A California death row inmate, Jarvis Jay Masters, who gained attention after Oprah Winfrey selected his autobiography for her book club in 2022, has vowed to keep fighting for his freedom. This comes after a federal court rejected his latest claims of innocence.
I was hopeful but prepared for another legal challenge in securing my freedom, Masters said in a statement to The Times.
Masters, 62, was sentenced to death over 30 years ago for making the weapon used in the 1985 murder of San Quentin prison officer Sgt. Hal Burchfield. Prosecutors used prison notes written by Masters to prove he helped create the weapon. However, Masters claims he was forced to write those notes by leaders in the Black Guerrilla Family prison gang.
Despite maintaining his innocence and becoming a Buddhist while in prison, Masters has run out of legal options in state courts, including the California Supreme Court. In November 2020, he filed a federal claim arguing that state courts violated his civil rights in his conviction.
Masters also pointed out that witnesses who blamed him had since changed their stories. Other inmates have admitted to making the weapon, and he claims that important evidence wasn’t properly considered by state courts.
Supporters have criticized the fact that Masters received the death penalty for making the weapon, while the person who committed the murder got a life sentence.
In June, U.S. District Court Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. rejected all of Masters’ arguments. The judge found that state courts had already looked at these claims and made fair decisions. The court officially dismissed his case on September 3.
On Monday, Masters’ lawyers said they would appeal the ruling to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. We knew this fight wouldn’t be easy, but we are confident in our evidence, said his attorney Michael F. Williams.
Sgt. Burchfield, the victim, was a 37-year-old father of five. His children are split on whether Masters is guilty. Marjorie Burchfield, who was 14 when her father died and later became a prison officer, was happy with the court’s decision. She said she will work to stop Masters from ever being released.
It’s not going to happen, she said.
However, Jeremiah Burchfield, who was just 2 years old when his father died, believes Masters is innocent. He said he feels bad for Masters and is upset with the system.
Masters, who spent most of his life on death row at San Quentin, was recently moved to Sierra Conservation Center in Tuolumne County. Although he still faces the death penalty, Governor Gavin Newsom has paused all executions in California.
Masters’ book, That Bird Has My Wings: The Autobiography of an Innocent Man on Death Row, which shares his difficult childhood, prison life, and his journey into Buddhism, was chosen by Oprah Winfrey for her book club in 2022. Winfrey previously said she believed in Masters’ innocence. She was unavailable for comment on Monday.