On May 23, 1981, in Jacksonville, Florida, Leo Jones was convicted of the murder of a police officer, Thomas Szafranski. The officer was hit in the head by a sniper's bullet while sitting in his squad car in downtown Jacksonville. Leo Jones was later arrested the same day at a nearby apartment where two Winchester rifles were found and sentenced to death by electrocution. Only one of the guns found contained Jones' fingerprints. Jones confessed to the murder, saying he killed the officer because he was beaten by the police, but later said the confession was a lie and that the police had forced him to confess and that a gun had been pointed at his head. After his arrest, Jones was transported to a medical hospital and was treated for minor injuries such as cuts and bruises to his face. A retired police officer named Cleveland Smith came forward and announced that Officer Lynwood Mundy, the same officer who supposedly beat Jones, had bragged to Smith about beating Jones after the arrest. Smith also testified that he saw Mundy receive a confession from a suspect by firmly squeezing his genitals. This evidence can almost prove that Mundy actually beat Jones, but this has never been proven. Jones was not the only one to say that another man had killed the officer; a dozen other people had also indicated that it was another man and other witnesses said they had heard the criminal brag about shooting the policeman. The case sent Jones to death row for sixteen years. Suspicion began to rise when key witnesses against Jones recanted, two top officers left the police department at random, a... middle of paper ...... tests were "unreliable and unreliable reliable”. other evidence supported them. He also ruled that these were only hearsay and that Schofield did not utter them immediately after the murder” (Juan Ignacio Bianco). Time ran out for Jones, every clear piece of evidence presented to prove that Jones was innocent was denied and stated that it did not clearly prove his innocence. “I testify that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger,” were the last words Jones constantly repeated to his religious advisor El Hajj Rabbanu Muhammad during preparations for the execution. On March 24, 1998, Jones was executed and Jones' race for innocence was officially over. Works Cited Bianco, Juan. "Leo Alexander Jones | Murderpedia, the Encyclopedia of Murderers." Leo Alexander Jones | Murderpedia, the Encyclopedia of Murderers. Np, and Web. March 31. 2014.