Friends of Justice

http://reason.com/archives/2011/02/14/sticklers-for-procedure

http://www.morningjournal.com/articles/2011/02/13/opinion/mj4103288.txt

The first accusation was false. A young mother — who had previously been convicted for distributing cocaine from her home  — claimed that on May 7, 1993, her daughter hadn’t gone to  Lorain Head Start School. She claimed that Nancy Smith had driven the children on her bus that afternoon to see a man named “Joseph.” Joseph allegedly tied the girl up, taped her eyes, and molested her with a stick. But the bus odometer showed that Smith had driven her usual route. School records showed that the daughter had been present at school. The aide who rode the bus with Nancy said that nothing unusual had happened that week, And Nancy that afternoon hadn’t even been driving the school bus. She had been driving for a Meals-on-Wheels program. The little girl showed no signs of physical harm.

The other children initially denied the mother’s story. When the children on the bus were questioned by the police, they said that Nancy had never touched them, that they didn’t know a man named Joseph, and that they liked Nancy.

The accusing mother created a moral panic by contacting the other Head Start parents, telling them her unfounded accusations, and causing them to aggressively question their own children. She also went to the media, appearing on a local TV station’s newscast. More accusations resulted.

“Joseph” was variously described as white, black, black with white spots, white with black spots. Several children said he had blue eyes. The first person the accusing mother identified as “Joseph” was white. Joseph Allen is a very dark black man.

Joseph Allen’s home was quite different than what was described by the children. The abuse supposedly occurred upstairs and in the basement. Allen lived in a single-story cottage with no basement. No one ever saw a yellow school bus parked in his neighborhood.

Audiotapes show that the children were improperly, coercively interviewed. On these tapes the children initially deny that any abuse took place. But the interrogators refuse to take no for an answer. Two experts (Dr. Mel Guyer and Dr. Kathleen Quinn) later reviewed the videotapes and affirmed that they contained no evidence of wrongdoing by either Smith or Allen. Dr, Guyer said, “All of the interviews are outrageous, horrible, terrible,,,there is a high incidence of suggestibility. It’s outrageous.” The judge refused to allow the jurors to hear these tapes.

The lineup procedures used against Joseph Allen were critically flawed. The police first used a photo lineup. Nine of the ten children  —  including the daughter of the first accusing mother – either picked no one or picked someone other than Allen. The first mother had always claimed that “Joseph” was white. But after Joseph Allen’s picture was published in the paper, she brought the daughter to the police station to identify Allen. Most of the children also failed to identify Allen during the live lineup. Those who did were immediately taken away. Those that didn’t were encouraged to reconsider or were brought back. Children were coaxed in various ways to pick Allen. A child’s failure to identify Allen was attributed to fear — and thus evidence of Allen’s guilt.

The only witness to link Smith and Allen apparently perjured herself. Smith and Allen to this day have never met outside the courtroom. At trial, an aide claimed that Allen had once come on the bus and terrified the children. But during the initial recorded police interview, this same aide had explained that the black man who had come on the bus was the father of one of the children. The father testified to this effect at the trial, but the prosecution discredited him by saying he was a criminal. The aide also said that neither Nancy nor the children ever talked about a man named Joe or Joseph. The prosecution was well aware of the aide’s initial interview. According to affidavits, prosecutor Jonathan Rosenbaum once said to another witness, “God damn it, you will answer the way I want you to answer. Is that understood?”

For more information, see  http://www.crimemagazine.com/shame-lorain-ohio

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc1MWEzjiNI

I have also seen the transcript of another video that proves that a key prosecution witness perjured herself — with the complicity of the prosecutors. I hope that this will soon also be made public.

-Bob

http://morningjournal.com/articles/2011/02/09/news/mj4083125.txt

I have reason to believe that the new evidence is indeed dramatic. I hope that Smith and Allen can retain their freedom without having to go this route. But if a new-trial motion becomes necessary, they must remain free while the matter is before the court. They have suffered too much already. One more day behind bars would only add to the grave injustice they have suffered.

-Bob Chatelle

http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2011/02/08/nancy-smith-to-remain-free/

National Center for Reason and Justice

www.ncrj.org

January 30, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact

Robert B. Chatelle

Executive Director, National Center for Reason and Justice

mgr@ncrj.org

In Unheard of Move, Court Rules to Imprison Defendants Who Were Previously Acquitted

New York, NY—January 30, 2011

In an unprecedented and unconstitutional move, an American court has ruled to send two people to prison even though they were previously acquitted.

The move has sparked outrage among supporters of the defendants, including the National Center for Reason and Justice, a legal and advisory group for the falsely accused and wrongfully convicted.

Joseph Allen and Nancy Smith were convicted of child sex-abuse in 1994 in Ohio. As in other cases during the moral panic of the 80s and 90s, the evidence against these two defendants was inherently unreliable. It included the testimony of small children who had been improperly and coercively interviewed.

Virtually all other victims of the child sex-abuse panic, such as the McMartins, Kelly Michaels, and Bernard Baran, were acquitted or freed sometimes years or even decades later on appeal, when common sense began to override irrational panic. But Smith and Allen remained in prison until 2009. During a hearing that year on a procedural matter, a judge ordered them acquitted due to lack of evidence. (For more information see http://www.ncrj.org/cases.)

But on January 27^th, 2011, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the judge who acquitted them lacked the authority to do so. The court reinstated the dubious convictions and ordered Smith and Allen back to prison.

We know of no other instance in American law where a Court has attempted to imprison the acquitted —.a blatant infringement of Constitutional protection against double jeopardy, as well as the constitutional principle of Due Process of Law.

The NCRJ has sponsored Nancy Smith’s and Joseph Allen’s cases for years, and we firmly believe in their innocence. They will continue to have our full support. We will fight for them until justice is achieved.

Dear Friend of Justice,

I just spoke with Joseph Allen. A hearing has been scheduled in Lorain, Ohio on February 8th. The lawyers want as many supporters as possible to attend. If you can attend, please let me know and I will pass on the information.

By Monday, we should know the time of the hearing and the courtroom. I will post that information when I have it.

-Bob Chatelle