A cache of records recently obtained by The Tributary paints a vivid portrait of Sidney Jones, who was at once a petty thief, burglar, gunman, and liar, as well as a longtime paid police informant whose controlled buys gave cops probable cause for arrests.
Tag: kenneth hartley
Posted inFlorida News Articles & Reporting
Witnesses say their lies put a man on Death Row. Then they took it back
On June 16, Henry Edwards signed a detailed affidavit acknowledging that he gave false testimony in a 1995 capital murder case as a favor to a Jacksonville detective – false testimony that put a man on Death Row. On Monday, after prosecutors and a judge told Edwards that recanting his past testimony could lead to criminal charges, he took it all back.
Posted inFlorida News Articles & Reporting
Witnesses in Duval Death Row case say they were coached by detective to lie
The legal team representing Michael Bell submitted handwritten affidavits from both witnesses, each saying he was coached to give false testimony by Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Detective William Bolena.
Posted inFlorida News Articles & Reporting
Death Row attorneys fight state for records in case highlighted by The Tributary
Lawyers for Kenneth Hartley, a Jacksonville Death Row inmate convicted of murder more than 30 years ago on the word of a known liar and three jailhouse snitches, are fighting to pry loose records they hope will undo the case, which was the subject of a recent investigation by The Tributary called ‘Cold-Blooded.’
Posted inFlorida News Articles & Reporting
‘Open for business:’ It pays to be an informant. Telling the truth is optional
It is no mystery why detainees will seize the chance to testify that they heard someone confess – whether true or not.
![Prosecutor George Bateh speaks with the media after a hearing in Kenneth Hartley's murder case. [contributed by News4Jax video archives]](https://i0.wp.com/floridatrib.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-04-24-at-10.17.56%E2%80%AFAM.png?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
Posted inFlorida News Articles & Reporting
George Bateh put 15 men on Death Row – and was rebuked twice by Florida’s Supreme Court
George Bateh was good at putting people on Death Row. Whether that was the work of a righteous prosecutor or a sneaky courtroom tactician is a question at the heart of the legacy he left behind after more than 30 years in the State Attorney’s Office for the Fourth Judicial Circuit.
Posted inFlorida News Articles & Reporting
How a Florida prosecutor fixed a ‘weak’ case using a liar and 3 jailhouse snitches to send a man to Death Row
The Tributary’s ‘Cold-Blooded’ series is a seven-month investigation unraveling the 1993 murder prosecution that sent a man to Death Row on the word of a known liar and three jailhouse informants.