‘The truth will set me free:’ Prisoner hopes for accountability in old Kansas City convictions

By ANGIE RICONO, CYNDI FAHRLANDER

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    KANSAS CITY, Kansas (KCTV, KSMO) — Ahmon Mann has spent more than 20 years in prison for a murder he swears he did not do.

News of a federal grand jury targeting KCK police corruption didn’t surprise him.

It was first reported by CNN.

“To be honest, I think it’s way overdue,” Mann said.

Mann says multiple prisoners inside Lansing prison are waiting to hear what happens next.

“Because you know, now with all of this happening, you know, we’re seeing each other in the hallways. You know, I’m talking to a few guys and I never really ever talked to before. I didn’t even know that they were going through the same thing I was going through,” Mann said.

Mann says there are four prisoners, including himself, who had the same disgraced KCK detective work their cases. The men all claim to be wrongfully convicted.

Case facts

Mann is convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Robert Diaz. He’s serving a life sentence.

He’s been the previous focus of a KCTV5 investigation due to details in his case.

Mann was convicted largely based on an eyewitness who was a teenager.

That teenager is now an adult and has since recanted his testimony in a sworn statement sent to Mann more than a decade ago.

“I claimed to be a witness to a murder on the Ahmon Mann case, when I wasn’t. I testified in open court, because I was forced by detectives to. I want to retract my statement because I feel guilty about what I have done and I feel like I was wrong.”

Roger Golubski and his partner Terry Zeigler worked the case. Their names are on that witness statement connected to the murder. Additionally, KCTV5 file video shows both men at the scene.

Zeigler would eventually become the police chief. Golubski became a captain. Both are now retired.

Terrible allegations against Golubski surfaced in the last decade due to other cases. Golubski has been accused in court documents of abusing his position and preying on the community he swore to protect.

Mann says Golubski’s behavior was known in the Black community for decades.

“I don’t even think it should have made it to the feds. So, I think they should have handled that years, decades ago. You know, now I’m happy that is happening that they put their hand in it but this ridiculous. Like I say, I didn’t even know Golubski never seen him but I heard about him—as a kid,” Mann said.

Mann told KCTV5 he feels Zeigler is responsible for pressuring that eyewitness too.

“Of course, yeah. So, they were partners. I mean, that’s what they called them–Zeigler and Golubski. And they hadn’t even been partners that long,” Mann said.

Zeigler has previously discussed his former partner with KCTV5 saying he was unaware of any behavior which needed to be reported.

Many families scoff at Zeigler’s claim. The question how a detective could be so unaware of his partner’s actions.

Roc Nation

Mann says he has little faith in federal investigators. But he does have faith in Jay-Z’s Roc Nation.

That’s the legal arm of his philanthropy.

Roc Nation is fighting for case files and other documents from the KCKPD. It recently took out a full-page ad in The Washington Post demanding a full federal investigation of the KCKPD.

It also facilitated $1 million in donations to help look into old cases like Mann’s.

“I think it’s a beautiful thing. You know, like I said, I’m a true believer in God. So, you know, I really, really think that He put that in place and it just shows that, you know, somebody out there cares, you know, and to have that done after all of these years is just beautiful. Like, I’m without words,” Mann said.

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