Tyler Wayne Edmonds was a 13 year-old honor student at his West Point, MS middle school in May, 2003. He had no history of violence, gang affiliation or proclivity to anti-social behavior. Tyler attended his local church regularly and respected adult authority. On May 11, 2003 the murdered body of Joey Fulgham was discovered in his Longview Community home near Starkville, MS. In an effort to help cover for his older sister, Tyler confessed to the murder and was arrested the next day, with the mistaken belief that his status as a child would mean nothing more than a slap on the wrist. After all, the older sister that he adored and who was a surrogate second mother to him had begged and coerced him to do so, while also justifying her crime to Tyler based upon her stories of horrific abuse at the hands of the victim. True or not, Tyler's sister convinced him that his "taking the blame" (to use some of her exact words) was justifiable, while also being a noble gesture in helping to keep her and her infant children safe.

Tyler had a very close relationship with his sister, Kristi Fulgham, who was Joey’s wife. The Fulgham marriage had a long history of marital tumult and domestic violence which escalated when she disclosed her third child came from Joey’s best friend. Any motivation to harm Joey belonged to Kristi Fulgham. Shortly after Kristi was notified of Joey’s death, she confessed her guilt to Tyler. In fact, she has been convicted of the crime and is serving time on Mississippi's death row. Kristi coerced and begged Tyler to confess to the murder shortly after she killed her husband, indicating she would be put to death were she to be convicted, further explaining that Tyler would be tried as a juvenile and would thus likely not serve any jail time at all. Because of his loyalty to his much older sister, and his lack of closeness to most other family members, Tyler agreed to tell the police that he had committed the crime.

Following his sister's plan, Tyler gave a confession to the authorities without an attorney or parent present, even though his mother requested that she be present. However, the police did not allow her to be present, thus also negating the presence of an attorney, which his mother wanted to request. Thus, this little boy ended up giving a confession in furtherance of his sister Kristi's plan, and the state of Mississippi decided to break with tradition and precedent, and charge Tyler Edmonds as an adult.

After realizing and recognizing that covering for his sister was wrong, Tyler asked to meet with law enforcement a second time. During this second meeting, Tyler forcefully and fully recanted his confession, explaining that his sister had talked him into confessing in an effort to cover for her, to help her avoid the death penalty, while also allowing her to remain free to be with her infant children. Young Tyler, who had never had any involvement with the criminal justice system, believed his sister Kristi when she told him that as a juvenile, he would get a mere "slap on the wrist" at most.

There was no physical evidence to incriminate Tyler. The murder weapon and Kristi’s home computer disappeared after the murder. Despite no physical evidence, motive, or prior criminal record, Tyler was tried, convicted and sentenced as an adult. Tyler was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole until at least the age of 65. All independent observers noted that the trial, held in a courtroom presided over by a former prosecutor, was balanced significantly against Tyler Edmonds and his attorneys. For example, he was not permitted to introduce expert testimony pertaining to false confessions. Furthermore, there were a great number of other errors in the proceedings, all of which have helped to galvanize major national (and even international) support for his release. Additionally, constitutional law experts and juvenile justice experts from coast to coast, after reviewing the trial record and watching copies of the taped "confession" and recantation, call this particular case egregious beyond words.

The good news is that the Supreme Court has agreed. In a stunning rebuke to the Court and the prosecution, the Supreme Court called for a retrial based on a quantity of errors. Only the smallest percentage of appeals are even heard by higher courts, much less ruled on favorably. In this instance, the highest court ruled on Tyler's behalf on a virtually unprecedented quantity of issues.

Despite the rebuke that the trial court and the prosecution have received, freetyler.org and the many non-profit advocacy groups helping this child are keenly aware that the prosecution will seek vindication by using all of the resources available to them to retry this innocent child, who has languished in prison for more than three years despite being innocent of the charges. Meanwhile, the State convicted his older sister of the crime, and as mentioned, she is serving time on death row. In the words of  Matt Meleen,  from the national advocacy organization "Kids in Court: "We are asked to participate in a great many cases. Unfortunately, time and resources require us to be very careful as to which cases we become involved in. In the case of this boy, wd can say unequivocally that what has happened to him is one of the most reprehensible miscarriages of justice that we have ever witnessed. And on a personal note, we would add that this particular boy is a remarkable child; sensitive, caring, and above all, innocent."

There is still hope. The merciless injustice done to this loving, trusting boy can be made right. YOU can make a difference.

Please contact us to find out how you can help.                tyleredadmin@hotmail.com