 An Interview with Bryan Purdie WoodGrains owner
says
innocence was never in question
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 Bryan Purdie (r) talks with
friend
Doug Wiegel
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After more than two years of uncertainty, Bryan Purdie questions why the criminal charges against him took so long to develop, and now that the case has been dismissed, hopes to regain a normal life as soon as possible.
"I knew that justice was going to be served," he said. "The thing is, from day one, I have had all the facts. I have had the truth. And, I knew my innocence. I did not have to form any hypothesis about it."
Purdie, 32, had repeated in a series of interviews with investigators that an extension cord - a piece of evidence that eventually killed the charges - could have been the cause of fire.
The female end of the 20-foot cord, which he purchased in the winter of 2000 to light up a grapevine deer Christmas decoration, was somehow lost before it was examined by an expert, though photographs taken just before it was seized from the scene show the part was hanging from the ceiling.
"It should have been acknowledged, digested. And, an undetermined cause of the fire should have been announced at that time," Purdie said. "No charges should have ever been brought in this case in the first place."
While understanding what the investigators needed to do, Purdie believes they were preoccupied and biased by the positive reaction of a combustible gas detector at the fire scene, which does not necessarily prove the presence of accelerant.
Purdie said he put $46,000 in personal resources into his legal defense.
His first attorney, Don Savelkoul, withdrew from the case when Purdie's budget dried up right before the original trial was to start last April. Purdie applied for a public defender but was obliged to renounce his demand for a speedy trial.
Purdie questioned the fairness in the court fight when the prosecution was preparing to bring seven expert witnesses while he could plan only one with his limited resources.
"How do you get a fair trial, if you can't compete head-on with them? Even though we had all the facts, we had truth on our side, they kept spending money and spending. I think a part of the strategy of prosecutor was to delay this as long as possible."
The doors of WoodGrains Furniture have been shut since the day of fire. Purdie still doesn't know if he will be able to reopen the shop again.
His $240,000 insurance claim had been denied before the criminal case was filed, and the dismissal of the arson charges does not obligate the insurance company to pay. Purdie needs to go through a long and costly process in a civil court to get a settlement.
Purdie said he's come to realize that "innocent until proven guilty" is just a theory. In reality, society practices "guilty until proven innocent," he said.
Before finally got a full-time job about a year ago, Purdie had to get by with whatever odd jobs he could find while depending on support from his family and friends.
"You know who your friends are when you are accused," he said.
Many turned their backs on Purdie. "They chose to do that, and for whatever reasons, I can't do anything about that. The only thing I can do is I can take the feeling that I felt and make sure that I don't do that to someone else. If we each realize that the person is innocent and treat them in that way," he said.
"My family's life, our very existence, was being challenged, for the lack of a better word," Purdie said. "The only thing I have to say is I hope this thing never, ever happens to anyone here again. I hope that we all learned from this experience."
