Relatives of a 25-year-old Greenwood man say he did not sexually batter or murder a 13-year-old in 2004, even if he is alleged to have confessed.
Rodrick Jackson was indicted in the death of Roddrick Davis of Greenwood. The sixth-grader's nude body was found wrapped in a towel.
Relatives have said Davis was returning to his home on Main Street about 9 p.m. Oct. 18, 2004, after tossing quarters with some cousins at the Double Quick convenience store. He reportedly got into a car with a man.
Railroad workers found his body the next day.
Authorities said Jackson allegedly confessed to suffocating and sexually assaulting Davis.
But in a statement released Wednesday, Jackson's family said it has "never believed the confession made by the defendant was a true confession from the beginning no has ever believed the defendant had a mental problem."
District Attorney Joyce Chiles has maintained she is prosecuting the correct person.
The family's statement, which bears Dorothy William Smith's name, says it has conducted an investigation into the case because "they feel injustice is drilling down its spikes to try and railroad the defendant into prison because of a so-called confession." Dorothy William Smith is Rodrick Jackson's mother.
Family members also have said they believe DNA evidence can clear Jackson.
Court records show that the only sperm found on Davis was his own. Skin taken from Davis' fingernails didn't match Jackson.
The family has denied printed reports by the Associated Press and the Commonwealth that Eddie Marcus of the African American Center in St. Paul, Minn. sought a delay of the trial. The trial was continued until Dec. 2, according to court records.
"The Williams family and the defendant was informed by the assisting attorney for the defense, attorney Howard Davis, of Indianola, that he requested a postponement of the trial for he needed more time to look over the records because he was recently assisted to assist attorney Wally S. Stuckey Jr. with this case," the statement said.
"The family realizes if all efforts are not tried, and all evidence of innocence be not exposed, an innocent man will be put in prison for a crime he did not commit," the statement said. "The family truly believes that justice will prevail and the defendant will very soon regain his freedom."
