I am writing on behalf of my cousin, Dale Ackerson-Dobbins, who is currently serving a life sentence at Dick Conner Correctional facility, charged with the death of his 2 month old infant son, Dacari. On Feb 4, 2007, at about 1:45 a.m. Dale heard a strange noise coming from his bedroom, where Dacari was sleeping on the bed. When Dale checked on him, he found the baby boy was not breathing. Dale called the baby’s mother, Keyonna, who had gone out for the evening. Keyonna called EMS on a 3-way call and EMS instructed Dale on how to perform CPR. The baby’s mother arrived at the house before the ambulance and also attempted to revive the child. EMS then arrived and was able to get the child breathing again and rushed him to the hospital. Despite their attempts to save Dacari, he had gone too long without oxygen and the family was informed that he had no brain activity. Dacari died about 10 hours later. 

In the days leading up to baby Dacari’s death, Dale and the baby’s mother had taken Dacari to the emergency room twice because something seemed wrong with the child and he would not stop crying. The hospital did not find anything wrong with Dacari and sent him home with his parents. The day Dacari passed, his maternal grandmother was watching him. She also testified during trial that she thought something was wrong with Dacari because he “seemed a little off as was staring into space.” An autopsy was performed by a forensic pathologist, who indicated that the infant died from “blunt force trauma to the head.” The forensic pathologist said during the trial that it was seizure activity that the grandmother was witnessing the day of the child’s death. Dale was then arrested and charged with first degree murder. Dale was later tried and in July of 2008, he was convicted of the murder of his infant son and sentenced to life in prison. Dale was 18 years old at the time of his conviction.

Dale has maintained his innocence from day one. He had a good relationship with his 2 month old baby son and was often the only person able to calm the baby down when upset. He also had a wonderful way of making the baby laugh. Dale has always been easy going and he would often watch the baby when the baby’s mother was out of the house or needed a break. Although he was a first-time father, Dale had a lot of life experience with kids, having taken care of his younger siblings and cousins when their mother was at work. 

Several things worth noting in this case that point to Dale’s innocence:

• Dale has NO history of violence OR criminal activity. His conviction was based ONLY on the fact that he was the one with Dacari when the baby went into medical distress. 
• The Forensic Pathologist reported that the injuries to Dale's son likely occurred within the 48 hours PRIOR to the night that Dale was with the baby and, therefore, could NOT have been caused by Dale that night. The Pathologist was willing to testify to that fact, but never took the stand.
• AFTER Dale’s conviction, someone in Dale’s family came forward to him to apologize. She told him that she had been watching the baby earlier that week, when Dale and Keyonna had gone out for the night, and she had accidentally dropped the baby. She was only ten years old at the time of the incident and she panicked and didn’t tell anyone what happened until after Dale was sentenced and serving time for this crime. She is now in her mid-twenties and remains fearful to testify about her involvement.
• The officers and EMTs testified to the fact that there was no bruising, bumps or  anything that would cause suspicion of abuse to the child. As it states in the trial transcripts, the officers and EMTs said that Dacari didn’t look beaten or harmed in any way. It simply appeared to them that he just wasn’t breathing.
• There is another forensic pathologist who agrees that a short fall or drop COULD HAVE caused the brain injury in question. However, this pathologist will not testify unless she reviews the autopsy slides, but she is unable to view the autopsy slides because the medical examiner’s office DESTROYED them, stating that “the case was closed in 2007 and they were routinely destroyed in 2012.”
• Since the time of Dale’s trial, scientific understanding of these types of head traumas has advanced. It is NO LONGER SCIENTIFICALLY VALID for a forensic pathologist to ascertain that an accidental fall could not have caused this kind of head trauma.
• Dale was willing to take a lie detector test, but he was told it would be inadmissible in court
• Dale is a citizen of Muskogee and Creek Nation and his case should have been handled by the tribe. It was out of the jurisdiction of Tulsa County, and is thus considered a void judgment. He was not protected under the McGirt law

Please sign this petition to show your support for Dale as he fights to prove his innocence and get home to his family! I thank you on behalf of Dale and the entire family! We appreciate your support!