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Truth in Justice
Newsletter - May, 2004
RECENT CASES
Hours
after a judge dismissed Thomas Lee Goldstein's 24-year-old murder
conviction, Goldstein was right back where he started his long legal
struggle: standing in a courtroom, entering a plea of innocent.
Superior Court Judge Arthur Jean granted a defense motion on February
2, 2004 to dismiss the conviction, but prosecutors refiled the case
almost immediately. At last, on April
2, 2004, Thomas Lee
Goldstein was finally freed
when LA Deputy DA
Patrick Connolly admitted the state lacks sufficient evidence to retry
him.
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POLICE/PROSECUTOR
MISCONDUCT
Michigan:
Carl Marlinga, Macomb County, Michigan's top law enforcement officer,
has been indicted with a state senator and a real estate agent on
charges of taking $34,000 in campaign contributions to help rape
suspects in two cases. The Price of
Justice
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Cheryl Stepnioski is giving indicted Macomb County
Prosecutor Carl Marlinga the benefit of the doubt despite his hiding
evidence her son and another young man were innocent in the 2000
slaying of
a New Baltimore, MI teen. Getting
Back More Than He Gave
Earlier in April, in Macomb County, Michigan ...
A
New Baltimore, MI man wrongly jailed for six months in the 2000
slaying
of a teenage pizzeria worker says a $300,000-plus settlement of his
civil suit against police will help him start a new life -- but it
won't end his family's nightmares or stop the accusing stares that
follow him. And
while the settlement is about to change Jonathon Kaled's
life, legal experts said the suit's outcome won't affect how police
handle interrogations and false confessions. Misconduct as Usual
Wisconsin:
More on the continuing saga of the corrupt former Winnebago County DA,
Joe
Paulus
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JUNK
SCIENCE AND FALSE CHILD
ABUSE ALLEGATIONS
A
Harris County, Texas prosecutor
says faulty physical exams performed by a former nurse may have
resulted in wrongful conviction of some defendants in child sex abuse
cases. 170
Potential Wrongful Convictions
Some would argue that
the psychological theories behind the indefinite detention of sex
offenders is junk science. It would be difficult to disagree,
considering the "treatment" James Rodriguez received. Convicted of molesting two boys, Rodriguez
figured there was only one way
out of California's hospital for the criminally insane, where he was
stuck indefinitely after being labeled a sexually violent
predator. After maintaining his innocence for nearly
two decades, James
Rodriguez realized he would have to say he committed the crimes that
put him in prison and then in Atascadero State Hospital. The doctors believed him. And
then the case fell apart. The molestations never happened.
How many other innocents have to Lie Their
Way to Freedom?
LINK:
A
WGBH Forum Network Lecture
- Remembering
Trauma
Richard
J. McNally, professor, psychology, Harvard
Belle
Adler, professor, Northeastern School of Journalism
Are
horrific experiences indelibly fixed in a victim's memory? Or does the
mind protect itself by banishing traumatic memories from consciousness?
How victims remember trauma is the most controversial issue in
psychology today, spilling out of consulting rooms and laboratories to
capture headlines, rupture families, provoke legislative change, and
influence criminal trials and civil suits. A clinician and laboratory
researcher, Richard McNally challenges the ready acceptance of a notion
he says goes beyond common sense. He contends that traumatic
experiences are indeed unforgettable and the evidence for repressed
memories is surprisingly weak.
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HOW THE SYSTEM
WORKS
United States: A
comprehensive study of 328 criminal cases over the last 15 years in
which the convicted person was exonerated suggests that there are Thousands of
Innocent People in Prison.
Click
HERE
to read the University of Michigan Law School study
report.
(pdf format - use Acrobat Reader)
See the statistical role false "snitch" testimony has played
in convictions overturned by DNA
Database
of Wrongful Incarcerations
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Innocence
Projects provide representation
and/or investigative assistance to prison inmates who claim to be
innocent
of the crimes for which they were convicted. There is now at least one
innocence project serving each state except Hawaii, North Dakota and
South Dakota. Most of these innocence projects are new and overwhelmed
with applications, so waiting time between application and acceptance
is long. Wrongfully convicted
persons should not be dissuaded from applying to Innocence Projects
because
of this, but should have realistic expectations regarding acceptance
and
time lags. Check the list for the innocence project in your area;
we update it regularly.
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LINKS
The links pages at Truth in Justice are frequently
updated. Be sure to check them for resources, "must" reading,
websites of inmates with compelling innocence claims and more.
Start at http://truthinjustice.org/links.htm
SITE SEARCH ENGINE
There are now over 900 pages at Truth in Justice. The site search
engine on the main page can make it faster and easier to find what you
seek.
And remember, YOU can make a difference!
Sheila and Doug Berry
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