My brother Pervis has missed every holiday and important family event for the past 32 years. This week, for the 33rd year in a row, he missed my birthday. And I, of course, am missing him.
Pervis, who has an intellectual disability, has been on death row in Tennessee for a crime I believe he did not commit, and he’s scheduled to be executed on Dec. 3. My only birthday wish for the past three decades has been to save my brother’s life and to finally see justice in his case.
Rolanda Holman wearing a t-shirt to show support for her brother, Pervis Payne. (Image: Courtesy of Rolanda Holman)
I was just 13 when Pervis was arrested, and although I didn’t fully understand what was going on, I knew that there was no way my brother committed this crime. He had never been in trouble before, and he had no criminal record or history of violence. In fact, anyone who knew us just knew that my brother could not have done this.
But a lot of people didn’t know my brother, and the prosecution used the deep history of racism in Shelby County to their advantage by relying on racist stereotypes to convict my brother, a Black man accused of killing a white woman.
I remember when everything first happened, strangers called our house yelling racial slurs. Sometimes, they threatened to kill me and my family. It was awful.
After Pervis was convicted, the calls mostly stopped, but things did not go back to normal. I don’t think people really realize the effect that a wrongful conviction has on the family of the convicted person. Family gatherings for holidays, birthdays, weddings, and funerals just aren’t the same.
I spent my birthday this week with family and I’m dreaming of the day I’ll get to celebrate with Pervis.
The Innocence Project exonerates the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and reforms the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. www.innocenceproject.org
