Hundreds of Alaska Natives gathered outside the state court house in Fairbanks Wednesday afternoon to hear news about a murder case that’s long raised questions about whether justice was served. Four Fairbanks men, three of whom are Alaska Native, are serving long sentences for the 1997 stomping death of local teen John Hartman. The case of “the Fairbanks Four” lacked physical evidence and has been reexamined in recent years by local Native advocates and the Alaska Innocence Project. The groups say new evidence shows the jailed men are innocent.
Dan Bross is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.