A Life Is Ruined.....

[Cartooniverse]

This Story tells a most chilling tale.

How does a few hundred thousand dollars compensate for 20 years of hard time? There are times when the concept of justice in our country is reduced to a sham of preconceptions, prejudices and sheer loathing.

When a Prosecutor says he is eager to launch a new trial just so he can formally drop all charges and reverse a conviction, well doesn’t that just say it all?

I applaud the strength of the two now-adult women in coming forward.

I detest a system that will always, always, always believe an accuser over an accused in a sex crime.

There is, in this particular case, zero proof of guilt.

What of the 20 years lost?.. So incredibly wrong.

Cartooniverse

[panache45]

More than one life has been ruined. The two women were also affected by their grandmother’s lie (in addition to the abuse itself), or they never would have come forward. Not to mention their cousin, who could have gotten help at an early age.

[Master_Wang-Ka]

Every time I hear about a case like this, I think that it would be an interesting thing to do to pass a new law:

"If you are found to be responsible for the wrongful conviction and imprisonment of another person – either through framing, perjury, or professional misconduct (in the case of cops, prosecutors, lab techs, and so forth) – and it can be proven that your conduct was willful and performed with knowledge of the innocence of the person convicted…

…then you should get to serve the same sentence you condemned that person to serve. In the same prison and same cell, if feasible."

Bet you’d hear a LOT less about folks getting railroaded by crazed judges, ambitious DAs, crooked cops, avaricious spouses…

[astro]

@Cartooniverse

This Story tells a most chilling tale.

How does a few hundred thousand dollars compensate for 20 years of hard time? There are times when the concept of justice in our country is reduced to a sham of preconceptions, prejudices and sheer loathing.

When a Prosecutor says he is eager to launch a new trial just so he can formally drop all charges and reverse a conviction, well doesn’t that just say it all?

I applaud the strength of the two now-adult women in coming forward.

I detest a system that will always, always, always believe an accuser over an accused in a sex crime.

There is, in this particular case, zero proof of guilt.

What of the 20 years lost?.. So incredibly wrong.

Cartooniverse

I think Bricker made a point regarding this the other day re the power of prosecutors, and how important it is to get adequate legal counsel, and how absolutely and monumentally screwed you are if you can’t afford a decent lawyer when serious charges are on the table.

[Master_Wang-Ka]

…of course, upon rereading the OP, it occurs to me you couldn’t really do that to women who provided false testimony as children… and Granny’s hardly in a position to serve any time…

…durnit. :smack:

[picunurse]

It could and sometimes is worse. News of the Weird has story with a more Kafkaesque outcome.
There was a story on Dateline about a similar case, wherein the police bullied the children to say “so and so touch me” when no abuse had taken place.
When one man was cleared and released from prison after 20 years, he was put out on the street in a paper jump-suit and nothing else. No one appologized. He’d lost his wife and family, he had no place to live, no means of support. Oh well, somebody (else) just goofed.
20 years oops. Bye.

[Silver_Fire]

From the link:

The trial transcript shows that under the questioning of a defense attorney the 4-year-old said her grandmother told her to accuse Smith.

I wonder what ever happened with that? Wouldn’t such testimony raise more than a few eyebrows?

Do you suppose, if he’d been accused, tried, and assigned to the treatment he needed all those years ago, the cousin would be serving life in prison for murder right now?

I’m glad those women came foward and I also applaud their courage. I hope Mr. Smith gets every single dime to which he’s entitled, too. It’s not going to make everything all better and it won’t give him those 20 years back, but it’ll help him build a life for himself now. I hope the rest of his days see him happy.

[Hanna]

@Master Wang-Ka

…of course, upon rereading the OP, it occurs to me you couldn’t really do that to women who provided false testimony as children… and Granny’s hardly in a position to serve any time…

…durnit. :smack:

They were children, but they could have come forward and told the truth much sooner. I feel they should be held responsible for something.

[monica]

@Boscibo

They were children, but they could have come forward and told the truth much sooner. I feel they should be held responsible for something.

Let’s look at this a minute, okay? At the time, their grandmother pressured them into saying what they did. They didn’t know any better. As time went on, and they realized the extent of what they had done, they probably were afraid to come forward. I would applaud them for finally finding the courage to do so.

[Cartooniverse]

I must disagree, Boscibo. As any incest/rape victim how hard it is to open up, to talk about it. Then ask one who suffered assault as a child. From the outside looking in, it appears to be a geometric progression. It’s not twice as hard to speak out, it’s 10,000 times harder.

Don’t punish the victims.

[Hanna]

I don’t know…by the time they were 12 or 13 they should have known that an innocent man was in jail and what they did was wrong. I am glad they finally did come forward, but to the poor guy serving time for something he didn’t do…the guilt would have eaten me alive.

[Hanna]

PS…I was sexually abused as a very young child. I know it is hard, and very scary. But the fact that they had been abused was already out, and the wrong person was punished for it. They are adults now, and presumably have been for 6-8 years if I’m doing the math right. That is 6-8 years of a guy being in prison for testimony that was a lie.

[Cartooniverse]

panache45 is right. It should go without saying ( but I feel flames coming my way… ) that the victims here are the two very young girls, NOT the convict. He suffered at the hands of a liar grandmother, but those girls were victimized.

Just not by him, hence my OP. Please, don’t anyone think I am ignorant of the original crime…

[Sample_the_Dog]

@picunurse

It could and sometimes is worse. News of the Weird has story with a more Kafkaesque outcome.

This link will rot sometime tomorrow, when the story is moved to the archive. It appeared on October 31. Here is the text:

In an October decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit voted, 8-7, not only to affirm Paul Gregory House’s 1986 rape-murder conviction but also to keep him on Tennessee’s death row, despite subsequent knowledge that the prosecutor’s primary evidence was faulty. The eight judges accepted the conviction, even though the rape evidence was based, nearly archaically, on a match of blood “type” in semen found on the victim; much more sophisticated DNA testing later showed that the semen was not from House but from the victim’s estranged husband (who, it was subsequently learned, allegedly “confessed” the crime to three witnesses, evidence that was too belatedly offered to satisfy the majority judges). [New York Times, 10-7-04]

Just a couple of months ago, I heard a similar story of a man whose accuser (molestation) recanted, but whose sentence will not be reversed and who will not even receive a new trial because this “new evidence” came in after the cutoff period. Anyone got a cite on that?

[casdave]

You obviously dont know much about prison hierarchy.

The guy would certainly have ben victimised in prison, sex offenders usually are.

The guy is without any doubt a victim, I know those who have suffered may feel that theirs is worse than the guy, trust me, its as bad but in a differant way.

Unfortunately he will most likely need help for a long long time to come, he will not be able to handle the amount of compensation, and might easily destroy himself as he will have taken on the ‘live fast’ values of his fellow prisoners.

The evil grandmother will rot in hell, she has denied the guy a life, the 9 year old has become a murderer, thus depriving another family, and the 9 year old might have turned out so much better with treatment therefore denying that person a meaningful life, and the girls themselves will have a great many issues to deal with.

They, the children, cannot be held responsible, they were bound into a lie, and other family ties will have made this a very difficult admission for them.

Quite honestly, child sexual abuse has replaced witch hunting, and unAmerican activities accusations, the accusation need not have any real proof, the threat of accusation can destroy another persons life, even if they are subsequently cleared there is always the lingering doubt, allegations of sex abuse of children are now routinely made in custody cases, even though accusations of incidents that are many years old and without any forensic evidence and can gain very iffy convictions.

It is so hard for any individual to deny coercive sex took place if the accuser has a malicious intent, one wonders how many times such an avenue has been used to blackmail individuals.

I’m sorry you feel the way you do Cartooniverse but denying the suffering of all victims or redirecting your sympathies is misplaced, even if it is understandable.

Sometimes I wonder if the inquisitorial system of justice would perform any better than the confrontational one which uses complete non-professionals as the arbiters.

[Qadgop_the_Mercotan]

Innocent people in prison. It happens. Which is why I try my best to treat all my patients (all inmates) with basic dignity and respect. I truly believe that at least one of my patients is completely innocent. I’ve never spoken to him about his case, nor has he tried to talk to me about it. But I heard about the rumors thru the prison grapevine, and investigated it myself. I’m pretty damn sure he was railroaded by an ambitious DA who didn’t care about the evidence.

Yet when I mentioned the situation to a neighbor, his only comment was “He must be guilty of something bad, or he wouldn’t be in prison”. The guy went on to rant about inmates being given medical care at all. And this from a self-proclaimed “Christian”. :rolleyes:

[Polycarp]

I’m scandalized by the entire scene – and the fact that it’s been repeated, over and over, by prosecutors who believe that the number of convictions they get, not the doing of justice, is proof of their effectiveness – and the voters who believe their BS. “Tough on crime” should never mean “convict the innocent to run up your stats.” But it happens.

@Qadgop the Mercotan

Innocent people in prison. It happens. Which is why I try my best to treat all my patients (all inmates) with basic dignity and respect. I truly believe that at least one of my patients is completely innocent. I’ve never spoken to him about his case, nor has he tried to talk to me about it. But I heard about the rumors thru the prison grapevine, and investigated it myself. I’m pretty damn sure he was railroaded by an ambitious DA who didn’t care about the evidence.

Yet when I mentioned the situation to a neighbor, his only comment was “He must be guilty of something bad, or he wouldn’t be in prison”. The guy went on to rant about inmates being given medical care at all. And this from a self-proclaimed “Christian”. :rolleyes:

Do me a favor, QtM. Describe me to your neighbor. Then tell him that I said he should read the 25th chapter of Matthew.

[Sample_the_Dog]

See also Frontline’s write-up of the Little Rascals case, and the Other Controversial Cases link.

It’s a wonder anyone does daycare anymore.

There’s also the Freidman case. While the father (a piano teacher) was certainly into kiddie porn, any knowledge or involvement by the son (who pled) is dubious, and the wild accusations brought forth by hypnotized kids smack of implanted memories, which makes them victims of the system that’s supposedly seeking justice.

[Qadgop_the_Mercotan]

@Polycarp

Do me a favor, QtM. Describe me to your neighbor. Then tell him that I said he should read the 25th chapter of Matthew.

I understand where you’re coming from, Poly. But I gave up arguing religion with Calvinists a long time ago.

[Sample_the_Dog]

[QUOTE=Sample_the_Dog]
the father (a piano teacher)

[QUOTE]

Correction – he taught computers.