Hart Letter Proclaimed Innocence

              i ■  Hart letter proclaimed innocence  JL  By MARY HARGROVE  Of The Tribune Staff  McALESTER — Gene Leroy Hart went to his  death denying he killed three little girls.  In a letter to a Tulsa Tribune reporter received  Monday hours before he collapsed and died of an  apparent heart attack, Hart steadfastly maintained that he was innocent of the sex slayings of  three young Girl Scouts in June 1977.  "The record has been set straight as far as I'm  concerned — the jury voted right when they  voted 'not guilty' and my family and supporters  knew the entire process was a sham," he  wrote.  Hart, who maintained a stoic demeanor  throughout the trial, burst into tears when the  innocent verdict was announced, shedding his  impenetrable facade only briefly in public.  IN HIS LETTER, in which he rejected a request for an interview, Hart allowed a personal  glimpse into the fears and frustrations that dogged the notorious convict for almost two years.  He hinted at the agony of being cleared in court,  but not acquitted totally in the eyes of the  world.  "It may be easy for you or others of the media  to forget that the state was trying to execute me  for something that I had nothing to do with,"  he wrote.  '% and my friends and relatives will never  forget or forgive such an injustice. "  1  "Most of the media, and I include all forms, did  their best to see that I was convicted unjustly of a  crime that I had absolutely nothing to do with,"  he wrote.  But, according to his lawyer, Gary Pitchlynn,  who described Hart as "bright and articulate,"  the last days of the 35-year-old Cherokee Indian  were not consumed in bitterness, but were spent  optimistically planning for the future.  Pitchlynn and Jeff McLemore, editor of the  Tahlequah-based Cherokee Advocate, a tribal  publication, spent three hours interviewing Hart  Friday afternoon.  "GENE WAS very positive and yet very realistic about his future," McLemore recalled. "He  knew he faced an uphill battle in reducing his  time, but he was looking forward to getting out  and starting into a para-legal field."  McLemore, who will publish his exclusive interview June 21, said Hart felt he had a message  for the Indian youth.  "He had numerous opportunities to speak to  the press, but he wanted to speak to his people.  He wanted to tell them to stand up for their rights  and pursue the course they felt was right despite  the odds," McLemore said.  "Gene admitted you don't get into places like  McAlester for skipping Sunday school and he  advised the young people to stay out of trouble,"  McLemore said.  Related story 9 page IB  Hart died Monday after a day much like he  would have faced for many years — routine.  He followed the schedule of an average inmate  for more than two months except for a trip to  Mayes County May 22 to plead guilty to 1973  escape and burglary charges.  He was housed in the second-story of the west  cellblock following his acquittal March 30.  He spent much of his time on the prison's death  row since his April 6, 1978, capture.  Had Hart been found guilty, he might have  remained on death row. Inmates there are not  allowed in the exercise yard where he died.  MONDAY, AS HE DID every day, Hart  worked in the prison law library, ate in the dining room and exercised in the prison yard.  "Hart was well-regarded by the other inmates," Deputy Warden Bill Arends said.  "I have no desire to be a hero," the soft-spoken  Cherokee said at a press conference during the  trial. "Maybe I represent the fears and doubts  that many people have about a case like this in  the system that we have."  Hart crossed the rotunda Monday en route to  breakfast and again on his way to work.  Four stories above the red and white checkered floor of the 72-year-old rotunda, armed  guards keep a constant vigil. More guards watch  See HART, page 4A  Gene Leroy Hart  S