Friends of Justice is a personal blog. Here I speak only for myself.
October 23rd, 2021
When the NCRJ was founded in 2002, one of the first cases we sponsored was the case of Frank Fuster. His was one of the first and most high-profile cases of the 80’s daycare panic. While a number of the other cases ended in exoneration, Frank has not been so fortunate.
The NCRJ will not abandon Frank and are supporting a final effort towards justice. Frank currently is hoping to raise money to obtain records he believes might help his cause. Towards that end, he contacted us and asked if we could set up a GoFundMe appeal for him.
We have done so. Please visit it here.
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Friends of Justice is a personal blog. Here I speak only for myself.
October 22nd, 2021
“ELYRIA — Lorain County Prosecutor J.D. Tomlinson is considering going to court to request that the criminal convictions of Joseph Allen and Nancy Smith, convicted of child sexual abuse in the Head Start case of the early 1990s, “be vacated and that the charges against them be dismissed.”
Read the article by Dave O’Brien in the Lorain Chroicle-Telegram.
Everyday Joseph Allen remains in prison the magnitude of this injustice increases. This is the first hopeful development in many years.
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Friends of Justice is a personal blog. Here I speak only for myself.
September 26th, 2021
“On Wednesday, my Mother got some bad news. She went to the doctors and was diagnosed with lung cancer. The doctors scheduled her for something like 3 or 4 tests, and an operation within two weeks. I think they caught it early.
“My Mother has been my strength throughout my incarceration. She has kept me centered. The thing I look forward to the most when I finally get out, is spending time with her. Taking care of her. My life is something of a train wreck, and it has had nothing but a bad impact on my Mother’s life. She deserves some peace in life.”
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Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Friends of Justice is a personal blog. Here I speak only for myself.
September 19th, 2021
“A few days ago, JPay sent out a mass e-mail to all the inmates here at M.C.I. I do not know if this e-mail was sent to all O.D.R.C. inmates in the state of Ohio. The e-mail was a threat. It stated something to the effect that inmates are not allowed to send messages of any kind that end up on social media platforms like Tiktok, Facebook, or YouTube. That doing so violates O.D.R.C. policies pertaining to outgoing mail. They went on to say something like we could get kicked off JPay and face disciplinary sanctions from our perspective institutions.”
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Posted in Innocents, Prisons, Sex Panic | No Comments »
Friends of Justice is a personal blog. Here I speak only for myself.
September 14th, 2021
“Approximately about a week ago, I received an envelope with no return address at mail call. I took the missive back to my cell to open it, and found a single piece of paper inside. I first noticed a picture of an attractive woman and some words on the page. My eyes went straight to the picture, and I was thinking, “Well, whoever she is, she is good looking.”. As I continued to look at the photo, some sense of familiarity kept creeping in. It hit me, I know her. I began to scan the page for a familiar name and the words that struck me were,” Obituary, Elizabeth Anne Smothers, and Passed”. I thought is this my Elizabeth? Then I seen her parents names John and Sue. I knew then this was my Elizabeth.”
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Friends of Justice is a personal blog. Here I speak only for myself.
September 9th, 2021
“Recently, I had someone I consider a very close friend look at the posts I place on this very blog. He disagreed with much of what I had been saying, because he believes that society is much more likely to believe someone who claims to be innocent when the evidence bears that out, that people are tired of sloppy police work, and jurors require real proof of a person’s guilt to convict. I have not been out in the free world in over 25 years and cannot speak to some of his arguments. Nevertheless, the one thing he said to me that really stuck with me is, “many TV shows depicting innocent people being exonerated show that those prisoners who are upbeat, optimistic, and willing to forgive get much more attention and are more likely to be released than those who are consumed by anger and recrimination. I would prefer to think it is not a person’s attitude, but rather the facts of each case that persuades the public to help free innocent inmates. My Mother even says I have become increasingly more negative over the years. I suppose my posts are apparently negative as well.”
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Posted in Innocents, Prisons, Sex Panic, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Friends of Justice is a personal blog. Here I speak only for myself.
September 4th, 2021
EAGLE FILE PHOTO
“Material gathered by two of Baran’s staunchest supporters, Robert Chatelle and James D’Entremont, provides strong evidence that Baran was railroaded. An insurance company, investigating the day care center’s claim for coverage when it was sued for negligent supervision by several of the victims’ families, elicited statements from the children and others that they were told that their families would forfeit large sums of money if they denied being molested by Baran.”
Read the full article by Dusty Bahlman in the Berkshire Eagle.
Posted in Baran, Innocents, Prisons, Sex Panic | 2 Comments »
Friends of Justice is a personal blog. Here I speak only for myself.
August 11th, 2021
One of the prisoners I correspond with has requested my help in opening up a savings account.
I have never done anything like this before, and don’t know where to start.
Does anyone have any experience or ideas?
If so, comment on this post or email me at bobchatelle@gmail.com.
Thank you,
Bob
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Friends of Justice is a personal blog. Here I speak only for myself.
August 6th, 2021
“I am thinking people do not really want to hear what an inmate has to say. I do not think it matters if the inmate claims to be innocent or not. People just do not want to hear it. The shows on T.V. seem to back this up. Any show based upon the premise that people get wrongfully convicted usually gets cancelled quickly. Not enough ratings. Shows that depict the police always getting the right person, and putting them in prison, seems to have staying power.”
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Posted in Innocents, Sex Panic | No Comments »
Friends of Justice is a personal blog. Here I speak only for myself.
July 31st, 2021
“What happened to Justice in America? I have spent the past 25 years in prison for a crime that never even occurred. Almost everyone who takes the time to look at the evidence in my case say they believe me to be innocent. Yet, the courts routinely deny my appeals for some of the littlest excuses they can find. Has everyone who works in the judicial system become so cynical that they just dismiss a claim of actual innocence out of hand? Are they really so afraid to release people from prison?”
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Posted in Innocents, Sex Panic | 1 Comment »
