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National Center for Reason and Justice  ─ NCRJ

 

 

For immediate release: December 22, 2021

 

 

Contact: Bob Chatelle  [email protected]

 

 

The NCRJ hopeful for victory at last in the Nancy Smith-Joseph Allen Head Start abuse case

 

 

The National Center for Reason and Justice is encouraged by today’s action by Lorain, Ohio Judge Chris Cook in scheduling a hearing on the new-trial motion filed by Mark-Godsey of the Ohio Innocence Project and by Joseph Allen’s attorney, Richard Parsons. We are exceptionally pleased that this motion is unopposed by Lorain District Attorney, J.D. Tomlinson. And we rejoice that Joseph Allen today was released from prison on bond.

 

 

The NCRJ has been fighting for justice in this case since our founding in 2002. We had hoped the case had ended in 2009, when Judge James Burge examined the evidence, set the convictions aside, and acquitted both defendants.

 

Unfortunately, the prosecution appealed the acquittals to the Ohio Supreme Court, which reinstated the conviction. Nancy Smith was resentenced to time served. But Joseph Allen was returned to prison in 2013, where he has remained since.

 

Since 2013, NCRJ has focused on helping Joseph. We found him excellent attorneys, Paula Brown and Richard Parsons, and raised the money to pay them. We sent him commissary funds every month and paid for his family phone calls. Executive Director Bob Chatelle kept in constant contact him by mail, email, and telephone. We believed that keeping up his spirits was as important as getting him legal help.

 

 

NCRJ’s expertise is in investigating suspected false allegations of harm to children, including sexual abuse. Our support was instrumental in securing freedom in other important cases, including Bernard Baran of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, The San Antonio Four, and Victor Rosario, of Lowell, Massachusetts.

 

NCRJ is overjoyed that Nancy Smith and Joseph Allen are on the road to freedom and we hope exoneration.

 

But the road is long and hard, Anyone accused of hurting children is automatically considered the lowest of the low. Such people find it almost impossible to get help to preserve their due process rights, even from those who otherwise passionately defend civil and human rights.

This has to change. This is why NCRJ sponsors cases like the Smith-Allen  and others nationwide. We do this to help free innocent people and make the criminal justice system more rational, humane, and just. We do it so people can learn about the larger issues embedded in these cases, then confront them. What are these issues?

For one, what happened to Nancy Smith and Joseph Allen shows how easy it is in America for ordinary people to be falsely accused, denied due process, and banished from society. All kinds of ordinary people get caught up in our justice system. Some are more vulnerable than others.

Joseph Allen is a working-class black man. Bernard Baran was gay. Victor Rosario is Puerto Rican. The San Antonio Four are Latina lesbians. Justice is hardest to obtain for racial, ethnic, and sexual minorities. Most of the cases NCRJ has sponsored fall into these categories.

 

As the criminal justice system can railroad the innocent, it tramples the civil and human rights of people who have committed crimes. Child sex abuse is a terrible crime. But using society’s revulsion for this crime, the system has employed sex offenders as a wedge to treat every accused person with increasing harshness both in prison and afterward—sometimes for a lifetime.

Even guilty people have human and due process rights. Yet even when they have served their time and paid their debt to society, they are typically banished from the community, undermining their ability to reintegrate as law-abiding people, and hurting their families and communities.

One form of banishment is the sex offender registry and accompanying restrictions on housing, work, travel, and social life. These policies do not protect children. In fact, studies show that they may put children at increased risk. These rules are often senselessly cruel.

More than two million people are in prison in the U.S. Per capita, and in pure numbers, we incarcerate more people than any other country. Many good people are disturbed by this. Many worry about the barbaric way that the accused and convicted get treated. But when confronted with people labeled as child abusers, many good people stop thinking.

This situation endangers us all. As long as we allow some people to be turned into pariahs, the justice system will be able to get away with injustice—denying due process to anyone and everyone.

That’s why our cases are so important. That’s why NCRJ is proud to support Nancy Smith, Joseph Allen, and many others.

For more information, visit www.ncrj.org

 

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Tomlinson responded to the Ohio Innocence Project’s motion on Wednesday, telling county Common Pleas Court Judge Chris Cook that evidence discovered and presented in those documents “discloses a strong possibility that it will change the result if a new trial is granted; has been discovered since the trial; is such as could not in the exercise of due diligence have been discovered before the trial; is material to the issues; is not merely cumulative to former evidence; and does not merely impeach or contradict the former evidence.”

Read the full article in the Lorain Chronicle-Telegram by Dave O’Brien.

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Dear Friends,

We at the National Center of Reason and Justice (NCRJ) have recently received wonderful news about this case, which we have been sponsoring since shortly after our founding in 2002. NCRJ Executive Director, Bob Chatelle, was even corresponding with Joseph Allen before NCRJ existed. It’s been a very long and often heartbreaking haul.

For those not familiar with the case, or who need to have their memories refreshed, we include below a brief summary. Others may wish to go directly to the good news.

Nancy Smith was a bus driver for the Head Start Program. Joseph Allen, a black man originally from Alabama, had little education and supported himself as best he could.

On May 7, 1993, a 37-year-old single mother named Margie Grondin accused Smith and a man named Joseph of horrific sexual and physical abuse.

The case was thoroughly investigated by a respected and seasoned detective named Tom Cantu. His conclusion: no evidence that the girl had been abused in any way,

Margie Grondin was infuriated. She contacted other Head Start parents and went to the media. Panic ensued and more accusations were brought. Two ambitious prosecutors, Greg White and Jonathan Roenbaum, took over the case, took Cantu off it, and supervised a disgraceful “investigation.” No real evidence was found, but they took the case to trial.

Smith and Allen had inadequate legal representation Because Smith and Allen could not prove their innocence beyond all doubt, both were convicted in July of 1994. Smith was sentenced to 30 to 94 years. Joseph was given five consecutive life sentences.

Their situations seemed hopeless. Nevertheless,the NCRJ took the case on.

Finally, a miracle occurred.

In early 2009, Smith and Allen were separately called back to Court. A clerical error had been discovered, necessitating resentencing. Instead of resentencing, however, Judge James Burge released them both on bond while he reviewed their records.

In June of 2009, after conducting his review, Burge called Smith and Allen back to court for resentencing. But instead of sending them back to prison, he acquitted both of all charges, having concluded that there was no reliable or credible evidence against them.

But the miracle was unfortunately short lived. The then District Attorney, Dennis Will, with the backing of then state Attorney General, Richard Cordray, appealed the acquittals to the Ohio Supreme Court. Appealing a conviction is not something that is supposed to happen. Nevertheless, Will and Cordray prevailed. The Ohio Supreme Court reinstated the convictions in January of 2011.

Lawyers for Smith and Allen filed Clemency petitions with the Governor (John Kasich at the time, Mark DeWine currently). These petitions still sit on the Governor’s desk. Neither Governor had the moral courage to undo the horrible injustice.

Lawyers for Smith and Allen entered into plea bargains with the DA.

By the summer of 2013, most of the media and public were convinced that both Smith and Allen were innocent. Prosecutors made a deal with Nancy’s lawyers for her to accept a sentence of time served in exchange for her agreement to pursue no further legal action. While Nancy has not been legally exonerated, she no longer has to fear being sent back to prison.

Judge Virgil Sinclair, however, refused to accept such a deal for Joseph Allen and sent him back to prison, although with his sentence reduced to 25 years, including 15 already served. Joseph also gave up all of his rights of appeal.

Joseph’s case now seemed even more hopeless. But the NCRJ refused to give up. We found him new and better legal representation. They could not work pro bono, but the NCRJ successfully raised the funds to pay them. The Executive Director even signed the contract agreement personally, making himself liable for the expenses should NCRJ be unable to raise the necessary funds. Fortunately for him, this was not necessary.

Then another miracle occurred. Reformist attorney J.D. Tomlinson defeated DA Dennis Will in the primary, and was elected Lorain District Attorney in November, 2020. A pair of fresh eyes would reexamine the Smith-Allen case.

The Good News

Finally, a couple days ago, we received some very good news.

With the cooperation of DA Tomlinson, Attorneys Paula Brown and Ricky Parsons filed a motion to undo Joseph’s onerous plea agreement.

Joseph’s attorneys and Mark Godsey of the Ohio Innocence Project filed a new-trial Motion for Smith and Allen. Among other things, the motion contains devastating information about Margie Grondin, the woman who created this mess. The chief source for this information: her son.

Yesterday, NCRJ received the state’s response to the new-trial motion: they do not oppose.

It is now in the hands of a judge. While success is not guaranteed, we have much reason to be hopeful.

Hallelujah!

Please support the National Center for Reason and Justice.

The NCRJ spent nearly 20 years supporting Smith and Allen. After Joseph was returned to prison, they focused on Joseph. NCRJ did more than work with the attorneys. NCRJ gave him constant moral support, including continual letters, emails, and telephone calls. We even paid for his calls to his family and put money into his commissary account each month. The Executive Director flew from Massachusetts to Ohio to attend his last (unsuccessful of course) parole hearing.

NCRJ has worked hard for Smith and Allen. As we did for Bernard Baran, the San Antonio Four, and Victor Rosario. As they continue to work for Francisco Fuster, Gunther Fiek, the Yankton Four, and others.

NCRJ conducts one fund drive a year, which is going on now.

If you have not already done so, we hope you use this button to show your support.

Thank you for your support of justice!