The Wrongful Conviction of Timothy Atkins: A Case of Discrimination Against Youth Gang Members

By: Ashley Osterhout

In terms of wrongful convictions, many issues stem from police misconduct and eyewitness misidentification. While Timothy Atkins’ exoneration was based on these grounds, his case also serves as an example of how stereotyping and systemic inequalities can influence wrongful convictions. 

On January 1st of 1985, two carjackers shot Vincente Gonzales and stole a necklace from his wife, Maria Gonzales. Following this murder, Denise Powell, a witness to the crime, stated that two street gang members, Timothy Atkins and Ricky Evans, had confessed the murder to her. While waiting for their trial, Evans was killed in his cell. In 1987, Atkins was only seventeen when he was charged with second-degree murder and two counts of robbery. However, one key fact changed everything: Powell had lied. His thirty-two-year sentence began in 1985 but was cut short by law student Wendy Koen, who read about Atkins’ case and immediately contacted Powell. Powell recanted her statement, and Atkins was released on February 9th, 2007. Powell also explained that her false accusations stemmed from a desire to impress neighbors with her knowledge of local gangs. She knew Atkins was a gang member, which motivated her to lie. However, an interview with Koen, Atkins, and Powell is where the systemic issues of the trial became clear. The interview, published by National Public Radio (NPR) on April 25th of 2007, reveals the mindset of Powell in falsely identifying Atkins. In the interview, Powell stated that the police “took [her] down to the station, put [her] in this room and told [her she is] not leaving there until [she told the police] something, which “scared” her, and the police mentioned something “that happened with Timmy and Ricky a couple of nights before,” leading to her misidentification of Atkins. 

Her statement reveals a high level of misconduct and pressure in the investigation, which continues in the trial itself. Powell lied in her testimony, and the jury felt unsure in their decision of Atkins’ guilt. Koen recounts how “the foreman of the jury was crying in the hallway because she didn't know if she really did the right thing. And the prosecutor came up to her and said, "Don't worry about it. Even if you did the wrong thing, even if this wasn't the right decision, it doesn't matter because Timothy is just a gang banger, and if he didn't do this, he's going to do something like it sooner or later." The prosecutor’s sentiment was clear: gang members are criminals who do not deserve a fair trial. This statement, alongside Powell’s false accusation of Atkins based on his being a gang member, reflects the severe maltreatment of youth gang members in the justice system. However, Atkins appears to be familiar with this treatment, expecting his status as a gang member to influence how systems and individuals treat him. In his statement below, Atkins shares his perspective on this issue: 

“And, you know, in the system, and especially in the justice system, gang members or whatever, I mean, they just throw us away because everybody feels as if, I mean, you're in a gang, you're a bad person. But a lot of people that's in gangs don't do killings and stuff like that.” 

At only seventeen years old, Atkins had already realized that the systems meant to support him were unjust. As a young, black gang member, he had no choice but to accept that every constructed ‘system’ in the United States opposed him based on his identity.

The demonization of gang members is not universal. While people often perceive gangs as violent, harmful groups, this concept differs in different communities. In the United States, half of all gang members are classified as underclass, and over a third are working class. These statistics reflect that an overwhelming number of gangs and gang members come from impoverished communities. In addition, an analysis of youths who join gangs found that there are two main motives for joining: social support and presumed protection by other gang members. These findings portray a new narrative to gangs: the idea of youths joining out of necessity. Atkins notes that his gang was “based on the community” he lived in, and the gang provided a sense of “camaraderie…with people like [himself].” In communities that often experience violence and a lack of sufficient support, the gang is viewed as a means of supporting oneself. 

However, as youths grow up within a gang, education and justice systems immediately respond with punishments and harsh restrictions. Education systems in the United States rely on reinforcement: punishing bad behavior and rewarding good behavior. While this may seem effective, research reflects that low self-reports of self-esteem were strongly associated with a high expectation of receiving punishments in schools. This applies to young gang members often, as they are punished relentlessly for their clothing and hand signs. Young gang members view themselves as intrinsically “bad” because systems continuously punish them. However, these youths rely on gangs for support, forcing them to endure punishments from the system. As these punishments continue, gang members develop a negative perception of these systems as a whole. Other people develop a negative perception of gang members in response, for they witness these punishments and realize that gang members must be ‘bad.’

In Timothy Atkins’ trial, what was the result of these negative perceptions? A witness lied to impress neighbors with her knowledge of gang members. Police misconduct ran rampant. A defendant was mistreated by the justice system that was meant to adequately support him. A prosecutor stated that Atkins would end up in jail regardless of this trial’s outcome. Most importantly, Timothy Atkins was wrongfully imprisoned for twenty-three years. Systemic structures focus on punishing youth gang members rather than addressing the root issue: low-income communities lack sufficient security, camaraderie, and stability. Gangs are a product of a tough environment. By minimizing the systemic inequalities in low-income neighborhoods that motivate youths to join gangs in the first place, we can collectively reduce the unfair treatment of gang members in the justice system. 

Sources:

Erdle, S., & Rushton, J. P. (2010). Emotional intelligence, academic performance, and the self-esteem of university students. Personality and Individual Differences, 49(7), 582–586. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2010.05.010

National Gang Center. (n.d.). National youth gang survey analysis: Demographics. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved 

February 5, 2025, from https://nationalgangcenter.ojp.gov/survey-analysis/demographics

National Registry of Exonerations. (n.d.). Case #10238 [Timothy Atkins]. In National Registry of Exonerations. Retrieved June 28, 2025, from https://exonerationregistry.org/cases/10238

Shapiro, J. (2007, April 25). A prisoner’s decades-long journey to freedom. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2007/04/25/9828370/a-prisoners-decades-long-journey-to-freedom

Thornberry, T.P., Krohn, M.D., Lizotte, A.J., Smith, C.A., & Tobin, K. (2003). Gangs and 

delinquency in developmental perspective. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. 

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