Harry Bout
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Harry Bout is a Dutchman in a Michigan prison since 1985 on false charges says his lawyer. He is the longest incarcerated Dutch prisoner in the world...
Address Harry Bout
For information, support, please write to Harry Bout at the following address:
Harry Bout, #180741
Ionia Max. Corectional Facility (Medium Level)
1576 W. Bluewater Highway,
Ionia, MI 48846
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The Harry Bout Story
Eyewitness was discredited by false police testimony.
United States treaty violations is a factor in Michigan murder conviction.
Harry Bout is a citizen of the Netherlands. His parents moved the family to the United States, and ended up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He had a business of buying wrecked houses and renovating them for profit.
Another immigrant to the United States was Nigerian citizen Onunwa Iwuagwu, known in Grand Rapids as "Al." On March 7, 1985, Mr. Iwuagwu was shot to death in an upstairs bedroom of a home at 1542 Broadway that was owned by Marianne Schut, mother of Harry Bout.
Known to be present in the house at the time of the shooting were Harry, Dawn Bean, a young woman that Harry was dating, and Evelyn Schneider, an elderly woman that rented a bedroom from Mrs. Schut at the house. Mr. Iwuagwu lived in Grand Rapids with his wife Charlotte. Harry Bout had informed Charlotte earlier that day that he and Al would be going out that night.
On March 7, 1985, Harry and Dawn double dated with Al Iwuagwu and Vera Johnson. Later, after dropping off Vera, the remaining three went to the house on Broadway, where Al was shot to death. He had three bullet wounds in the head.
Harry Bout was charged with the crime, and the main witness against him was Dawn Bean. She testified that Harry Bout had suggested a threesome, and that she agreed, and led the way upstairs, with Al following and Harry in the rear. She said that in the upstairs bedroom she heard shots, and saw that Harry had a gun.
Evelyn Schneider told police and testified that she was in her bedroom, heard shots, then saw Harry Bout coming up the stairs carrying a shotgun. He called out "Dawn, are you all right?" Police agreed there was no evidence that the shotgun was ever fired, and Al was killed with a handgun, not a shotgun.
Harry Bout testified he heard the shot while downstairs, got the shotgun (from under his mother´s bed in the downstairs bedroom), and headed up the stairs, asking Dawn if she was all right. When he got up there, he saw Dawn alone with the body of Al Iwuagwu. She told Harry that Al was committing a sexual assault when she shot him, and begged Harry for help. Harry, 26 at the time, used poor judgment in participating in a plan to help the attractive young woman hide the body. Harry admitted helping to cover up the shooting, by helping to bury the body and move Al's car to an airport parking lot. But he insisted that it was Dawn Bean who did the shooting.
A factual question was presented for the jurors to decide. Michigan law provides that if a person knowingly and intentionally gives aid to a killer after the killing, but was not involved in the killing, the person is guilty of a lesser felony of Accessory After the Fact. If Evelyn Schneider was telling the truth, then Harry Bout was innocent of murder, and the real killer would have to be Dawn Bean, the woman who testified Harry did it.
Grand Rapids police officers Sandra Arens and John Robinson each testified that it would be impossible for Mrs. Schneider to see who was coming up the stairs from her bedroom. The defense frantically moved for a jury view of the premises. Michigan law holds that in the discretion of the judge, a jury can go to the scene of a crime or other important location to see for themselves how things are situated, instead of just taking as gospel the opinion of someone else from the witness stand.
Prosecutor Varis Klavins opposed the jury view, wishing there to be no contradiction of the officers' testimony. Kent County Circuit Judge Stuart Hoffius ruled that under Michigan law it was in his discretion whether or not to allow the jury to see for themselves, and his choice was that they not be allowed to see. So, the defense called three people, including Harry Bout's sister, to testify that one could see someone coming up the stairs and crossing to the room where Iwuagwu was shot, from Mrs. Schneider's bedroom. But, apparently the jury believed the officers over Harry Bout's sister. So, they discounted the testimony of Mrs. Schneider, and convicted Harry Bout of murder. Mr. Bout is serving a sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole.
Harry Bout is serving life in prison without possibility of parole. Under Michigan law, that means he can never be released from prison, without an order of commutation signed personally by the Governor of Michigan. No one convicted of first degree murder in Michigan has received a commutation in decades.
Without court intervention in his favor, he will certainly die in prison.
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Harry Bout Information & Links
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Here you can find the articles about Harry Bout's case and more information about Harry, presented by his Support group. Some of the information is in Dutch, some of it is in English. If you know anyone who can help please let us know.
- FACEBOOK
- freeharrybout.org.
- The Harry Bout Story - The Injustice Line
- Sandra's weblog for Harry
- Attorney James Sterling Lawrence's site with evidence of Harry's innocence
- Evidence in Harry's case
- Youtube.com/freeharrybout
- MediaNews - MediaNieuws
- Links to more information about Harry
- Letters
- English Language flyer (pdf)
- Harry on Myspace.com
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Support for Justice
Read Harry's story here:
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