# A Life Is Ruined..... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 6, 2004, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-life-is-ruined/273395 "2004-11-06T21:09:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-life-is-ruined/273395/21 "2004-11-06T23:13:36Z")
[Summary](http://freejesse.net/Summary.htm) of Jesse Friedman’s efforts to get his name cleared, on the grounds that police withheld exculpatory evidence. The linked transcript to a police [interrogation](http://freejesse.net/Interrogation.htm) of a 13 year old boy is frightening, if accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-life-is-ruined/273395/22 "2004-11-06T23:18:32Z")
This sort of thing is one reason why I oppose the death penalty being given by courts. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-life-is-ruined/273395/23 "2004-11-07T00:28:58Z")
> [@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… You realize that this would result in a huge **dis** incentive for anyone to ever come clean or admit mistakes. Not that, from all the anecdotal evidence I hear, State Prosecutors are known for showing any eagerness to admit they were wrong. ---
**Author:** ![YWalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/6f9a4e/32.png) [@YWalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YWalker)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-life-is-ruined/273395/24 "2004-11-07T00:51:58Z")
> [@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. Actually, it was very difficult for them to come out with this even now. [Here’s](http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1803258p-8104514c.html) a link to the story in the local paper, with a bit more detail. > [@](#): > > One of the victims, now 25 years old, testified over the objections of her mother, who still held Smith responsible for the crimes. The other victim, now 26, testified reluctantly, saying she feared hurting her family. > > … snip … > > As she testified Friday, someone called out from the back of the courtroom, “Why are you lying?” > > The judge called for quiet, and the woman who had called out, the mother of Victim One, cried softly. (note: I fixed the punctuation from the website in that last sentence to match what was in the print edition. They left out two commas on the website, which made the sentence unclear.) It’s a tragic story all around, but I salute the courage of the women for making things right. The girls were victimized twice as young children, and it is obvious that it has been difficult for them all along. I honestly don’t see how they could have come through with this any earlier than, say, 5 years ago based upon the family opposition. It really does make you wonder how the life of the 9 year old might have been changed if he had been held responsible for his own acts. (And, hell, chances are he was beaten within an inch of his life by the family just to deal with the situation privately while keeping the truth quiet from the public.) I just really wonder about the grandmother who would do this to an innocent man. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-life-is-ruined/273395/25 "2004-11-07T02:05:50Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > This sort of thing is one reason why I oppose the death penalty being given by courts. The thing about that reasoning that bothers me is that it seems that the only thing many people using such fiascos to support their opposition to the death penalty seem to care about is the death penalty. I’m not saying that you’re one, **Quartz** , I don’t know you or your positions well enough to comment on your views. But, given the protections and appeals given to death penalty convicts, I’d be very surprised if the 1 in 7 error rate for capital offenders isn’t considerably improved over the general prison population. ☹ As for the case in the OP - while I can say I wish the girls involved had come forward sooner, I can’t condemn them for not having done so. So many people are raised with the ‘blood is thicker than water’ reasoning, that I can only imagine how hard the testimony they gave recently was, and will be, for them. Though - I wonder just how that line in the trial transcript didn’t raise red flags all over the place with the jury. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-life-is-ruined/273395/26 "2004-11-07T02:20:53Z")
> [@Sample\_the\_Dog](#): > > This link will rot sometime tomorrow, when the story is moved to the archive. It appeared on October 31. Here is the text: > > 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? That’s absolutely awful and fucked up. If true, it should make the headlines everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-life-is-ruined/273395/27 "2004-11-07T02:22:37Z")
> [@YWalker](#): > > [Here’s](http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1803258p-8104514c.html) a link to the story in the local paper, with a bit more detail. I can’t help noticing that everybody was thanking the Lord and Jesus, apparently because this man spent _only_ 20 years in jail as a result of a lie. ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-life-is-ruined/273395/28 "2004-11-07T02:59:35Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > That’s absolutely awful and fucked up. If true, it should make the headlines everywhere. It’s [true](http://www.truthinjustice.org/carpitcher.htm). The man’s name is Aleck Carpitcher, and he’s still doing life in prison because the Commonwealth of Virginia won’t listen to “new evidence” more than 3 weeks after sentencing. But efforts are underway. ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-life-is-ruined/273395/29 "2004-11-07T03:22:06Z")
Casting around, I find so many of these cases, it’s an authentic tragedy. In the [Wilcox and Aldridge](http://www.truthinjustice.org/free.htm) case, kids were actually told they (the kids) would be put in jail if they didn’t cooperate. There seem to be some common elements to the majority of these cases (current and historical): 1. Hysteria about a certain type of crime (e.g., child molestation, drug trafficking, kidnapping) 2. Willingness of investigators to bend rules because they’re sure they’re found a guilty party 3. Withholding of information 4. Coersion of witnesses I think cases like these should give pause to those who believe that, because of the rise of terrorism, the US (or any country, state, etc.) should suspend certain rights – such as habeas corpus, speedy trial, or access to an attorney – and/or engage in torture when dealing with persons accused of collaborating with terrorists. These rights not only guard against arbitrary and malicious use of power, but they also help ensure that the right people are convicted and dealt with, and do not go free because an innocent person is suffering their punishment. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-life-is-ruined/273395/30 "2004-11-07T03:55:03Z")
Reading about cases like this makes me want to cry. There’s nothing on Earth sadder than someone who had twenty years of their life wasted because of a lie. False imprisonment is even worse than false execution\* IMO, because at least the person who’s executed swiftly isn’t suffering over a long period of time like this man certainly did. I think the family should be financially indebted to this man the rest of their lives. Not that money makes everything better, but it would be a start. And I don’t think those girls are entirely without blame. Once they turned eighteen, they were legally free from their families, and could have been asked to be in the Witness Protection Program if they really felt threatened by their relatives. Part of their income should go to buy this guy a mansion, a new car, or whatever else he wants. \*not that I’m pro-death penalty, exactly the opposite ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-life-is-ruined/273395/31 "2004-11-07T04:59:30Z")
Wait a second. The guy in jail, in the OP, has to get a pardon from the Governor who was the original prosecutor? Good luck with that. ---
**Author:** ![YWalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/6f9a4e/32.png) [@YWalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YWalker)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-life-is-ruined/273395/32 "2004-11-07T13:38:38Z")
> [@continuity eror](#): > > I think the family should be financially indebted to this man the rest of their lives. Not that money makes everything better, but it would be a start. And I don’t think those girls are entirely without blame. Once they turned eighteen, they were legally free from their families, and could have been asked to be in the Witness Protection Program if they really felt threatened by their relatives. Part of their income should go to buy this guy a mansion, a new car, or whatever else he wants. If you want to guarantee that no one will ever, EVER do the right thing by recanting on false testimony they were forced into giving as a child, then by all means, do so. Forget about doing the right thing, if it means financial ruin for the rest of your life on top of being hated and ostracized by your family. **Zebra** : I’m betting there will be a pardon within a month. It will be primarily a symbolic thing, as he’s already gotten his freedom. Keep in mind that the prosecutors were going on the testimony they had available, which sounded like the guy had molested two children. Given that information, their prosecution was not a mistake. They probably went to bed at night feeling they had done a good job. I’ll keep you posted if I hear more. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-life-is-ruined/273395/33 "2004-11-07T13:50:20Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > The thing about that reasoning that bothers me is that it seems that the only thing many people using such fiascos to support their opposition to the death penalty seem to care about is the death penalty. I’m not saying that you’re one, **Quartz** , I don’t know you or your positions well enough to comment on your views. But, given the protections and appeals given to death penalty convicts, I’d be very surprised if the 1 in 7 error rate for capital offenders isn’t considerably improved over the general prison population. I’ve never thought about that, but dammit you’re probably right. Our justice system goes to excruciating lengths to make sure we don’t wrongfully execute people, and we still screw up 1/7 of those cases. The rate of false imprisonment for non-death penalty cases is probably more like 1 in 5 ☹ ---
**Author:** ![mike1dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@mike1dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mike1dog)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-life-is-ruined/273395/34 "2004-11-07T15:46:17Z")
> [@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… Also, those women would have never come forward, out of fear of going to prison. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-life-is-ruined/273395/35 "2004-11-07T20:58:36Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > The thing about that reasoning that bothers me is that it seems that the only thing many people using such fiascos to support their opposition to the death penalty seem to care about is the death penalty. I’m not saying that you’re one, **Quartz** , I don’t know you or your positions well enough to comment on your views. I started a [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=280712) a week or so ago which helped me a lot on this. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-life-is-ruined/273395/36 "2004-11-07T23:37:48Z")
[QUOTE=casdave] 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. [QUOTE] That’s okay. I’m sorry you are misunderstanding me totally. It happens, even here at SDMB. They’re ALL victims, but my reason for the OP was to point out exactly what has been pointed out by myself and others- that the modern-day witch hunt is a sex crime accusation against a child. You would do well not to put words into my mouth, however. It’s very disrespectful. I didn’t deny the suffering of any of the parties involved. They are all victims ( except perhaps Gramma, who is the most evil kind of adult imaginable ) Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-life-is-ruined/273395/37 "2004-11-08T00:55:01Z")
> [@Master Wang-Ka](#): > > Granny’s hardly in a position to serve any time… Maybe they could dig up her corpse and put it through a bark chipper. ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-life-is-ruined/273395/38 "2004-11-08T01:16:05Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Maybe they could dig up her corpse and put it through a bark chipper. Now, really, Cervaise… don’t you think that’s a bit mulch. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-life-is-ruined/273395/39 "2004-11-08T01:46:12Z")
Really. Most reasonable people would conclude that loading Granny’s bones into a trebuchet along with thirty pounds of elephant dung and flinging it all out to sea would be sufficient. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-life-is-ruined/273395.md?page=1)