Case History

It's not possible to tell this story of government corruption in a few paragraphs. There's much more to it than can be revealed here.

I'm asking you to share my story of injustice with the world.

My name is Tim Ring, and I am the named party in a highly publicized death penalty case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, known as the Ring decision (Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584 (2002)).

In 1996, my trial was broadcast live on Court TV.

My case has been called the most corrupt prosecution in state history, pursued by the notorious Maricopa County Attorney's Office, in Phoenix, Arizona. MCAO is currently being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice for its corruption in numerous other cases. As of this writing, the DOJ has refused to investigate any of the death penalty cases in which MCAO has been proved to have used corruption tactics to convict innocent people. In my case, MCAO protected the actual perpetrator, who later murdered two more people.

In September 1993, I was recruited to join a team secretly used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Knowing the FBI's reputation, I surreptitiously video taped one meeting with two members of the FBI's Phoenix Division Fugitive Task Force who insisted on concealing their identities. During that meeting, later identified FBI Special Agents Keith Tolhurst and Scott Rivas "tasked" my team with retrieving a fugitive known to be hiding in Mexico, wanted for the murder of Phoenix Police Officer Ken Collings. The FBI required plausible deniability because of the fugitive's known connections within Mexico's government, and the political tension concerning official extradition of Mexican citizens to the United States.

* See: HOME, to view Tim Ring's "Last Will" video.

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From that operation, I was recruited into a secret government program conducted under the authority of Presidential Executive Orders 12333 and 12880. EO 12333 authorizes U.S. intelligence activities, with sections dedicated to international narcotics production and trafficking. EO 12880 recognizes international criminal narcotics syndicates as U.S. national security threats that require an extraordinary response. It was drafted in response to fears Congress had about Mexican drug cartels exploiting the then-pending North American Free Trade Agreement. President Clinton signed EO 12880 on November 16, 1993. The next day, Congress voted to ratify NAFTA. Fifteen days later, Pablo Escobar was killed by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration hunters with the assistance of Colombian government forces.

* See: EO 12333 ~ NSA 1947, for further details.

My role was much lower profile. I was "tasked" to retrieve targeted members of Mexican drug cartels wanted by the United States, in operations known as "irregular renditions." The details of each operation vary, but the end result was each captured fugitive being offered an opportunity to avoid prosecution by agreeing to operate as an "agent-in-place" for U.S. intelligence. Anyone who refused was subjected to a "dirty recruitment."

A "dirty recruitment" involved the targeted individual being told that his cartel bosses would be sent Polaroid photos of him with U.S. agents during the recruitment interview, unless he agreed to work for the United States. To make the choice easier, he would then be told that the U.S. wasn't asking for information about his friends, his family, or his own bosses... the U.S. wanted information about his enemies in rival cartels.

 I executed three successful operations and was paid $105,000 in cash by the U.S. government. A major change to the mission priority led me to end my service in November 1994. My handler warned me of the possible consequences, telling me the U.S. government never allows assets like me to simply walk away... that I'd end up dead or in prison. Later that month, an agreement between the U.S. and Mexico ended the operations.

* See: DOCUMENTATION, The Mexico Operations, USA Today article, February 5, 1997.

The original team leader had been Michael Sanders, but he was removed for misconduct and replaced with me. Unknown to me at the time was Sanders' history as a mob enforcer who had become a government informant in three murder-for-hire investigations. The Maricopa County Attorney's Office had always protected Sanders as a means of protecting the legacies of the prosecutors who had built their careers on Sanders' information. Sanders developed a habit of committing crimes and then relying on his connections within local law enforcement and MCAO to have others blamed for his actions. This is what happened to me.

On November 28, 1994, a Wells Fargo armored van disappeared from the Arrowhead Town Center Mall, in Glendale, Arizona. The van was found hours later, the driver dead inside. Within days, the FBI "tasked" me to assist in the investigation due to a suspected link to a previous fugitive case of mine involving an arms smuggler connected to the Irish Republican Army.

Sanders waited an entire month before contacting local law enforcement to claim he knew who did it... because he had planned the crime. When Sanders named me, and who I worked for, Glendale PD contacted the FBI. The FBI recognized an opportunity to eliminate me. The two agencies launched a joint investigation headquartered at the FBI's field office.

Police and FBI lied in affidavits to obtain court orders for wiretaps, and then secretly edited wiretap recordings to exclude evidence of my actual innocence. The edited wiretaps would later become MCAO's primary evidence at trial.

* See: MCAO EVIDENCE TAMPERING.

On February 16, 1995, I was arrested at the FBI field office. I'd been lured there by my handler, who had lied about needing me to consult on a new lead in the Wells Fargo investigation. After I was turned over to Glendale PD, Detective Tom Clayton attempted to obtain a false confession by lying to me during interrogation, while FBI agents nervously watched to see what I might say about my source of cash income. Not yet recognizing the FBI's scheme, I didn't reveal my classified work for the United States because the FBI had warned me about local police working for the drug cartels.

At my arraignment, MCAO publicly announced its intent to seek the death penalty, resulting in a no bail detainment. MCAO then relied on its allies in the local news media to disseminate disinformation to the public, including the false claim that I had confessed, along with two alleged coconspirators, James Greenham and William Ferguson.

I later learned that Greenham had a drug habit he'd concealed from me. He'd been on a three day meth binge without sleep before being interrogated by GPD Clayton. During Greenham's chemical interrogation, Clayton never asked him to simply tell who else had been involved or how it happened. He threatened Greenham with death unless he would specifically name me and Ferguson as his accomplices, and name me as the killer. Greenham resisted, and then named Michael Sanders, but GPD Clayton refused to accept that truth. After being repeatedly threatened, Greenham eventually provided the narrative demanded by Clayton. Greenham's false confession included a "sniper shot," supposedly made by me from a distance of 40 yards. Greenham's story immediately changed once free from police intimidation, where he told several people it had been him and Sanders, along with the Wells Fargo driver as their accomplice.

* See: DOCUMENTATION, The True Confessions.

Pretrial detainment lasted 20 months, during which jail visitation records show that my court appointed defense attorney, Greg Clark, spent a total of 138 minutes with me preparing for trial. Clark was a friend of the prosecutor, Alfred Fenzel, and he turned out to be Fenzel's greatest asset. Despite all of my requests, Clark never listened to the wiretaps, never asked for ballistics testing, and never investigated an alibi witness who had been told by GPD and the FBI to not cooperate with my defense investigators. Clark also never investigated the fugitive abduction operations that served as my primary source of income.

The FBI refused to turn over any of my operational files, and denied that any fugitive abduction operations existed. All of my copies of my work files had disappeared during the government's search of my home. MCAO was legally obligated to obtain any evidence that benefited my defense, but Fenzel simply claimed there was none. Clark did nothing to force disclosure under the rules of discovery, and made no attempt to view anything held in evidence at GPD.

MCAO successfully petitioned its trial judge to deny a requested third party defense, to name Sanders. MCAO also denied having any previous relationship with Sanders, thereby avoiding a conflict of interest claim for protecting him.

Trial was broadcast live on Court TV, beginning November 13, 1996.

Greenham refused to testify, despite MCAO's numerous attempts to purchase a repeat of his false confession. Prosecutor Alfred Fenzel had the FBI all but deny having officially "tasked" me to assist in the Wells Fargo investigation a month before I was targeted. Fenzel relied heavily on the wiretaps, and his GPD and FBI investigators falsely testified that the recordings used as trial exhibits had not been altered or edited. Unable to prove my involvement in the crime through any physical, forensic, or other direct evidence, Fenzel chose to distract the jury with a parade of retailers who testified about various expenditures... none of which exceeded what I'd been paid by the United States government. Fenzel then had the FBI deny the existence and legality of any fugitive abduction operations, leaving me with no source of traceable income. My attorney, Greg Clark, didn't present the video of the meeting with the FBI Fugitive Task Force, nor any other available evidence of such operations being real.

* See: DOCUMENTATION, The Mexico Operations, for a 1997 DOJ/FBI public report that describes such operations as a preferred method of the United States, known as "irregular renditions."

I was wrongfully convicted on December 6, 1996.

Arizona juries are not known for their critical thinking. The jury had been instructed on "reasonable doubt," but a post-trial interview with one of my jurors led to the comment, "We weren't sure he was guilty, but we knew he'd have an appeal."

Following trial, Greenham said he was surprised by my verdict and claimed he wanted to help. For the first time, he told me what had actually happened. There had been no armed robbery, no taking by the threat or use of force, because the Wells Fargo driver had been their accomplice. It had been Greenham, Sanders, and the driver, John Magoch. Greenham said Sanders had accidentally killed Magoch with his own handgun as they'd attempted to stage a robbery scene. His story matched the crime scene forensics. He offered to sign an affidavit. Greg Clark refused to investigate or help in any way, so my family hired an attorney in New York. Greenham then took the affidavit to MCAO and threatened to go public with it unless he received a favorable plea deal. MCAO demanded that Greenham testify to his original false confession at my sentencing hearing. As Greenham negotiated his deal, several other people came forward with affidavits detailing what Greenham had told them. Their accounts matched what he'd told me. Once again, Greg Clark refused to investigate. He wouldn't interview these witnesses, or make any attempt to investigate John Magoch's involvement, all of which was relevant to sentencing, and needed to be preserved for later appeals.

* See: DOCUMENTATION, The Ballistics, for the test results which disprove the alleged "sniper shot," and, The True Confessions, for the witness accounts.

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On February 5, 1997, as I awaited sentencing, USA Today reported the accidental declassification of U.S. fugitive abduction operations in Mexico, discontinued following a November 1994 agreement between the two countries.

* See: DOCUMENTATION, The Mexico Operations, USA Today article.

On February 9, 1997, KPHO (CBS) news did a story on my case, during which FBI Special Agent Bruce J. Gebhardt repeated the lie used at my trial... that the FBI would not conduct fugitive abduction operations because it would be illegal.

* See: DOCUMENTATION, The Mexico Operations, Transcript: KPHO.

Shortly thereafter, a DOJ/FBI public report was released which revealed that such abduction operations have long been a preferred method of the United States, under the Ker-Frisbie Doctrine. This report was being prepared for release at the same time FBI agents were testifying at my trial, denying that any such operations could exist, leaving me with no traceable source of income.

* See: DOCUMENTATION, The Mexico Operations, for the excerpt from the DOJ/FBI public report, "Terrorism In The United States 1997."

On August 31, 1997, Sanders murdered two more people. He and four others attempted to rob a drug stash house, resulting in a shootout and the two deaths. Sanders and an accomplice were also shot several times. The story was reported nationwide, including by The New York Times. As local news stations looked into the case, I gave two interviews, during which I told reporters that Sanders had only been free to murder two more people because MCAO had protected him in the Wells Fargo case.

MCAO retaliated by giving Greenham his deal, and having him repeat his original false confession during my sentencing hearing. Judge Gregory Martin ruled Greenham to be credible, despite all evidence to the contrary, and sentenced me to death based on evidence never presented to a jury. This is what led to Ring v. Arizona.

On direct appeal, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that no trial evidence had ever placed me at the crime scene, nor had it proved that I'd planned, participated in, or even expected the killing. My convictions and sentences were still upheld, based on theories of conspiracy and accomplice liability. 

Following direct appeal, attorneys with the law firm Osborn Maledon agreed to represent me in future post-conviction relief proceedings, if I would first allow them to use my case in a certiorari at the U.S. Supreme Court, challenging judge-only death penalty sentencings.

* See: DOCUMENTATION, Documents Available Online, for the Arizona Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Courts case citations.

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In June 2002, the Court's decision in Ring v. Arizona declared such schemes to be unconstitutional.  Following additional state court hearings and an ordered resentencing, Osborn Maledon broke their word and abandoned my case. Two new attorneys were appointed, who then discovered that former MCAO Deputy County Attorney Bill Culbertson was willing to testify that a conspiracy to lie in my case had been ordered by County Attorney Richard M. Romley, notorious for his win-at-all-costs corruption. My attorneys then withdrew from my case, claiming a conflict of interest. Two years later, the next two lawyers did the same thing, one of whom told me that she didn't want to risk losing her friends at MCAO. I was eventually sentenced to Natural Life by Judge Robert Duber II, who made clear he was defending the legacy of Judge Martin.

After my resentencing, a post-conviction investigation took years, done by two former news reporters and attorney Sharmila Roy. Judge Duber was still assigned to the case, and issued court orders to conduct ballistics testing never done before trial. In 2008, my first ever allowed review of the wiretaps revealed that recordings used as trial exhibits by MCAO had been edited by GPD and the FBI to exclude evidence of my actual innocence. During a 2011 court conference, Judge Duber openly questioned Ms. Roy about her religion, intimidating her to the point that she sought additional counsel. The judge eventually ordered an evidentiary hearing, but precluded the playing of the unedited wiretaps. Judge Duber also precluded the ballistics testing report that he had ordered, ruling it to be irrelevant despite the results proving the prosecution's trial theory of a "sniper shot" to be an impossibility... or perhaps because of it. 

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It is common practice for Arizona courts to openly defy U.S. Supreme Court decisions that do not favor prosecutors. The basic constitutional right to present a full and fair defense was reiterated in the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Holmes v. South Carolina, 547 U.S. 319 (2006).  In his ruling before my evidentiary hearing, Judge Duber violated the law by refusing to hear evidence of Michael Sanders' guilt which also served to prove my actual innocence.

* See: DOCUMENTATION, The True Confessions, for the witness affidavits acquired after trial.

In 2012, knowing there was proof of the FBI's lies at trial, Judge Duber stated on the record at the beginning of the evidentiary hearing that he would not hold state prosecutors responsible for the actions of any federal agents. Numerous U.S. Supreme Court decisions require that prosecutors be held legally responsible for the actions of all their investigators and trial witnesses. This legal requirement was reiterated over a year before my trial in the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Kyles v. Whitley, 514 U.S. 419 (1995).

* See: DOCUMENTATION, The Mexico Operations, Transcript: Rule 32, for Judge Duber's statements. 

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During the hearing, trial prosecutor Alfred Fenzel, who had since been made a judge, denied any wrongdoing. Bill Culbertson apparently lost his sense of integrity during the interim years, and refused to testify. GPD Clayton first denied and was then forced to admit that he had been involved in the editing of the wiretap trial exhibits. Greg Clark plainly lied about having conducted an exhaustive pretrial investigation. I testified about Clark's failure to investigate, and about the government's evidence tampering and perjury. I presented proof that the FBI agents had lied at trial about the existence and legality of fugitive abduction operations, and that in 2010, the FBI had admitted to having withheld 211 pages of my operational files, which remain classified today.

* See: DOCUMENTATION, The Mexico Operations, DOJ/FBI FOIPA response, for their refusal to disclose Tim Ring's files and the reasons for exemption, to include (b)(7)(D), information pertaining to national security.

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Predictably, Judge Duber ruled Fenzel and Clark to be credible in their denials of wrongdoing. The judge refused to hold MCAO responsible for the police and FBI perjury, the evidence tampering, the witness tampering, or the withholding of evidence of my actual innocence. In his ruling, Judge Duber essentially decided that I had no right to a fair trial because of his faith in the government's assertion of my guilt.

The Arizona Court of Appeals later rubber-stamped Judge Duber's rulings, in an unpublished opinion. Unpublished opinions are what courts issue when they're covering for a fellow judge's lawless rulings and judicial misconduct... and when a prisoner has been targeted for retaliation by the government courts.

In 2016, I filed a Petition For A Writ Of Habeas Corpus in the U.S. District Court. At 471 pages, plus attachments, it was the product of being told by a Federal Public Defender's Office lawyer simply to, "be thorough, and be ruthless." U.S. Magistrate Michelle H. Burns did little more than copy the State's opposition brief in her Report and Recommendation, matching its exact length of 34 pages. Despite qualifying for review under 28 U.S.C. Section 2254 (b)(1)(B)(ii), and the proof of actual innocence having been ignored by state courts, U.S. District Court Judge Steven P. Logan denied my request for appointment of counsel, and dismissed my petition with prejudice.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had a reputation for integrity, and for being intolerant of state court corruption. It has been responsible for overturning many cases of injustice that lower courts have ignored, including several from Arizona. For over 20 years, all my lawyers had said that, if all else fails, the 9th Circuit was sure to take corrective action in the interests of justice. It had the authority to hear my case, despite the district court's dismissal, but it chose not to do so.

Many lawyers and legal observers expressed their shock and disgust at the decision. It reminded me that the FBI had often bragged about its ability to "tame" judges... making them compliant and obedient. The powerhouse Washington D.C. law firm Sidley Austin became involved at a very late stage... too late to do any good. One of their most experienced lawyers told me, "If the public knew the truth about the courts, there would be riots in the streets."

Since 2021, all requests made to U.S. Representative Ruben Gallego for a Congressional investigation into my classified operational files have gone without response. His district in Arizona includes my former home address and the Glendale Police Department. Similar requests made to Adam Schiff, Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and Marco Rubio, Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, have also been ignored.

There have been at least four TV shows about my case, the latest one being produced by Court TV in 2021. Each has allowed GPD and the FBI to repeat the false narrative used at my 1996 trial, and tell ever increasing stories of their own heroics. None of the shows reveal any of the corruption or truth that has been proved in court since then. When show producers have been asked why, they claim they're not obligated to tell the truth because their shows are only for entertainment purposes. These "Badge Bunnies" seem to only be interested in serving the government as propagandists.

As I said at the beginning, it's not possible to tell this story in a few paragraphs. However, if anything contained herein has piqued your interest, a more thorough account can be found online at the U.S. District Court's website:

www.azd.uscourts.gov

Timothy S. Ring v. Charles L. Ryan

Case No. 2:16-cv-04070-SPL

* Document 1 describes the case history and corruption in detail, including GPD Tom Clayton's personal history with me.

This is a case of actual innocence and manifest injustice.

Most defense lawyers are capable of representing the guilty, but very few are capable of defending the innocent. It's been reported that 95% of local cases end in a plea deal, meaning, most defense lawyers simply negotiate terms of punishment.

A meaningful defense requires a critical investigation into the claims and corruption of police and prosecutors, and an actual investigation into the claims of the accused, and then using all of it in defense of the person the government has taken prisoner and brought to trial. None of that happened in this case.

* Court-appointed defense attorney Greg Clark has since been disbarred for his numerous acts of misconduct in other cases.

MCAO's corruption in this case has been proved in court. Any one of those examples, or the lies of the FBI, or the ballistics testing that disproved the prosecution's trial arguments, or the gross incompetence of court-appointed defense counsel, was proper legal grounds for the convictions to be overturned. However, such a ruling requires an honest judge... something this case has never had.

It was no coincidence that every high-profile 'must win' case for elected County Attorney Rick Romley always got assigned to one of a few select judges. There have been reports about such cases that ended with the police and prosecutors throwing a party for the judge who worked with them to guarantee convictions.

Rather than act with integrity, the judges assigned to this case chose to act in complicity with the corrupt. They have openly defied U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Brady v. Maryland, Kyles v. Whitley, and Holmes v. South Carolina, to name only a few. Arizona judges also ruled that U.S. v. Alvarez-Machain does not mean what is plainly written within that decision, and have ignored the authority that the United States Government granted itself regarding irregular renditions.

Any chance of Arizona's courts ever acting with fairness or in accordance with the law became even less likely after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Ring v. Arizona, which eliminated all judges' power to sentence people to death without involving a jury. Imagine the mentality of someone who seeks to sit in judgement of others, and then having the sole power to decide life or death taken away.

We are now seeking legal counsel to assist in the preparation of an application to be filed with The Arizona Board of Executive Clemency, with the goal of receiving a recommendation for a governor's pardon.

Under Arizona law, a governor's pardon does not expunge a criminal conviction, but it does end the injustice of wrongful imprisonment.

If you would like to help, please contact us ~

Personal Advocate Email: tsringadvocate@gmail.com

Personal Advocate Telephone Number: (920) 340 - 4630

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