Dermot Cole: Native men still seeking justice after 18 years

On an October night in 1997, a 15-year-old boy was knocked to the ground near downtown Fairbanks and repeatedly kicked in the head. He was left for dead on a quiet street, not far from the city center.

The four young men, ages 17 to 21, later arrested and convicted of the killing of John Hartman have now spent half of their lives in prison, but questions about whether justice was served in the case continue to haunt Fairbanks.

Marvin Roberts, George Frese, Kevin Pease and Eugene Vent are now in their mid- to late-30s, with varying amounts of time yet to serve. Earlier this summer Roberts gained a measure of freedom with his release to a Fairbanks halfway house.

The “Fairbanks Four,” as they have come to be called, are at the center of a contentious dispute with no parallel in the community’s history.

There are those who believe the Native men were wrongly convicted, that racism had a lot to do with it and white men would have never been convicted in similar circumstances. Protests and marches have become commonplace. Others argue the men had good attorneys, that 36 jurors in three separate trials in Anchorage heard the evidence and rendered unanimous verdicts that have withstood multiple appeals over the years.

The justice system keeps wrestling with the Hartman killing because supporters of the four men have kept the case alive, trying to poke holes in the evidence and show why they believe there is more than reasonable doubt.