything to get his story out. His case happened in January, 1994. At that time, Jacob was living with his older brothers; Tim, who was 17 and David, 19. Earlier that January day, Jacob was at the house of a man named Ray, helping him repossess cars to make some money. That night Jacob did crank for the first time, but what Jacob didn't know was that Ray was gay and during that night, he drugged Jacob’s drink. Jacob was knocked out only to waken later and realized that he had been raped. When Ray left to get more crank, Jacob somehow managed to stumble out the door and back to his house.

He got home but was so ashamed of what happened, he cried. His brother, Tim, and Tim’s best friend, Stone, came to the house and asked Jacob to go with them to find some girls. Jacob thought that by having sex with a girl he would prove to himself that he still had his manhood. As they were on their way to these girls’ house, Stone saw two guys coming out of a bar and came up with the idea to rob them. He had a gun with him and asked Jacob to do it. Jacob said no, he didn't want anything to do with it and pushed the gun back to Stone. Tim was driving; Jacob was in the front seat; Stone in the back. As Tim pulled up to the two guys, Jacob lay down in the front seat still high from the drink and upset from the earlier molestation. Stone called the guy to the car, pointed a gun at him and demanded his money. Words were exchanged and the next thing Jacob heard was the car door open and then the sound of a gunshot. Stone jumped back into the car and Tim drove away. Later on, they learned from neighbors that the man was killed that night.

As time went by, Stone talked to Tim and the two came up with the idea to let Jacob take the blame if they get caught, because Jacob was only 15 so nothing would happen to him.

The following month, Tim was arrested at a drug store for burglary and taken to the county jail. There, a detective who was working on the murder case, came to talk with him about whether his car may have been where the murder took place. At first, Tim denied knowing about the murder, but later on gave four different statements about it, each one putting the blame on Jacob, thinking that the worst that would happen to Jacob would be a stay with the Juvenile Youth Authority until he turned 21.

On February 21, 1994, Jacob was arrested at 4:08 pm by Detective Jerry Wilson of the Waco Police Department. Rather than following the established rules regarding juveniles, Detective Wilson took Jacob to the police station rather than to the juvenile center. Jacob refused to talk and was then taken to the juvenile center where he was logged in at 6:22 pm.  Detective Wilson testified at trial that Jacob was picked up at 6:08 pm, not 4:08 pm, making it seem as if Jacob was not interrogated without a parent present.

Later on, Jacob was picked up from the Juvenile Center by Detective Wilson and was returned to the Waco police station. Now, remember that Jacob is only 15 years old and plenty scared.   He repeatedly asked for his parents, as most 15-year olds would, but the detective lied and said he called them but couldn't get a hold of them. During the trial, Jacob's probation officer took the stand and testified that Jacob told her, in front of his mother, that he wanted to make a statement, testimony both Jacob and his mother would deny on the stand. The stories of the probation officer and the detective didn’t match up during the trial. The probation officer said she called Detective Wilson and that was the reason he came to get Jacob. But, according to the police report, the interrogation was solely Detective Wilson’s idea and there was no call from the probation officer to Detective Wilson.

In Jacob's case, there were only two pieces of evidence: (1) his forced confession due to undue pressure and repeated threats made by the detective and (2) the statements made by his brother. Oddly enough (or not), the only recording device at the Waco Police Department was, apparently, broken that day, so there was no record made of the three and a half hours of intense interrogation of this 15-year old boy. Wilson told Jacob that if Jacob didn’t sign the detective’s handwritten confession, Jacob’s mother would be arrested for capital murder. Additionally, although Jacob repeatedly asked to see his parents who were at the police station trying to see their son, Wilson said they were unavailable.

Caving under the pressure, the interrogation and the threats against his mother, like many other victims of police interrogations, 15-year old Jacob signed a confession to make the frightening interrogation stop. Only then was Jacob allowed to see his parents. He was then taken to a traffic court judge where Jacob told the Judge that he did not understand what was happening and denied the statement, but the judge advised him to sign it and then talk about it later on with his lawyer. Jacob didn’t see a lawyer for 40 days, which was only a few days before the hearing which would certify this 15-year old boy to stand trial as an adult.

Waco is, Waco was and Waco will always be a Baylor University town. Jacob’s second lawyer (the first lawyer quit), the judge and the victim were all Baylor students and/or graduates. The parents of Jacob’s lawyer had a $2 million endowment at Baylor. Not one person on the jury was asked about their relationship to Baylor except if they worked there. Jacob, however, had no connection with Baylor University because he came from the wrong side of the tracks.

Jacob’s recanted statement was admitted into the trial record and Tim’s signed false statements were also admitted. Tim recanted right after the trial and he, maintaining his recantation, (and for finally telling the truth) was tried and convicted of perjury and sentenced to 10 years, which he served.  He has since been released. The victim’s brother was standing a few feet away when the killing happened and got a good look at the shooter. According to the victim’s brother, the shooter was shorter than the victim and the brother; Jacob is taller. The shooter had facial hair; Jacob was too young to have facial hair. They wore their hair in very different styles. Stone, who Jacob and Tim insist was the shooter, looks nothing like Jacob. Despite not resembling each other in any way and even though his description was part of the trial testimony, Jacob’s lawyer did not call Stone to the stand, so the jury was not allowed to see those differences for themselves. Stone was the only person present at the killing who was not called to the stand. The victim’s brother could not identify Jacob as the shooter during the trial. Jacob’s lawyer did not speak with any of the people who had heard Stone brag about the killing. Jacob’s lawyer did not investigate any of Jacob’s statements. We easily learned years later that the Juvenile Court judge who presided over Jacob’s certification hearing lied (or seriously misstated, to put a more charitable spin) about setting up a special room at the police station for juvenile interrogation. 

Since the trial, Jacob has tried many times to secure the help of various innocence networks. His case lacks DNA and apparently does not qualify to engage those groups. He has sent his story to several appellate lawyers, but, without money, he has gotten nowhere. In an attempt to bring attention to his situation, Jacob has written his autobiography, Captured by Love and Forgiveness, The Jacob Blackmon Story which is available for $6.25 as a Kindle book on Amazon.com. In his book, Jacob talks about his life before, during and after the trial when he, a young boy of 15, faced the horrors of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, where young men were beaten regularly.

Appellate attorneys are very expensive. Their work can be quite difficult: resurrecting cases often years later; requiring the work of professional investigators and staff to examine the legal issues. Our courts make it very difficult to reopen cases. Jacob’s trial attorney, who did such a poor job at the trial, did file an appeal, called a Petition for Discretionary Review, or PDR, at the time. It reflects the same interest in Jacob and the truth as did the work of his trial attorney.