Michael Bane: An Innocent Man on Death Row in Tennessee
On November 19, 1988, police found the body of Royce D. Frazier, age 60, lying in a bathtub full of water in his home near Memphis, Tennessee. It was assumed that the body had been there for a few days. Frazier had been gagged; a plastic bag had been placed over his head; and an electrical cord was tied around his neck. A plunger had been placed over his face apparently to keep his head submerged. Frazier’s house had been ransacked: several lamps and ashtrays had been overturned and numerous items were scattered in disarray.
Brutal details don’t give law enforcement the right to create their own facts. In the case of Michael Bane, that’s exactly what happened. Sensationalism was at the core of the evidence that law enforcement manufactured against Bane. Indeed, there are two reasons why Michael Bane sits on death row, because of the brutal jealousy of Donna Lovett and the sensational lies of her son Brian.
Bane was arrested in bizarre fashion.
In the early morning hours of November 19, 1988, Donna Lovett made a call from a phone booth outside the Walker Motor Court, a motel in Ripley, Tennessee. She knew Michael was inside one of the rooms with another woman.
Lauderdale County Sheriff, Milford “Pop” Durham, recalled:
I got a call from a woman that told me that her boyfriend was at a motel room with
another woman. And I told her, well, you know, there’s not a lot I can do about
that. I don’t know of any crime that he’s committing. And she said, well, I can tell
you something that you will be interested in. Said, he and I, about two or three
days ago, went to Memphis or went to Frayser and went to a man’s house, killed.
After the Memphis Police Department confirmed that there was a dead body exactly where Donna Lovett specified, Pop Durham arrested Michael Bane; he was charged with the robbery and murder of Royce Frazier.
Donna Lovett was so jealous that she was willing to implicate herself and go to prison to bust up Bane and this other woman.
Teresa Goforth, a co-worker of Bane and Donna Lovett at J.P.W. Enterprises, testified that two were dating and that Lovett was extremely jealous. About one week before the murder, Donna Lovett told Goforth that “if she couldn’t have Bane, then no one would and that she would see him locked away so far he would never get out.”
Alicia Shadell Gray, Bane’s cousin, likewise testified that Donna Lovett was very possessive and jealous. Three weeks before the murder, Gray heard Lovett say, “If I can’t have Michael, no woman would have Michael, and I’ll see us both behind bars.” Donna Lovett attempted suicide later that day at Gray’s home by overdosing on pills, and Bane had to take her to the emergency room.
Donne Lovett was a very sick person. So sick, that she lied about Michael Bane so that nobody else could have him.
The primary witness against Bane at trial was Donna Lovett’s son, Brian.
Brian Lovett (16 years old) said that his mother Donna Lovett and Michael Bane had discussed a plan to rob Royce Frazier before he was killed. He said the plan was for Donna Lovett to visit Frazier, whom she knew, and render him unconscious by putting eye drops in his beer. Bane would then enter Frazier’s home and carry out the robbery with Donna Lovett. Brian also said that he and Bane discussed choking or stabbing the victim. Furthermore, Brian claimed to have witnessed and experienced Donna Lovett and Bane experiment with rendering someone unconscious with beer containing eye drops.
On the afternoon of November 17, 1988, Brian said Donna Lovett was dropped off alone at Frazier’s house. Later, Brian said that he was with Bane when they went to pick his mother back up. According to Brian, Bane went in the house and later came back out with his mother and a bunch of Frazier’s property. He said that Bane had blood on him and that his mother was upset. Brian also said that Bane had bragged about cutting the victims nuts off.
At trial, Brian testified that his sister had committed suicide several months before the killing of the victim and that he himself had attempted suicide on two occasions before November 17, 1988. He admitted that he had been treated at Charter Lakeside and Memphis Mental Health Institute and that he also had a history of using cocaine, speed, marijuana, and alcohol. Lovett also admitted that he had made conflicting statements about the murder.
The entire case against Bane was centered around the testimony of Brian Lovett. He was a very sick and troubled man who had every reason to lie. Even according to Brian’s own narrative, Donna Lovett was a murderer, who had Frazier’s property and was very upset after the claimed incident. How could her role ever be minimized? Brian had to create a fantastical narrative to make it happen. He had to implicate Bane. Determined to protect his mother from the harsh consequences she was facing, Lovett was prepared to say whatever needed to be said. His foil was his brother Thomas Lovett, who repeatedly declared in sworn statements that he was with his brother and that none of his claims ever happened. Then again, Brian didn’t do himself any favors when he kept mixing up all the stories himself. Lastly, why would anyone with even rudimentary intelligence brag to a child about a murder…especially someone as sick as Brian was? Bane didn’t. Brian was a liar and Bane is innocent. Thomas also knew his brother was a liar the whole time.
Bane’s innocence is also bolstered by two statements made after trial.
While he was in prison, Donna Lovett wrote Michael Bane a letter indicating that Brian lied and was coerced by the prosecution.
Later, a woman named Elicha Gray, declared in a sworn statement that Brian Lovett told her that his mother had agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence of 35 years and that he did not want to see an innocent man go to prison. He said he planned to write an affidavit stating that Bane had no part in the offense.
By both his mother’s admission and his own, Brian lied.
Before he was able to construct the necessary affidavit, he was warned that he would be perjuring himself and could be sent to prison. Of course, Brian never said another word.
Brian also told authorities that he had looked in Frazier’s window and saw Bane holding a knife to the victim’s groin area while Donna Lovett placed a bag over the victim’s head. Dr. Jerry Francisco, Shelby Counter Medical Examiner, testified that there were no injuries to Frazier’s groin at all.
Brian also said that Bane had claimed he sliced Frazier’s nuts off, Dr. Francisco said there were no injuries to Frazier’s nuts.
So where did Brian Lovett get all of that from?
Shifting details are always the clearest indication that someone is lying. Cocaine, speed marijuana and alcohol, depression from his sister’s suicide and multiple stays at mental hospitals…does this sound like the person who is going to be able to give the clearest narrative? When he lied, he lied exactly how the police told him to, and even then he got the details confused and added exaggerations of his own. The details don’t fit the evidence recovered or the testimony given.
Nearing four decades later…based on the jealousy of Donna Lovett and the lies of her son Brian…an innocent man still sits on death row awaiting execution. How can we ignore such injustice? Free Michael Bane.
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