Tony E. Ford
The Wrong Man

Tony Egbuna Ford was born on June 19th 1973 – on a day many refer to as “Freedom Day”, the best
recognized day of commemoration of the ending of slavery. He was given the middle name Egbuna by the
Nigerian nurse who helped to bring him into the world. Although neither she nor Tony’s mother could have
known at the time, his middle name would prove as prophetic as the date of his birth, because chillingly
“Egbuna” in translation means “Please Stop Killing Us”… And it is the name by which Tony is known, by his
fellow inmates on death row.  


In 1991 Tony was 18 years old.  One night he gave a ride to two brothers – Van and Victor Belton.  He drove
the brothers at their request to a nearby residence and waited in the truck for them as they approached the
house.  The brothers forced their way into the house and once inside engaged in a heated dispute with one
of the occupants, an 18 year old named Armando Murillo.  Tony knew the brothers were going there to
resolve a dispute over a debt, however he never for a second anticipated what followed.  He waited and on
the two brothers’ return he drove them home and proceeded home himself.  He was aware that the brothers
had taken property from the house and assumed it had been taken by way of payment of the debt.

The following day Tony was arrested and charged with capital murder. At the time of his arrest he was not
told why he was being arrested but went willingly with the police. He was an innocent man and felt he had no
reason not to do as they asked.  Earlier the same day one of the brothers, Van Belton, who had been
identified by Armando’s sister, had also been arrested. This sister had attended the same school as Van and
so easily recognized him. At the time of Van’s arrest he had been hiding in the loft of his house hoping to
evade the police. When he was found both his brother Victor and his father fought with the police in trying to
prevent his arrest. Because of this Victor was also arrested. This was some 9 hours or so following the crime.

When Tony learned the charges against him he was horrified. He had had no knowledge up to that moment
that someone had been killed the night before.  Tony was told that Van Belton had made a statement
alleging he had shot and killed Armando, and had shot at the three female occupants of the house –
Armando’s mother and two sisters. Tony was also verbally abused and threatened with the death penalty and
stories of what would happen to him when he went to jail by the detectives. He was not allowed to call his
mother or a lawyer despite his repeated requests. He was told over and over that he MUST confess. He
refused. And under threats and intimidation he also refused to make a statement because he knew nothing
of what had occurred inside the house that night, and feared anything he did say would only be used by
these overly aggressive detectives to lay the blame at his door for something he did not do.

Simply put Van Belton had a choice – he could tell the truth and see his brother face execution, or he could
“save” his brother and blame the only other person he could. He chose to sacrifice Tony for his brother. Tony’
s refusal to speak with the detectives at the time of his interview was used along with Van Belton’s statement,
to seal his fate. His silence was assumed to be the silence of a guilty man with no remorse. The fact that he
was 18 years old, terrified and refused any contact with anyone who could advise or support him through this
traumatic experience, was never considered.  

Armando’s two sisters were shown a photo spread from which to identify the man who had shot and killed
Armando. That spread did not include Victor Belton and had Tony at position number 4. The first sister first
picked out number 5 as the man who had shot and killed her brother, but this number is clearly shown as
being crossed out and changed to number 4 on the photo spread by the detective carrying out the
identification. No explanation is given to explain why this was done. The second sister identified Tony at a
later time from the exact same photo spread her sister saw. By this time Tony’s picture had been spread all
over the TV news, and newspapers as the prime suspect in the case, and so questions remain unanswered
as to whether her identification was based consciously or subconsciously on her sister’s identification or
because Tony’s face was already known to her as being the man accused of the shooting.  

Tony’s subsequent trial held a catalogue of errors. No physical evidence linked Tony to the scene of the
crime or the crime itself. By contrast property from the victim, and bullets consistent with those used in the
crime were found at the Belton’s house. Tony did not have any blood on his clothing. By contrast Victor
Belton’s clothing which was seized at the time of his arrest had multiple blood stains on it. This clothing was
never tested despite it being retained by the police for over 14 years. Victor was never charged with any
more than simply obstructing the police.  

Tony was also denied the funds for a legal expert in the field of eye witness identification. Such identifications
are the single most common reason for innocent people being wrongly convicted. This is an established and
accepted fact. However Tony was not given the opportunity to argue against these extremely questionable
identifications. At the time of Tony being found guilty a court journalist overheard police officers who had
worked on the case talking. They were voicing their shock that Tony had been found guilty at all, because
they had heard talk on the street that another man was known to be to blame.  The same court reporter
signed an affidavit saying that he had witnessed the prosecutors outside of the court room pre-trial point to
Tony and ask the two Belton sisters did Tony “look like the man from that night”. After a long pause the
sisters could only answer “Maybe”. And yet Tony was convicted solely on eyewitness testimony.
Eyewitnesses who faced with the most biased physical line up possible could only answer “Maybe”. Other
witnesses have at various times come forward to say Victor has “bragged” to them that he has gotten away
with murder. Despite all this Tony remains on Texas Death Row waiting to die, for something he simply did
not do.

Now after 16 years of unjust incarceration Tony has finally been granted the right to have Victor Belton’s
clothing DNA tested. This testing was granted just 8 days before what could have been Tony’s execution
date, in December 2005. Had he not been fortunate in having a well respected and effective lawyer come
forward to take on his case Tony could well have been dead now. Tony’s lawyer came to his case through a
group known as the Innocence Project, and was so struck by the clear miscarriage of justice that he took his
case on immediately and has worked tirelessly to persuade the appeals court to grant Tony the testing that
could save his life.  

But we are left with grave concerns still. Victor Belton’s clothing has not been stored in the manner one might
expect of such a potentially vital piece of evidence. It has been simply thrown in a drawer along with other
items seized at the time and forgotten. And so while we pray the testing will shine light on the truth we still
must live with the worry that time and mishandling may result in the testing proving inconclusive. Above all,
our concern is that this is the state of Texas. The state that carries out more executions than any other state
in America. Tony has had two execution dates - the first stayed for 90 days for DNA testing in December of
2005.  The second was stayed in march 2006 as the DNA testing was not completed.  Since then, results on
the DNA have proven "inconclusive" - the blood tested on the perpetrator's clothing is not showing a clear
match to the victim.  However, Tony's attorney is pushing for further testing.  There still isn't a go-ahead on
that.  And as things stand now, without that go-ahead or clear result, Tony could still at any day be given an
execution date - and that date can be within 30 days.  So there is no date right now, but things could become
urgent very quickly. ~~



Dear Governor Perry,

Americaiswatching.org is a site that
highlights injustices in America and
provides contact information where
the public can make a difference. We
are writing to you about Tony E. Ford,
a man on Texas Death Row.  We do
not accept many stories from Death
Row inmates, unless we feel an
injustice truly has been done.  In the
case of Kenneth Foster we felt that
way, and apparently you agreed, as
you commuted his sentence.  The
same holds true for Tony E. Ford.
Although he was not tried under the
"law of parties" as Kenneth was, it is
a similar case.  Tony was only the
driver, not a killer.  An affidavit has
been signed by a court reporter
saying that on the day of Tony's trial,
he saw and heard the Prosecutor
point to Tony and ask the two sisters
of the victim "is that the man from
that night" and both said they
weren't sure...maybe, but they didn't
know."  For Tony to have been
convicted only on the testimony of
those two sisters, when they
admitted they didn't know before the
trial, is truly an injustice.  No DNA
evidence ever linked Tony to the
murder.  No items from the victim's
residence was ever found at Tony's
house.  Nothing links Tony to the
victim except the eye witness
testimony of two women who "aren't
sure" if they have the right man.  
Apparently CourtTV also made a
documentary on Tony's case and
two independent investigators also
said they have the wrong man.

In light of all this confusion, and
inconclusive DNA tests, please look
at his case and consider  commuting
his sentence to life in prison, not
capital punishment.  Although we are
not personal friends or family
members, but only  American
citizens who call attention to
injustices we see in America, we
truly believe Tony was not in the
house that night and did not assist
the killer in any way.

Thank you for your consideration.

AmericaIsWatching.org
An Innocent Man May Be Executed in Texas
Given the Death Penalty for Driving a Getaway Vehicle
Eagle Photo by Doug Domedion

evidence.  Tony could be given an execution date at any time, and one dated just 30 days from
being issued.  His last appeal will enter the courts soon so we are putting some plans into action.  
We are approaching the Mayor of El Paso (the county in which Tony was convicted), Mr John Cook,
to try to garner his support for Tony’s case.  

Mr Cook has already proven himself a strong ally of the anti death penalty movement.  He played a
leading role in pushing through the resolution for a moratorium on the death penalty in El Paso.
(Incidentally Myra Murillo, the mother of the victim in this case, also attended the hearing in 2000
and was in support of the moratorium).  More recently Mayor Cook has joined with Sara Hickman on
her “Music for Life” tour, a tour designed to spark dialogue about the death penalty.

Please consider writing just a few lines to Mayor Cook encouraging him to take a look at Tony’s
case.  We are already so fortunate that his mind is open and his stance on this issue a very
positive one, and so any correspondence to Mayor Cook we would wish to be polite and non
confrontational.  

Mayor Cook’s Contact Details are as follows:

Mr. John Cook, Mayor
#2 Civic Center Plaza
10th Floor City Hall
El Paso, TX 79901

Or you may email Mayor John Cook at:   mayor@elpasotexas.gov
Updated July 2009

Hi all

Following on from the request from a few people now for details of how they can contribute to Tony's legal fund I am
attaching details of how you can do so.

There is so much investigation that can be done in Tony's case, and yet, with much of this needing to be done in El
Paso, the costs involved can be overwhelming.  Much work has already been done and with positive results, and yet
there is much more to do.  

Sadly, in the state of Texas justice often comes at a monetary price – there is much truth in the phrase that those with
the capital are rarely if ever those who face capital punishment.   Tony’s attorney Mr Richard Burr works tirelessly to
save his life, yet the financial burden can be immense and Tony’s legal team need our help to  save his life.

If you wish to contribute to the legal fight to save Tony’s life please send your donations, no matter how big or small, by
check or money order (made payable to Burr and Welch) to:

2307 Union Street, Houston, TX 77007.

Your donation could be the difference between life and death for Tony.

In deepest appreciation of the most precious of gifts you could ever give us,

Tony and the Ford family
CLICK HERE to sign the
petition for Justice for