Beverly Monroe : 6 years in Prison
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Beverly Monroe is an elegant, gentle, Southern woman who you would never dream could be accused of treating someone poorly let alone convicted of murder. |
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Beverly Monroe was wrongfully convicted of murdering her long time companion, Roger Zygmunt de la Burde on November 2, 1992. On June 19, 2003, Ms. Monroe was finally exonerated and able to begin her journey back into society. This journey is different.
Even though Beverly Monroe has been exonerated and found innocent of all charges, she is not the same person as prior to her living nightmare and society does not treat her the same. Ms. Monroe now has a heightened awareness of emotional and economic issues. The country club where she once was a member now will not even hire her as a receptionist.
Ms. Monroe’s professional background as a chemist does nothing to help her secure a job with benefits. Years of exposure to pesticide sprays in prison and neglect of prevention services for dental and health, have taken their toll on Ms. Monroe. Beyond spending her meager funds on dental floss, refusing to have teeth extracted, eating healthy vegetables whenever possible, and walking around and around the enclosed cement walls, Ms Monroe was unable to do much to protect her health while in prison. Now, even though Beverly Monroe has been proven innocent, she still cannot afford insurance and is unable to address health concerns including the suspected damage done to her respiratory system from coming in direct contact with the pesticides. Even more disturbing is the emotional suffering experienced by an innocent woman behind the prison walls.
These days Beverly Monroe enjoys every moment spent with her grandson and family, as well as relaxing with a glass of wine listening to opera.
You may wonder how overnight, Beverly Monroe’s world turned into a nightmare. Not only did she suffer the loss of a loved one but she was imprisoned in a cell never again to enjoy the life she once had. IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU, TOO! Beverly Monroe did nothing different than you or me. Beverly Monroe was placed in prison because of a now common term named POLICE OFFICER TUNNEL VISION.
“Tunnel Vision” was a major contributor to the false conviction of Beverly Monroe. Tunnel Vision is when criminal justice officials are convinced that a particular suspect was the perpetrator even when other factors suggest innocence or alternative suspects Following de la Burde’s death, Ms. Monroe was grieving over what she only thought was his suicide. Little did she know State Police Special Agent David Riley was determined it was a murder. Three weeks after the death, Special Agent Riley interviewed Ms. Monroe for the purpose of what she thought was to get more information about the suicide. Special Agent Riley set up a complicated scenario, making Ms. Monroe think that her grief and inability to function was because something deep in her psyche was blocking out a horrible traumatic experience. In his mind, Special Agent Riley felt that de la Burde was murdered and Ms. Monroe was responsible. Ms. Monroe knew the trauma she was experiencing was from finding her loved one dead the following morning. However, she also learned at an early age not to argue with a police agent. Eventually, Ms. Monroe agreed with Special Agent Riley and was charged by prosecutors with murder. There was no forensic evidence tying Ms. Monroe to the shooting and she had an alibi of her whereabouts on that evening.
People are vulnerable because they think the truth will be uncovered. Prior to talking to Ms. Monroe, Special Agent Riley had the forensic tests that showed de la Burde’s death was a suicide. It was the duty of everyone involved with the criminal justice system to seek the truth and provide the information uncovered in the forensic report. People believe in the criminal justice system and they believe their innocence will be proven.
According to Beverly Monroe, the reason she is free today from her wrongful imprisonment is because of the diligence of her daughter Katie. At the time Beverly Monroe was accused, Katie had just graduated from law school and was clerking for a judge. Katie left her job and worked on her mother’s defense full-time. If it wasn’t for Katie’s relentless defense of her mother and Beverly’s other two children and friends who helped, Beverly Monroe would still be unjustly behind bars. Even though Beverly Monroe was released from prison as an innocent person she is right in saying, “You’re never clear. It’s never over. And, you are never able to really stand up to the world and say, “I proved they were wrong.”
