Henry C. Alford was the defendant in a North Carolina murder case in 1963. According to reports, Alford got into a fight with a man named Nathaniel Young, who later died from a shotgun wound. Alford was charged with his murder and during his plea hearing, a witness testified hearing Alford declare that he was going to kill Young. Another witness saw Alford leaving his home carrying a gun. According to The Delaware Gazette, even his lawyer was convinced of his client’s guilt. However, Alford insisted that he wasn’t the one who killed Young.
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The attorney made it clear to Alford that his first-degree murder charge would most likely lead to a conviction and the death penalty. The state offered Alford a plea deal, wherein he would plead guilty to second-degree murder and face up to 30 years in prison. He took the deal but when it came time to state his plea in court, Alford insisted that he was not guilty. “I pleaded guilty on second-degree murder because they said there is too much evidence,” he exclaimed. “I just pleaded guilty because they said if I didn’t, they would gas me for it, and that is all.”
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